Emily's Question: How should students be treated, if not like workers?
In my experience, I have always adopted the idea that as a student, I am less like a worker and more like an apprentice. I am a worker-in-training. Education prepares students for future jobs and careers, and until they have mastered the skills needed to join the work-force, then they are not yet workers. They may work hard in school, but they are working in an effort to become something greater than just a student. For example, I am studying education. I go to the high schools and I teach lessons and observe students in their classrooms. I am not, however, a teacher. I am a teacher-in-training; an apprentice. I think most students gain a sense of entitlement when they believe they are workers. They think they are too good for school and that they already know everything they need to know. If they adopted the idea that they are apprentices, then they might be able to change their perceptions to incorporate new goals and perhaps even humility.
Although the students are partially responsibile for adjusting their mindsets, their teachers are equally responsible for treating them more like apprentices than workers. In my pre-practicum classrooms, the high school teachers treat me like a teacher-in-training, almost like a co-worker on whom they wish to bestow their words of wisdom. I am treated with respect and taken seriously, instead of being treated as though I am subordinant who must obey their rules. When students are treated like workers, then they will feel like workers.
Do you learn differently in classrooms where your professors treat you with respect and maturity than in classrooms where you are treated like student workers?
Friday, April 8, 2011
Education and Parents
In class we touched upon the idea that the financial security of the parents often determines the educational success/opportunities of the student. The example we used in class was that of becoming a successful actor or actress, and the importance of knowing the right people and receiving the right training at an early age. Should a parent not have the money or resources to put their children into top acting classes, then the possibility of that child becoming successful in the movie industry is slim.
How does this idea apply to schooling? Well, let's say that a first grader struggles with reading. If the child's school is ill-equiped to meet the needs of that student because of poor funding, then the parents might be expected to find help elsewhere. Although one can usually find a tutor in the area, if these parents can not afford to pay for one, then their child will not be receiving the help that he/she needs. If reading skills are not addressed early on, then that student will most likely never develop the skills needed, and will inevitably fall behind his peers. These children are the ones in the classroom who lack enthusiasm for reading, who may have behavioral issues, and who might even drop out of school. Could these issues have been avoided had the schools provided the resources that child needed at age six? If the parents are not in a postion to afford these services, then shouldn't the school and the state take responsibility, rather than make the child suffer for being born into poverty?
How do you think the state and the school systems can better address the needs of all students?
How does this idea apply to schooling? Well, let's say that a first grader struggles with reading. If the child's school is ill-equiped to meet the needs of that student because of poor funding, then the parents might be expected to find help elsewhere. Although one can usually find a tutor in the area, if these parents can not afford to pay for one, then their child will not be receiving the help that he/she needs. If reading skills are not addressed early on, then that student will most likely never develop the skills needed, and will inevitably fall behind his peers. These children are the ones in the classroom who lack enthusiasm for reading, who may have behavioral issues, and who might even drop out of school. Could these issues have been avoided had the schools provided the resources that child needed at age six? If the parents are not in a postion to afford these services, then shouldn't the school and the state take responsibility, rather than make the child suffer for being born into poverty?
How do you think the state and the school systems can better address the needs of all students?
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
Mary's Question
Mary's Question: Can shock value, in a comedic sense, benefit a classroom?
To me, shock value in a comedic sense can be highly beneficial in a classroom. As I posted previously, the use of humor in the classroom can be very engaging and students often become more involved in the material. This same notion can be applied to comedy that shocks. For example, if students are preparing to sit through a lesson they may find boring, shocking them with comedy when they are not expecting it can change the mood of the classroom and keep the students awake and on their toes.
I once witnessed shock-comedy in a high school classroom when I was taking AP Psychology in my senior year. At first glance, the textbook was thick and boring, and the syllabus was full and demanding. I was expecting to be taking a course that could cure insomnia, and was not prepared for the humorous approach the teacher was going to take. After the first week in this class, I had laughed so hard that I may have even shed a few tears, and I looked forward to going everyday. Each day was new and exciting, and we could never predict just what the teacher would do next.
As I observe students in my pre-practicum, I notice that many students are bored with the mundane tasks they are asked to complete. I think we owe the students the opportunity for enjoyable learning, even if the lessons exceed the conventional. By incorporating shock, surprise, and humor in the classroom, students are allowed the chance to find learning fun - which may boost the success rates of many students. Considering many students are turned off by the idea of learning because of their monotonous experiences in the classroom, teachers may be able to reach out to students before learning becomes unappealing.
My question: Do you think students would find learning enjoyable if their teachers discovered fun ways of engaging them?
To me, shock value in a comedic sense can be highly beneficial in a classroom. As I posted previously, the use of humor in the classroom can be very engaging and students often become more involved in the material. This same notion can be applied to comedy that shocks. For example, if students are preparing to sit through a lesson they may find boring, shocking them with comedy when they are not expecting it can change the mood of the classroom and keep the students awake and on their toes.
I once witnessed shock-comedy in a high school classroom when I was taking AP Psychology in my senior year. At first glance, the textbook was thick and boring, and the syllabus was full and demanding. I was expecting to be taking a course that could cure insomnia, and was not prepared for the humorous approach the teacher was going to take. After the first week in this class, I had laughed so hard that I may have even shed a few tears, and I looked forward to going everyday. Each day was new and exciting, and we could never predict just what the teacher would do next.
As I observe students in my pre-practicum, I notice that many students are bored with the mundane tasks they are asked to complete. I think we owe the students the opportunity for enjoyable learning, even if the lessons exceed the conventional. By incorporating shock, surprise, and humor in the classroom, students are allowed the chance to find learning fun - which may boost the success rates of many students. Considering many students are turned off by the idea of learning because of their monotonous experiences in the classroom, teachers may be able to reach out to students before learning becomes unappealing.
My question: Do you think students would find learning enjoyable if their teachers discovered fun ways of engaging them?
Education and the Work Force
In class, we discussed the role of education in creating and maintaining the work force through its means of instilling in students a sense of obedience and respect for authority. To me, the systems appears to start priming students for their given class-based work-force as early as kindergarten. In kindergarten, student learn to follow the leader, listen to their teachers, and obey the rules. Questioning rules and ideas can often be considered "talking back", which is a punishable offense. Students are taught to follow these rules, never questioning them, and never doubting their validity.
When the students who have been successful in such classrooms attempt college, they often experience a rude-awakening. These students have not learned to be critical thinkers and they can feel out-of-place in discussion based courses. They may feel uncomfortable addressing their professors by their first names, and may not know how to analyze a concept past its surface meaning. Should these students drop out of college because they lack the skill-set required to succeed, the educational system has accomplished its goal by pushing the students back into the work-force they belonged in. How can such students change their class or status if they are only taught how to succeed in their given work-force.
Are the fates of these students determined for them before they even enter the educational system?
When the students who have been successful in such classrooms attempt college, they often experience a rude-awakening. These students have not learned to be critical thinkers and they can feel out-of-place in discussion based courses. They may feel uncomfortable addressing their professors by their first names, and may not know how to analyze a concept past its surface meaning. Should these students drop out of college because they lack the skill-set required to succeed, the educational system has accomplished its goal by pushing the students back into the work-force they belonged in. How can such students change their class or status if they are only taught how to succeed in their given work-force.
Are the fates of these students determined for them before they even enter the educational system?