The most valuable lesson taught to me at school was how to learn when I am not interested in the topic. Not everything in life is easy or interesting. Sometimes we have to do a task that is not fun or that we are passionate about. I love my job, but not all of it. There are aspects that are tedious and sometimes seem pointless. Nevertheless I have to get through it to be able to do what I love.
Now that doesn't mean that my schooling was perfect. It was not. I unfortunately learned early on that all I had to do is remember enough information for a test to do well. Essentially, I was conditioned that a good grade on a test was all that mattered and I was rewarded at home by my parents and got honors recognition. I strongly believe that a test based curriculum excludes learning. When students are asking what is going to be on a test rather than how it relates to the real world today, then we have a problem. Therefore, problem based learning would have been a tremendous tool in my education.
Now that I am studying education, there are more questions than answers for me. How do we teach and meet requirements without tests? Is the system designed that all that matters are test results? Do the state standards prevent learning or promote it? How do we measure heling students find their calling or passions?
The biggest disappointment for me in my educational experience is that it took me almost 30 years to find out what I am passionate about. It took me a long time to find out what I am good at and what I want to devote my life to. Although, school did show me what I am not passionate about and what I am good at. Maybe school is about exposing what is out there and giving people options to pursue what they want.
I really think your post on if the school experience is a waste is an excellent question to think about. I actually think about this a lot because I have a child who has special needs and is not very good at schoolwork at all. I find myself thinking--find his talents/nurture them all the time. And, when he brings home HW on Greece or on fractions--which he hates and will most likely never use in his life, I can't help but think that part of his schooling is a waste. However, I do believe that uninteresting subjects--or subjects that are necessary--could be better presented to make them more interesting. I do agree that project-based learning is most definitely the way to go for his studies, but it seems easier for the teacher to give out a xerox sheet from a website to fill out. Until that time when he can totally love up the subject matter he likes--technology--I'm just going to make it my job as a parent and an educator to nurture his talents. School is about exposing kids to what is out there--but, I feel it is also HOW we expose them and not just WHAT we expose them to that ultimately counts the most.
ReplyDeleteLife, it seems, can be an exercise in tedium. While in high school I thought, what better preparation for life is there than school. I was really cynical. I couldn't stand most subjects and even the ones I was good at bored me to tears. Eventually I found a higher level of thinking; not just what school wanted to teach me, but what I had to learn about myself and the world. What was my place in it? How will my ideas give birth to new ideas? How can I leave an impact? I saw education through a new lens and since then have dedicated my life to becoming a teacher that could help students find that higher order of thinking faster than I did. I think technology can go a long way towards the necessary reform traditional schools so desperately need. Technology is woven into our lives, but seems to be absent in a classroom setting. (A computer in the corner doesn't count). But I digress. Teachers can do better and the public school system can do better.
ReplyDeleteHello John,
ReplyDeleteThis is a very interesting post and I must say it parallels what I blogged about this week. I was one of those students that enjoyed school. I liked learning different things in all my different subjects. I knew some of the things I would never use again, but I found it interesting to learn about. I also think it's important to take on the challenges that arise from learning things we may not always need. Maybe this is also a reason why we teach things such as this, because the challenge that it creates encourages students to think outside the realm of there understanding in hopes to reach a knew light. The fact is, teachers will never meet the interests of every single student in every single lesson. But what you might find uninteresting may be a huge interest for someone else.
Lastly, if you find a school district that does not utilize formative assessment whatsoever I would like to know. There are times that a test would not serve the purpose of your learning task, but there are also times where you need a test or quiz to ensure students are understanding the content. I do not think it is possible to meet requirements without some form of formative assessment (tests, quizzes, etc.) These types of assessments are tools for teachers to help gauge where students are struggling or where students are succeeding. It would be extremely difficult for a teacher to understand how students are learning/understanding if they did not use formative assessment.