Comment on this chapter using the following format:
1.a salient sentence or passage, and why it stood out for you
2. a question you would like to ask the author
3. one or two key ideas you got from this reading, and why you believe it/they are important
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“In 1999, the school board in Howard County, Maryland, removed two criteria from its official policy on determining high schools students’ grades. You know that neither of them were standardized tests. No, they were, and I quote, “originality” and “initiative.” This school board decided that those two qualities of a student’s work were no longer important. They decided this because, they said, it is “impossible” to measure how hard a student tries or if a student’s work is original. What they were really saying, and what way too many school boards are now saying is this: If it can’t be measured easily, then we can’t care about it, we can’t teach it, and we certainly can’t determine if a kid has learned it. The solution? Take originality and initiative completely out of your educational goals and just teach to the test. It makes me scream.” p. 3
ReplyDeleteMy cousins went to high school in the Howard County district!!!! This quote captures a good deal of how I feel about the way many schools operate today. I am intrigued by the notion of schools that target true learning, learning to think and life- long learning specifically. So much of today’s education is about getting to the end of school, getting out, getting a decent grade.
How is moral education incorporated at the MET?
Creating mindful learners should be education’s goal. As the quote I selected also suggests, I feel that so many schools, teachers and administrators today have gotten consumed by the mandated standards and standardized test frenzy that they have forgotten about teaching their kids how to think! One of the most meaningful classes I had in high school was with a teacher who really encouraged us to think outside the box, not worry about producing the “right answer,” and led us in thinking about our learning. It was in her class that I first considered being a teacher. Unfortunately, most of my other classes did not have the same environment. I think that as educators, we have a responsibility to show kids it’s okay to think about their thinking; to really figure out how they uniquely learn. So often, if you don’t do well on standardized tests, there must be something wrong with you. Ugh.
Quote:
ReplyDelete“Being mindful – using imagination and creativity to learn what works best for you – is what makes the difference between an average player and a champ” (p. 10)
This quote encompasses the difference between an avid citizen who applies themselves to society with their passions, versus one who sits there and floats along with the situations. Being mindful keeps someone on his or her toes, and actively engaged. This is important to remember for both students, who struggle in learning new topics, and teachers who are just starting out. If one is ready and passionate about their goals and desires, then they will go through the barriers and challenges to reach them. This is the mindset students need to see with learning, to experience the joy and growth from accomplishments.
Question(s):
What mindset does society need to set the stage for teaching about the love of learning, and the capacity to learn? How could we integrate this into our daily lives? Who do you think would not agree with this line of thinking?
Key Idea(s):
Learning through learning with others was an important idea from this chapter. I know the topic of math rather well. But I am also expectant that students will demonstrate a way in their learning that I will learn from. This will occur with other teachers as well. The experience as a teacher is a learning experience in itself.
I also think another key idea from this chapter are in the building of relationships with students, and focusing on each one, finding out their goals, and guiding them towards that. It is important to recognize your own capacity to love learning and share this with students. Learning to learn is crucial for students to grow and utilize their creativity and contribute to society.
A personally significant sentence or passage, and why it stood out for you:
ReplyDelete“The only really substantial thing education can do is help us to become continuous, lifelong learners” (3). After all of the discussion of curriculum and the purpose of education ends (even though it never really does), this does summarize what is left. The purpose of education is to ignite the desire in a student and to give them the tools necessary to live a life of learning. What is truly learned in the classroom is how the student learns and what areas are of interest to the student. Introduces new topics to students gives them a chance to explore and decide whether or not this is an area of interest. A successful educator is able to introduce the topic and then move aside as the student takes on the role of initiating the learning through discovery. All of the study habits, methods of assessment, and foundational skills need to lead toward this.
In all of the discussion on education and its purpose, this is the one statement that can be stated with certainty. At this point, it is the only thing I feel that I can say with certainty, which gives me hope! Of all of the possible results of education, this is also the one I want to achieve the most. If my students learn nothing else, I would be satisfied.
A question you would like to ask the author: If assessment is done using exhibition or portfolios, wouldn't it be more beneficial for teachers to be with the students for more than one year, or at least to ensure some kind of a transition that allows the new teacher to observe the student before the new school year begins?
One or two key ideas you got from this reading, and why you believe it/they are important:
The key idea of the first chapter seems to deal with defining what teaching is or is not. I really liked the comment stating that teaching is listening. Traditionally, teaching is thought of as pouring knowledge into others. Teaching, according to this text, is so much more than this. While content knowledge is important, there are more important ideals related to teaching. The passage really makes you think about how you, as a teacher, are going to define teaching. How you define teaching will determine how you assess the learning as well.
QUOTE:
ReplyDeletepage 14, “Our teachers are not simply givers of knowledge, but adults who inspire the students to find their own passions and their own ways of learning and who provide support along the way…Not by showing students where to find the knowledge in the textbook, but by helping them find the knowledge in the real world.”
This passage is particularly poignant because it makes me think of my third grade teacher. She once told my class that the important thing was not that we memorized or simply repeated everything she said, but that we could figure out where or how to find the answer to a question! To a third grader that didn’t mean too much and at the time, she was talking about spelling words and meaning in reading passages and things like that. But as I think back about that comment I realize that she planted a large seed in me.
I have always believed that knowing how to find an answer to a question was more important and more useful than knowing the answer or some fact related to the question off the top of your head. I believe now that this started with my third grade teacher and was only reinforced when I began to take stock of my educational experiences and what I believed to be the most ridiculous testing methods on the planet. I began to wonder why I felt so different from my classmates in high school and most of the time, I chalked it up to my less than desirable childhood and the fact that I was forced to become an adult at a very early age. But then I really started paying attention to the way my peers approached school and I realized that there was something fundamentally different about the way I thought about school and the way most of them thought about school. I realized that I was thinking about the things I was learning in school and relating them to the real world through my “more adult” experiences. They seemed to just be thinking about how they were going to pass the test.
QUESTION:
Do you think incorporating this “new” definition of education into a national or even state-wide public school is possible?
KEY IDEA:
I think the main idea here is that we as educators need to decide what our own definition of learning is and what we think secondary education should entail, then take our ideas and beliefs and find a district where we can work within that framework. I believe that secondary education, as we know it can work for certain students and educators and that the Big Picture schools also work for other students. There are lots of different types of secondary schools out there and there are just as many different types of teachers and students. The success lies in the correct combination of school, teacher and student!
Quote:
ReplyDelete"Education is not the filling of a pail but the lighting of a fire." (p. 3)
I feel like making learning fun for students is overlooked as one of the most important aspects of education. In order for teachers to get students interested in learning, they have to find a way to make it meaningful for the students. Dictating to students through lecture is too simplistic for students. A good educator will find ways to make students passionate about their learning, i.e., lighting the fire!
Question:
I agree that a child's education cannot be complete unless the child's community and family is included in every way possible? Do you have any suggestions for getting non-involved parents to take responsibility?
Key Ideas:
The statistic of the Harvard graduates was really interesting to me. It made me think of the television show, "Are You Smarter Than A Fifth Grader." We put so much emphasis on being distinguished, but what defines being distinguished: a Harvard degree or being able to discuss the reason for changing seasons? "They say knowledge is power. We say the use of knowledge is power."
I also liked Ellen Langer's discussion on teaching kids what's right and wrong. We are quick to tell students when they are doing something the wrong way, but is it really the "wrong" way or is it a way that is unlike any we have tried before? What is a right way for some, might not work for others. We all learn differently, therefore, it should be expected that students will have a variety of "right" ways to find the answer.
QUOTE:
ReplyDelete"Tests are dictating what we as a society hold valuable in our young people. Our addiction to testing is blinding us to what we believe in our hearts are the imporant lesssons our children should learn." (p. 5)
It is sad that our society truly thinks that tests are the best assessment for how well students understand concepts. Society truly has an addiction to testing. It is easier to "teach" information to students and test them on it instead of encouraging students to find the answers and take an active role in their education. AS it is right now, must schools have teachers that "teach" students information but not really "teach" what students need to know. Especially in Texas right now with the TAKS test. Teachers are basically teaching to a test and can't really teach their students crucial information that they may need later on.
QUESTION:
How as educators do we help society see the error in it's addiction with testing?
KEY IDEA:
A key idea that I found in the reading of this chapter is that teachers have to really truly think about what learning means and what teaching means. The author encourages educators to look at how we learn both as students and as adults and help encourage our students to take an active role in their education and an interest in their education. He also encourages educators to learn along side their students and to use other teaching strategies and alternative assessments to teach students.
On page 15, the author talks about teachers who are excited about teaching do it better than teachers who are just knowledgeable in their subject. I had thought about this for a while now, and am truly grateful for the fact that I had difficulty in passing my college level courses. Before this, I had routinely asked "what's so hard about math?" to all my peers struggling in the class. Now I realize (or begin to realize) that there are concepts that don't necessarily go into our brains without active interpretation. Also, I have seen a teacher who made it difficult to learn math because our styles of information relaying were very different.
ReplyDeleteQuestion: "Teaching cannot be held in a vacuum." If this is the case, why are teachers being held fully responsible for the education of children? How can we show parents that it is up to them.
Key Idea: As the chapter title explains, the role of education and people's places in it are vastly misinterpreted- that is, if there is any need for education other than "how well can you take a test. Anyone can find information through various venues- KNOWING that they can do so is not as universal and should be the proper goal for education. No one will know everything they need to know about life in just twelve short years. However, the process to know as much as we need to know (and somethings that we don't) should take about that long, factoring in human progress and previous modes of thinking.
"Every kid is coming to you with his own personal baggage that may have to be worked through before he can even begin to learn what you are trying to teach him. The teacher’s role is to find what that way is for each kid. Teaching becomes figuring out how to see and listen to each kid, one kid at a time, so that the kid can reach the goals for himself or herself. It is about finding the right relationship between the student and the adult." (p 12)
ReplyDeleteThis stood out to me because in my high school I saw teachers struggle with this and teachers who could connect with students without any hesitation. I think before a teacher can begin to teach any student they must make some kind of connection with that student and have some understanding of where that student is coming from. That is why the first week of school is so important. I love hearing people say that the first week of school is worthless because the kids “aren’t learning anything”. Well, maybe it is a nice review week for the students, but it is a time of learning for the teacher.
How would you begin to reshape current teacher’s views on the subject of the connection between teachers and their students? What would you say to a teacher who has been teaching for 20 years and thinks that all he/she needs to know about their students is whether or not they are learning?
Key Idea: The idea of teaching our students to become life long learners really stood out in this chapter. Allowing students to decide what is important to them and giving them the opportunity to explore it further will teach them to love learning and to explore a subject they find interesting later in life. Teaching them information is good, teaching them how to find information and how to learn is better. Teaching can not be done in a quiet lecture oriented classroom where all students do is spit back information.
Key Idea: The only substantial thing education can do is help us to become coninuous, lifelong learners. Learners who learn without textbooks and test. I liked this idea because it talked about how 91% of your life is outside of the classroom and in the real world and it's education's job to prepare it for you.
ReplyDeletePassage: "It's terrific for teachers to have depth in a certain area, as long as they don't just hand it over. They have to use that deep understanding to help their students discover the learning on their own. Teaching and learning are about problem solving. Education is the process by which you put teachers and learners in the best possible environment for them to do this together" (16). Standing in front of the class lecturing does nothing to help the student. They don't even do well on the standardized test that you are trying to prepare them for with that method. Instead instill in them to passion for learning and they will discover for themselves what they need to know for the test without the stress.
Question: My question would be how do you get the students to want to try and discover the learning on own? So many of them just want it handed to them.
“Our teachers are not simply givers of knowledge, but adults who inspire the students to find their own passions and their own ways of learning and who provide support along the way…Not by showing students where to find the knowledge in the textbook, but by helping them find the knowledge in the real world.”
ReplyDeleteI find this passage significant because it is a good model to follow for all teachers. I think it is important to make the material relevant to the student’s lives so they see a purpose for it.
If you have a student who has no motivation to find his/her passion, what are some effective ways to try and bring out the student’s willingness to look for their passion?
I think that the importance of how a teacher teaches is a key point in this section. Like my quote describes, a teacher can’t just give information and answers to the students if they want to enhance their lives. The students should learn in their own way with the teacher providing needed support along the way. The teacher needs to be able to push their students to achieve more than they thought could, but be able to know the line between being a friend and being someone who is there to support them.
Passage: "A silent school is no school at all. Enforced quiet not only keeps kids from being themselves and keeps teachers from finding out who the kids are, it also kills learning" (53).
ReplyDeleteYou have to give kids the freedom to be themselves to ignite their excitement and make them want to learn. Then you get to know them and are able to connect with them and relate the information to their interests.
Key Idea: Relationships are the foundation of a good, personalized school, and you cannot build relationships without first cultivated a culture of trust and respect. If kids are going to be respectful, they must feel respected.
Kids in secondary schools believe that they are adults, want to be treated as adults, and many of them technically are adults.
Question: With the advisory system, how are the advisors able to stay with the students throughout the day and the students still have choices available in the courses they take?