Last year while
conversing with some friends, my buddy Scott posed a question to our group. He
said, “What do teachers even do?”. Before I was able to throw in my ideas,
another friend, Jimmy, blurted out, “Teachers teach!”. Of course we laughed, but then we speculated
on what exactly teachers “teach”. In our own personal experience, what we
learned in the classroom were facts. As a teacher candidate I have come to see
that learning facts should not be the purpose of school.
I believe that school
is practice for an “adult” life, it is where students should learn to correct
mistakes. I think that this is something that is often forgotten. Traded in for
dates, equations, and the standard set meaning of literature.
School has become a box
that exists on its own, students disappear for 6 hours a day and come out
knowing things (on a good day), but not knowing its application to life outside
of the box. I believe that the idea of life should be amplified in school. I believe
school should focus more on correcting mistakes than praising accomplishments.
In my future classroom, I plan on focusing on ideas that students can use in
life. I believe that this is the value of school.
I believe school is a
place for practice. A safe zone where you can learn to excel at communicating
and navigating through existence. I believe teachers should always keep in mind
student lives outside of school and should work to connect everything in school
to students’ lives. Why we read certain texts or do certain equations is a
question that many people don’t know the answer to.
Why do I have to find
x? I can remember asking this and not getting an answer. Now that I’m older I
see that by finding x you have to manipulate the sides of an equation in
numerous steps the way we need to manipulate life to solve every day problems.
But why couldn’t they tell me this in school? Why do schools keep the purpose a
mystery? I believe that the purpose of education should be the forefront of education.
It shouldn’t be hidden like buried treasure that students need to go looking
for. I believe that students need to know why they are there and know that it
isn’t to get graded, but rather to learn skills to navigate life.
I totally agree! I especially like the part you have about schools being a "safe zone" for experimentation. I agree that it's important that our students have the room to try and fail because, lo and behold, they can always get back up again. This is kind of what I was trying to get to in my own piece, but you summed it up quite well, so thank you! :)
ReplyDeleteI completely agree, Nate! School should exist outside of a box--lives should connect with education and vice versa. So often the world outside is forgotten or placed on the back burner. Education and its purpose should be placed alongside a students home life, culture, and the world surrounding them. I really like your statement: "I believe that students need to know why they are there and know that it isn’t to get graded, but rather to learn skills to navigate life". So much emphasis is placed on grading and I just hate it. Grading will always fall second in my mind to the valuable skills that students will carry with them for the rest of their lives. Lets be honest--a student will probably not remember the grade they received on their first term paper or five paragraph essay, but they WILL remember how to write and get their thoughts and opinions out on paper.
ReplyDeleteNate,
ReplyDeleteI love the instant personal connection, that’s a powerful learning/teaching tool that I think you can easily teach your future students. ““Teachers teach!” is so blunt and true but so vague. Like you mentioned, teachers do so much. “I believe school is a place for practice…” and we, as educators, make a safe environment for them to do so. This is the place where they have freedom of expression and it is up to us to provide them with those options. How can we, as educators, give students a chance to work outside of the box that so many people see schools as? How can we help students see a school as more than a pile of bricks and chalk (or markers)? I really like how you take something you and a friend talked about and shaped how you presented your belief. I hope that you take your belief and let it excel you forward in your teaching.
Also, please post your last paragraph on your classroom wall because it is really well said and a perfect model for how you may see yourself teaching. “It shouldn’t be hidden like buried treasure that students need to go looking for.” This is going on my dorm wall next to Jess’s quote.
Reading this I feel like the age old question "Why do I need to learn this?" comes to mind. I feel like you are on the right track to building an engaged classroom where they see the purpose in what they're learning as it pertains to their real life and the future they are heading towards. This is definitely a belief I'm going to take with me as I strive to be a teacher.
ReplyDelete