Why can't education be interesting?!
In elementary, high school, and college, Science and History were my two least favorite subjects.
My favorite part of high school history class was when Mr. Farmer...yes, that really was his name...would send my friend and I to opposite corners in the back of the room for talking (this happened on a regular basis). Being in the back of the room allowed us to communicate through paperwads thrown back and forth. We could do this because the entire 50 minute class was spent with his back to us, writing notes on the blackboard (in very small print) that we were supposed to copy and study. By the end of the class the entire blackboard, wall to wall, was covered in notes. It wasn't a method that really brought history alive for me.
However, once I learned about the Civil Rights Movement in college...thanks to a professor showing a piece of the documentary, Eyes on the Prize...I began understanding how the movement affected real people. Since then, I have gained a thirst for new information and I am always trying to make new connections about how history affects the decisions, laws, and practices we have today.
Science wasn't much better. Reading a science book and trying to remember all of the technical terms wasn't exactly my cup of tea. However, I do remember my mom purchasing a chemistry kit for me at a garage sale and, though I didn't exactly know what I was doing, I remember sitting outside, reading the instructions, and trying to make carmel with the little vials and burners that came with the kit. Though I never achieved edible carmel (I'm not sure the kit was meant to create edible carmel, but that was my goal), the chemistry kept me occupied for hours.
So why is education in our schools so boring?
Why is learning so disconnected from real life?!
We seem to be on a pendulum. Learning is categorized and departmentalized and single subjects are taught depending on what the political climate deems as necessary. As a result, a child in school focuses on reading OR math OR science OR history...but rarely do these subjects get applied to real life. Over the past few years, because our mandated testing has been on reading and writing, teachers and schools often leave out the other subjects. I have had more than one kid tell me that the reason they have a 100% in Social Studies on their report card is because they don't do Social Studies (the teacher just gives them a grade to fill in the blank).
Over the last several years, the colleges and businesses have noticed the downward trend in students interest in Science and Engineering. To make up for that, mandatory testing has added Science so teachers would be sure to teach it. But that doesn't mean it will be interesting. Actually, it means quite the opposite. Now teachers will have to ensure kids get certain facts down about science.
Maybe instead of "teaching" everything, subject by subject, we should focus on kids "experiencing" things. If we set up our classrooms in a way that kids could explore, create, and experience, I wonder if we'd be surprised by the way kids responded to education...and be surprised at how many subjects are covered.
This week, we start our 4-week summer program on Health and Nutrition at Turner Courts. We have field trips set up to Central Market, UTA's fitness center, Samuell Farm, and the Farmer's Market to stimulate their creativity. We have speakers who will teach about nutrition and health...some who are parents, some who are fitness instructors, some who work at places like Southwestern Medical Center. We will be teaching the kids how to blog and podcast as well.
But the most exciting part is that we have time for the kids to create. The kids will be writing on the blog (you can keep up with it at http://www.ourasafamily.blogspot.com/), taking pictures, interviewing people, creating a practical fitness center that could work in their own home, and creating the menus for our evening meals. The activities and projects they do will incoporate reading, writing, math, art, history, health, science, and so much more.
I admit I am a little nervous. It's hard to think outside of the traditional education box. It is a little scary to wonder what we will do and how we will guide the kids during the "unstructured" time. It puts the burden on those of us who are setting up the program to really listen to the kids and hear what they are saying so that it can inform our approach on a daily basis.
I'll keep you updated on the progress.
5 comments:
Janet, I am excited about the summer program and do agree with you that children should have more educational experiences rather than rote activities. I have also found that Social Studies have been moved to the back burner in SOME schools as there is no accompanying test.
I do take issue with the melding of all school experiences into one boring lump. There are schools that are working on designing engaging work for children to do that leads them to higher levels of learning. Contrary to popular belief (and I can't believe I am about to sound like I support the high stakes testing movement -because I don't), the science test actually expects children to be able to interpret data from various tables, make predictions based on a set of given data, etc. This can only be done successfully if the students have been engaged in experiences which provide MANY REPEATED opportunities to develop and use skills of observation, data collection and interpretation and drawing conclusions from the data. This type of work can be very engaging. It is also messy, time consuming, expensive (teacher often purchase the consumable materials themselves) and difficult to manage, yet, I observe teachers trying it on a regular basis. I see this not only in science, but also in reading, writing, math and, yes, even social studies. I have seen it in the suburbs and in DISD schools as well - especially with the opportunities available in Dallas to partner with all the cultural providers available in a large city.
My point here is, rather than bash the effort of schools as heterogeneous conglomerate, consider more the professor who made history come alive for you through the use of a documentary film. Ask the children of your program to recount and reflect on some valuable learning experiences that made a difference for them and use those as a model for inspiring change.
Just as your history teacher filling the blackboard with notes for you to "learn" did not inspire you to do so, stereotyping all schools as boring may not inspire change. Maybe there will be more inspiration from hearing stories of those schools that are making a difference through the design of engaging work, rather than inferring that all school experiences are boring.
You are right students should not be taught just the taks test. It is kind of setting limits to what they can do. And hey you shouldn't be nervous about the summer...you are great when it comes to curriculum and new ideas. I wish I could be there this summer! I miss it and I always loved how UV offered new and different approaches to subjects not offered at school and the best part about that was the kids were always excited to learn about it. Well good luck with the summer and you have to keep me updated on how it is going.
~*Jess*~
Ouch! Ok Dr. V...I get your point! ;-)
I'm glad you can stay so positive about what's actually going on. I hear what you're saying about how it's not ALL schools. Yes, I believe that. I even believe that it's not ALL schools in DISD. Perhaps not even ALL low-income schools. I think what happens, though, is that the parents, grandparents, etc) in our [low-income] communities hear the same things I do. Some of it is from visiting classrooms, some from listening to kids, and some from hearing the media. We make our generalizations based on what we hear. We see the kids doing test after test and they don't seem to come home excited about learning. By doing making the generalizations, though, I probably perpetuate the stereotype.
I think I err on that side because what I've noticed is I've heard many of the parents I know...at church...at Turner Courts...in Barrymore...mention things and they seem to feel like they must be ignorant and they must not know what they're talking about...maybe because they don't feel they have the education level to really know what they're talking about. But they are saying the same things I'm noticing! So when I bring it up, I immediately see a lot of head nodding and a-ha moments like, "I knew that was what I saw!!" It's like their voice is finally validated and they really *did* know what they were talking about!
I'm not saying my generalizations are constructive. Probably the better solution would be to somehow point out the good teachers or good schools and help the other ones come along. I have learned that there are some good things going on even within our schools in the Turner Courts and Barrymore feeder patterns. There are also some things that really need to be fixed.
I'm not opposed to assessment so that we can better our teaching practices. I'm opposed to testing on a regular basis so that that's all the kids are allowed to focus on.
Maybe a solution would be to somehow figure out a way to help us all understand what *is* going on in the classrooms and at the schools (here goes my cynicism again, though...it's often difficult for parents to even get in the schools or the classrooms).
We do need to figure out a way for the parents not to judge the teachers and the teachers not to judge the parents. The blame game is happening on both ends. In the meantime, though, I listen to the kids and the parents. And I'm waiting for a kid to come home and say, "We did the coolest thing in Science at school today!"
I'll look forward to the blog entry when you do hear "We did the coolest thing at school and I learned..." and the day when engaging schools are the steriotype! Thanks for putting yourself out there to engage in conversations even when we disagree. :)
I'm going to work hard to look for and focus on the more positive "We did the coolest thing at school today and I learned..." moments. Maybe if I look harder for them I will actually find them. :)
Keep reminding me so I don't forget! I know you will! ;-)
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