What does a good school look like?
I think back on my
formal education, the readings from this chapter, and the school that I am
currently working at in order to answer this question. We measure schools in
terms of success, in today’s society that success is based on standardized test
scores, the amount of graduates, and the schools with the lowest attrition.
The readings from
this chapter made me think about success in a different way. Although some of
the texts had varied views, I identified most with the idea that student
centered success, not the school in societies’ eyes was most important. When
talking about aims in school, Nel Noddings mentions that happiness should be a
contender. When you mention a singular word like happiness, it opens up an assortment
of paths for a school to take. How will they reach each student? What makes a
student happy? How do we know they truly are happy and we have reached this
aim?
I then think about
my own education, the times\ I was happiest in school, what I remember the
most. I think about those amazing teachers I had, those were years of happiness
from feeling safe and appreciated. I think about the enjoyable projects I got
to create, that was a time of happiness from content I was interested in. I
think about reaching educational milestones like my first oral presentation or
high school graduation, that was happiness of success. If these were times that
I was happy? Could it be true for everyone? So, with some research, a came across a program that is suppose to increase students' happiness through brain based learning and being mindful of their actions and thoughts. The program is called, "MindUP". This reminded me of one of the new aged programs that is being offered to schools.
In many ways, I feel like these programs are put in place because of the awareness that many students' home environments are not always condusive to their mental development.
In many ways, I feel like these programs are put in place because of the awareness that many students' home environments are not always condusive to their mental development.
Are my ideals Socratic? “Those
who love certain forms of work will care deeply about that work and become
competent at it” (Noddings, 428). This was the case when I was completing
projects in my youth. However, I know I
would not be as happy as I am now if that philosophy followed me throughout my
entire schooling. What if I only had to concentrate in one discipline that I
really enjoyed? Then, years later, I became an elementary teacher? I would
probably be crying of embarrassment any time my students asked me a question in
language arts or science and praying from math class to come. Then I think, I
probably would not have become an elementary teacher but gone into a job that
was closer to my field of enjoyment at the current point in my life that I
picked it. This makes me laugh since I changed my major in college. I probably
would have been stuck as a biomechanical engineer.
Because I received a varied
education in my youth, I am happy today. “The function of schooling is not to
enable students to do better in school. The function of schooling is to enable
students to do better in life” (Eisner, 329). I felt that I could identify best
with Rousseau’s idea that educational curriculum should be based on the
individual’s success. However, this needs to be done with a focus of the needs
of society. For an individual to be truly successful, they need to perform well
in society. This can be done in the way that we asses students too. “Multiple-choice
tests are not a substitute for the real performance” (Meier, 65).
I thought the idea
of commensurability was an interesting one in the Elliot Eisner reading. Part
of me understood that commensurability seems to be needed to make comparisons on
an even playing field. However, you are comparing different students with
different learning styles. Therefore, are you really comparing them fairly? I
think not. However, if you assessing students differently based on their needs,
is there a way to create the assessments and rubric to be just as rigorous for
each different type of assessment? Should you have a different creator make
each assessment? I for one could create an extremely easy assessment for a
learner that does not have the same learning style as me and think it was just
as challenging as another assessment. Is
there a better way to go about this? I always think about teaching something in
three different ways. If you do, you are bound to hit the needs of almost all
of your learners in the classroom. As this article PBS aricle points out, "How can different learning styles be addressed with consistent expectations?" there are some teaching strategies, like inquiry lessons that support a variety of learning styles.
I think a good
school creates critical thinkers, attempts to create happiness by catering to
different learning needs, has an integrated curriculum, and helps students become acclimated
to society. I agree with the need for staff centered curriculum discussions. I have
been at different schools in my life that had completely different beliefs and
outcomes with respect to this idea. Let me tell you, a staff that speaks a
common language throughout the school building has an easier time getting through
to students, is able to start the school year at a run (expectations are
consistent from year to year for students), and also creates a common bond for
the students to see.
Ashten, I found your focus on happiness and preparedness for future roles in society as indicators of good schools refreshing, as those seem to be such nonissues in present school assessment! It seems like standardized test scores are all that matter, and, as you bring up, being successful on a multiple choice test really doesn’t mean you’ll be a successful member of society, which is what good schools need to produce.
ReplyDeleteThe video on MINDUP was interesting. It seemed strange to see kids talking about the parts of their brain like that, and utilizing breathing exercises, but it made me think about all of the coping mechanisms/ stress management strategies I’ve learned to rely on as an adult. Of course kids needs these things to, and we know we can’t take for granted that every child has a family able to provide them with these kinds of skills/ the support they need to manage stress. I know I need my faith, my exercise, my close friends and my supportive family to help me manage stressful situations. Some kids have none of that, and that’s a scary thought for me, I don’t know how I would do it without those things in place in my life. Hopefully teaching kids to be mindful in that way really will work and will help create happy students who will someday be happy members of society.
I also enjoyed your thoughts on needing a well-rounded education to become a happy adult. I wonder about that too, when thinking about how happiness fits into school. Everybody likes some things better than others, that’s natural. I was always much happier in Spanish and English class than I was in math and science because they came easier to me, and I was more interested in those areas. But I still needed to learn math and science even if those subjects frustrated me and left me feeling very unhappy at times!
Your advice about teaching everything 3 ways to make sure you’re able to reach all types of learners is great! That might be a way to increase happiness for students too. As the article you posted pointed out, if students are always being taught in a style other than their preferred learning style, they’re bound to become frustrated. If teachers vary their instructional strategies, maybe kids will find a way to better connect with content area that isn’t their favorite because they’ll be able to experience their preferred learning style. In fact, I wonder how much students’ natural inclination to different content areas has to do with the content and how much has to do with the way it was taught. My math and science classes generally consisted of the teacher checking homework for the first 10 minutes of class, lecturing for the next 30 minutes, and giving us the rest of class to work on our next homework assignment, while in the classes I loved we spent lots of time doing group projects, discussing things as a class or with a partner, interacting with real materials, etc. Maybe if the instructional strategies had been more varied in other classes I would have been able to relate to those subjects better.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts, it was very interesting reading.
Lisa Rose
Hi Ashten,
ReplyDeleteGreat post, thank you!
I love that you just go for it with your focus on happiness. I know it's "crazy talk" these days. But how might schools change for the better if each teacher sought to make students happy each day?
I'm not as worried as you are about missing something in the early grades. I trust most kids are interested in most things, if taught by a teacher passionate about the subject, if failure is not stressing them out, and if the learning style is met.
If some kids want to focus, well, that's ok. That's why certain athletes and artists must do from a young age. Would we say there are not successful because they didn't get sixth grade science?
Also, it just means we have to be life-long learners. We can never cover it all, even the basics. My list of basics always includes things that yours doesn't, and vice versa. I think we have to be ok with that. It would require us to change not only school, but work though. We would have to assume that part of a job is learning the job, and that that is still productive time.
I also heartily agree that we must match our talents to social needs. No genius operates in a vacuum. School needs to help match us up for society, but not in ways that limit us. I think most people would agree with us on that one.
So why, then, are we still so far from thinking this way in our society??
Thanks for your post--it's a great one!
Kyle