| School always has been, and still is, my home away from home. I was the kid who awaited the first day of school as eagerly as Christmas morning and departed for summer vacation with an unshakeable sadness. I realize I was not the typical kid. Kindergarten involved learning the alphabet, and I remember the fondness I felt towards the laminated "letter people" who represented each new letter. I remember having time to play inside, in which I would regularly seek out the thick book on the pages of which were different colors to learn, textures to feel, and activities such as correctly tying the pair of shoestrings which protruded from the pages into a perfect bow. I still feel a twinge of dislike remembering Mrs. Ennis swatting my hand with a ruler in an effort to correct my improper pencil grip (which I still have) and the moment of surprise followed by a stinging sensation as she would jerk me out my seat and swat my behind for leaning back in my chair (which I still do). Memories of first grade include my older, sophisticated teacher applying her lipstick as we stood in line for the final bell to ring. I remember the shock of watching a space shuttle explode, and the shock of seeing a teacher recover a workbook from under a mountain of puke (not mine), shake it off and set it on the back bookshelf to dry. I remember the shame and embarrassment of wetting my pants because we weren't allowed to go to the restroom at that particular time of day, and the Mission Impossible I undertook trying to clean up the mess without anyone noticing. Second grade stands out as a turtle race at my teacher's house, a water gun fight there as well, and retrieving reading books from the third grade when our reading group prematurely outgrew the adventures of Dick, Jane, and Spot. I still feel the slight pang of injustice after being yelled at for merely climbing the stairs to the third grade hall and sitting at the top step when I didn't understand the "gifted program" my teacher was explaining to my mom, instead thinking I had done something wrong. Third grade was multiplication table drag races, the "grab bag," the "Boxcar Children," receiving a response to our class letters to President Reagan, and leaving a plastic Transformers lunchbox containing an almost empty milk carton in the coat room for two weeks. I remember carrying a student with a skinned knee to the nurse's office, to the amusement of the nurse. I remember a principal who was too important to sign our yearbooks, instead having a secretary apply his signature with a rubber stamp. Middle school memories mainly involve the various learner-centered activities of our gifted education program. I was called out of class frequently to help other teachers with their computers. I was considered the building expert on the Commodore 64, even when I was in the fourth grade. I remember being one of the first to help the teachers figure out these new computers called Apples. I learned the consequences of letting the responsibilities of leadership go to my head: my gifted teacher yelled at me for being disrespectful when I excitedly told her to turn off the dot matrix printer as it was spewing paper; my newsletter staff quit in fifth grade because they said I was being too bossy. In sixth grade I created a clay replica of Stonehenge which was the talk of the teachers' lounge for at least two weeks. Junior high was a disappointment. We were all changing, friends really seeing each other of the opposite sex in a whole new light. These changes destroyed old friendships and created new ones, but for me they left me alone and insecure with braces and acne. For the first time in my school experience, I didn't fit in. High school was notable not for the academic teachers I had but for being a member of marching band and Chamber Choir. Once again I felt like I fit in. We were a group working together to achieve goals, but unlike academic groups, one person couldn't do all the work. Everyone had to march in step and everyone had to be in tune or we wouldn't succeed. These activities were awesome teambuilding experiences, the lessons of which have lasted well beyond my high school years.  I wrote two pages and had started on a third before I realized that you probably did not want to hear the nostalgic story of my education K-12. But as I remembered each and every grade and determinedly drew those memories out of dormancy, I was able to reflect on the teachers I had and classes I took. In categorizing these experiences, separating them into piles and weighing their importance and effect, I have established these four insights as the major four insights I took with me from over twelve years of education. The first is that teachers who do not treat their students with respect will not be able to teach those students. Perhaps this knowledge is why the Brahmins of India were to refrain from humiliating their students in Hindu educational philosophy (p.65). Confucian philosophy states that a teacher "strengthens but does not discourage." (p.62) My kindergarten teacher's corporal efforts to change my habits only succeeded in instilling resentment which has lasted longer than my memory of what she looked like. Out of my later educational experiences, I don't remember the new high school basketball coach / 7th grade social studies teacher actually teaching me anything, but I do remember him making fun of me for being unable to pronounce Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. The teachers who impacted me the most were the ones who treated me with respect. My second insight is that group work is not effective in teaching, but collaborative learning is. I remember taking a lower-level science class in 11th grade (I needed an extra science to graduate) from the same teacher I took an advanced class from the year before. In this later class, she put us into groups to work and the other members of my group expectantly relied on me to carry the group and get the grade. This was an ineffective teaching method, as the other students in my group would not learn if I did all the work, but the teacher refused to allow me to be graded individually. I remember hating group work in high school because I would be forced to carry my group as the other students expected me to do the work. In contrast to this, as a member of the marching band and Chamber choir, we were constantly competing for awards at different levels of competition. This was a group effort, however the responsibility was spread equally among the group. Yes, the more talented musicians were given the harder tasks (solos, etc.) but everyone had to know where their next move or next note or we would fail. This was a collaborative effort and was very successful in enabling the growth of all the students who participated. My third observation has to be relevance in the materials taught. Chinese Confucian teaching philosophy states that "when a superior man knows the causes which make instruction successful, and those which make it of no effect, he can become a teacher of others. Thus in his teaching, he leads and does not drag." (p.62) I remember doing worksheets in almost every grade which I felt had no relevance to anything. Spanish class was that way for me in high school, because I could never think of a situation in which I would need to know how to speak Spanish, and my teacher never explained the relevance of us learning the language, other than it was required. I did poorly in Spanish because it was not relevant to me. I also remember participating in projects and activities which were judged in contests or applied to real world problems. I always excelled the most when I knew there was a reason for completing the assignment at hand. My fourth insight is similar to the third but important enough to stand on its own. Standardized testing is meaningless if there is nothing at stake for the person taking the test. While Chinese educators may have used written examinations to assess student competence in subject matter (p.62-63), and although the Bush administration requires the states to administer standardized tests and do well on them to receive federal funding under the No Child Left Behind act (p.63), without stakes for the students, the test isn't reflecting anything or serving any purpose. Now I was a student who loved standardized tests when I was in school. I would do the best I could on them, and I couldn't wait to receive my scores to see if I was still in the top 1% of students in the state on that subject. The only reason I did well on test is I received feedback the next year and got to see how smart I was. With the MAPP tests, the students don't even get to see the results! It is hard to cover such a lengthy subject in such a short reflection, but I believe I have shared the four major insights I gained as student. Teachers who do not respect their students will not teach their students. Group projects are an ineffective teaching tool. Students will not learn the material unless you make it relevant to them. And finally, standardized tests will never accurately reflect anything until something is at stake for the students who take them. References |
