These aren't popular notions, and more importantly they are not notions that I would normally suggest teachers go out and support. But I didn't say what was best for students, I simply said we could fix the education system if we believed these ideas. This way, we would squander resources on students who don't want to learn. We would stop holding back our high achievers so that the middle and lower kids can catch up. Most importantly, we would stop treating our middle students as fodder for lower achieving students to prey upon.
I do want to come back to this later, but what I really wanted to discuss today was this idea that every student can learn. Its just not true. Every child's brain can incorporate new ideas and therefore can technically learn. But to say that every student can learn is wrong. In order to learn that has to be a vested interest, desire, or need. It shouldn't be up to the teacher to define that need, create that desire, or identify that interest.
I teach very bright children, but they don't all learn. They seem to float by and when they suddenly don't understand something, its as if they haven't been present for weeks. They all of a sudden look around and realize that the little things they were missing all along weren't little and they now can't cope with their new reality.
Let me give you an example. Try to teach a kid to make Macaroni and Cheese.
You can't do it all at once, you first have to break this up into parts. So we will start with teaching them how to measure. And not just how to measure one thing but how to measure everything. Volume, length, mass, time, etc...
Then once everyone in the room can measure, we will teach them the different types of pots, the difference between cutlery and cooking utensils. Maybe we will even show them what a stove is and how to turn one on.
Then comes the time when the basics of cooking can be taught. Safety in the kitchen (hot things can hurt you, sharp things can cut you, etc..). After sending kids away who are not allowed to hear about such things (it is against their religion) or have caught up all the kids who were absent during the measuring or pot lesson; we then show them how to turn on the stove, stirr things and drain things.
Once everyone has that basics of the kitchen down, we then give them pictographs (because they all can't read the same language at the same level) of what they have to do to make macaroni and cheese. We will go over that they will have to place a specific amount of water in the bowl. Bring it to a boil, and then place the raw noodles in the pot. Stir the noodles for a specific length of time until they are cooked. Drain the noodles. Measure out the butter and milk. Tear the pouch of cheese and mix it in the original pot with the butter and milk and then add the drained noodles.
After you have gone over these instructions you may believe it is time to get some yummy mac and cheese. But here is where you are mistaken. Their hands will begin to shoot up, how much water do you measure? What do you use to measure the water? How do you measure the amount of milk? How do I know when the noodles are done? Where do I turn on the stove? Which pot do I use for the water? Where do we keep the milk? Do I have to stir the butter and milk? What do I do if I pour the cheese powder in with the water while its boiling, do I have to start over?
This may seem silly. In fact you may say, they just learned that stuff, they wouldn't ask questions like that, they would ask more important or more relavent questions. Or maybe they are just screwing around. Once you have been in the classroom for a while you will come to realize, that although some do ask more relevant questions, like how can I make better mac and cheese, can I substitute a higher grade cheese, can I use lower fat components for a healthier diet etc.. Most of the students honestly don't know how to do the things they are asking about. And although they may have passed their measuring test, or their where crap is in the kitchen test, they cannot use any of that information to help them mac the damn mac and cheese.
Today, at the end of 10 weeks of instruction which started with how to solve triangles using trig and ended with analyzing forces acting on objects in motion. The number one question was why did I use sine and not cosine. Something that was covered that first day. Worse yet the reason I start with trig is that the kids don't know it. Yet, knowing trig is a prerequisite to being in my class. It is something that I am supposed to count on the kids knowing. So not only did they have it once, it is being rethought by me before we start the lessons so that it will be fresh. Yet still, when all is said and done, they can't bring it to use.
What's worse, as a teacher when they ask about it I can't help but say, we have already covered that. You need to keep up. Its like when they ask, where are the pots, sorry, you can't make any mac and cheese because I covered pot and cutlery locations in a previous lesson.
