Week 10 - Class 10 Folder

"For many students, education remains an experience that is dehumanizing, distant, and decontextualized... When we are treated as human beings who have the right to tell our stories and have them heard as well as having the right to be creative, very productive learning environments emerge." (Love)


We have made this point a number of times during class and I've heard this from my siblings, friends of mine, and even strangers; who wants to learn about something when it doesn't apply or relate to them?  I think about Tim in this case.  Tim is really struggling trying to find the connection between this course and PE.  I look at my friend Steph who is a psychology major but has to take a math course.  Even in Kozol's book students like Pineapple and others aren't asked their opinion, aren't asked about their wants and needs, aren't asked about what they'd like to do in the future and that's a shame.  When children tell their stories whether it be through art, music, drama, or writing and can connect to the curriculum in some way that IS when productive learning environment emerge.  Isn't that what we see in Finland?  


"It's not uncommon for my high school students to read at a 2nd- or 3rd-grade level, ...write without a punctuation mark on the page. But just because students lack skills doesn't mean they lack intelligence. My duty as a teacher is to attempt to coax the brilliance out of them." (Christensen) 


First off, it's really unfortunate that students in high schools are reading and writing at the level of second or third grade.  That's clearly a flaw in the system.  On another note, what Christensen has to say is really inspiring to me.  So many people have fallen into the mentality that intelligence is defined by the skills someone has or doesn't have.  The author Christensen reminds me of my EDTE 210 professor Dr. Clark who could be one of the most amazing people I have ever met and she definitely inspires me.  I'd like to be like Dr. Clark, Erin Gruwell (the teacher from Freedom Writers), and Christensen because they see the potential in every child and wants to "coax" it out of them.  People like this make me want to be a teacher because they're bringing out change in such a brilliant way.     


"Yet only through communication can human life hold meaning. The teacher’s thinking is authenticated only by the authenticity of the students’ thinking. The teacher cannot think for his students, nor can he impose his thought on them." (Friere)


This quote defines this course, at least in my opinion.  I say this because, our course started with Dr. Love saying that this class is not meant to force a certain way of thinking upon us put simply provide us with the facts and research of where education stands today.  Dr. Love has also encouraged us in our teaching weeks to do more than give information to our classmates and have us regurgitate it back but encourage critical thinking.  I feel that in education today the Banking Model of education doesn't work.  Like Friere says, "only through communication can human life hold meaning" and I believe in that.