December 2, 2011

Real photo.

I feel pretty today. Haha. Editing: cooled the temperature down (I used a lamp as lighting), smoothed skin a little, cropped, little bit of contrast.

There's something that I wanted to clear up about my post from a couple days ago.

First of all, I'd like to apologize if I upset any of my teachers from high school who read my post. I honestly should've been more sensitive t how you may have interpreted what I said. So, if you took anything that I said personally, I'm sorry and I'm hoping to explain myself a little better now.

The flaws that I pointed out are not the result of failed teachers. They are the result of the system that has been in  place for far too long that our teachers have to fight with every day. They are also the result of a culture that has caused students to disrespect authority figures and essentially attack anyone who doesn't fall into their category of "cool", "normal", or "acceptable".

The fact that you are reading this at all proves that you're the exception. Thank you for genuinely caring about your students, even after they've graduated. It's teachers like you who help keep the students in this system above water.

I want to take my statements and explain them further. One of my least favorite things is giving people the wrong impression, and I feel like that's exactly what I may have done.

So, here we go.


-There is one right answer.
-To work with others is cheating.
-The only way to measure knowledge is with a #2 pencil
-The goal is to get the right answer, not necessarily to learn in the process.


I fully realize that this is not the way that teachers want to teach. It is the way they're being forced to teach, so that their students can meet the expectations set for them by the state. The last statement is referring to the fact that standardized testing requires you to memorize answers, and then select "the best answer". These are really not so much about the teachers, but about the testing. 


-Getting something done early will be rewarded with sitting in class with nothing to do.
-Getting something done early will put you at a disadvantage, because the teacher will help you later on.
-Trying to accommodate many learning styles will result in neglecting all of them.
-Expectations are set for the class as a whole, not individuals, to make things "fair".
-Exceeding these expectations is an unnecessary waste of your time.
-The most common learning-related trait I have with other people is my age.


These are really fueled by the conditions set by my last statement in this cluster. Students are sorted by age- not by their maturity, academic skills, learning styles, etc. In order to have "no child left behind" in the classroom, teachers sometimes have to compromise. Everyone is forced to work at the pace of the slowest (not even insinuating that slower is a bad thing) style in the classroom so that they aren't left behind. This means that the students who work at a faster pace are forced to slow down. Also, every teacher handles this differently, and I have definitely had some handle these situations far better than others. 


-Speaking up in class will get you ridiculed.
-Getting the answer wrong will get you ridiculed even more.
-Being different will get you ridiculed.
-There is no need to be original.
-Being an introvert is not as good as being an extrovert.


All of these points are based on our culture today. Again, every teacher handles their classroom differently. I was in a couple classes where students would be openly mocked and laughed at if they spoke up, but I also had classes where any sort of disrespect was absolutely not tolerated.

-Wikipedia is useless.


This one is just a specific little detail that bugs me. While it isn't appropriate to cite Wikipedia as a source of information, it is a great place to go to find sources. Every article has sources listed at the very bottom.
I wish that teachers would've explained this rather than just using the blanket statement of "Wikipedia is bad". But with all the other things they have to deal with, it's really just a minor detail.

-Talking about sex in the classroom is inappropriate and students are not mature enough to handle it, except when in the Health Education classroom. (Even though nearly 50% of high school students in 2009 had lost their virginity by the time they graduated. I also have to say that my Psychology class was an exception, but it's very possible that this was only because I had an exceptional teacher.)


A lot of students aren't mature enough to handle talking about sex in an academic setting. This is also one of those "pointing fingers" situations. Who's to blame for this? Parents? The school system? Our culture?
There is no answer. Sex is still a relatively taboo subject when it comes to the classroom setting, and there's nothing that can really be done about it without a major culture change. In the ideal world, we could talk about sex because parents have already had the discussion with their kids, and the kids know their moral stance on the issue- regardless of what the stance may be.


-Religion and moral values have no place in the educational system.


Culture. The end.
Actually, not the end. It is culture. But I haven't given my teachers enough credit. My classrooms were always places where mature moral debates were welcome. It was always pressure from the students, not staff, that made the topic uncomfortable. I also know many teachers who live their faith without upsetting students who have different beliefs, and I respect them for that far more than I've ever expressed. You know you're doing it right when people can tell that you're a Christian (I use "Christian" because that's my experience) even though you've not said it out loud.
I also greatly appreciate staff members who sponsor student groups. It means a lot to know that there are adults at your school who hold the same beliefs as you.

-Teaching grammar has to be dull, boring, and painful. Consequently, the students won't learn anything if it's taught. (Counterexample, The Oatmeal. They have tons of awesome, hilarious grammar cartoons.)


It's just the way it's always been done, I suppose. And students will always face grammar with a closed mind because it's just what they've been taught to do. This, again, is not the fault of anyone in particular and I'm sure that there are plenty of teachers out there who do teach it well.
For example, my freshman English teacher used to talk about the grammar taco. The students whined about having to do grammar anyway.

-Dress codes are irrelevant, unless you're an involved student who should be "setting the example".


Okay, this one was just because I've watched it happen. I should mention that I know (and ALL the students know) a good sized group of teachers who will hold students accountable for the way they dress. Enforcing the dress code is sort of like bailing water out of your canoe with a spork. When the weather gets warm, the short shorts will be rampant.
The issue is when the "good" students are the ones being punished. They're being held to a higher standard which is nice in a sense, but it's not right. Appropriately dressing yourself is something that everyone should be able to do. Everyone should be held to the higher standard.

Or just get rid of the dress code. (Heh. Heh heh.)

-A teacher's seniority is more important than their ability to educate.


This one is because of something in particular that I've experienced firsthand. I had a class my freshman year where we mostly watched irrelevant Youtube videos. We hardly had tests, and everyone passed them even if you knew none of the subject matter. I literally learned NOTHING from that course.
The real kicker is that everyone knows exactly what class I'm talking about (even though I really don't want to call anyone out). Yet nothing has been done about it. 






As a final word, please don't assume that my entire education to this point has been miserable. I can completely see where one would get this impression based upon what I've said. However, this is not the whole truth. I've been blessed with many phenomenal educators. There are amazing people who I really respect working in the school system.


By saying what I did, I was really just venting as a student who had to watch some of my teachers struggle to do their job because of the restrictions placed on them. And again, I really am sorry if I upset anyone. It was definitely not what I intended.