Training the Mind to Think

  

Schools have come a long way, but where do we go from here?

   Continuing the reflection on Albert Einstein's quote, "The value of a college education is not learning of many facts but the training of the mind to think," I will share some of what educators learned from the effects of Covid home schooling, but I will begin with what students shared about what and how they are being taught.

Unfortunately, sometimes students reported that they were being taught from out dated books, while others complained about the conditions of their schools.  However, they also complained about a pattern of work, stress, and unnecessary work.  As one student described it, outdated books, unending homework, and the challenge of balancing school life, social life, and family life, concluding with the need to lessen the load on students.  I remember that I was busy in high school, doing assignments, having certain responsibilities at home, and having a social life, but I don't really recall feeling, as that student described, having an unreasonable load "dumped" on me.  Is it really that different today?

Another student admitted that she and her classmates had smaller vocabularies, less facts and figures in their heads, less ability in math--relying on "sneaking out the phone" for the answers.  She recognized the reliance and admitted that technology had impacted her socially and psychologically.  She described not only herself but her friends as wanting everything-- and wanting it immediately.  Sadly, she also felt that real experiences had become less gratifying because they had already experienced life "through a screen."  A different student proposed that instead of studying textbooks there should be more interactive videos, websites, and games to keep kids interested.  However, other students acknowledged that the ease of finding answers online had limited their learning. 

Some students complained about having to learn things they will never use, being required to memorize information that will have no application in real life.  As one teacher said, kids are of the opinion that they know better than their teachers what they should learn.

The perspective of teachers is that there is a widening gap between honor students and everyone else, with little or no middle ground.  Even in preschool, teachers are finding undisciplined kids that curse, spit, and kick, and too often reaching out to parents to help curb misbehavior is of no help.

Older students rely on internet assistance, but teachers find that even then they ignore correction hints, failing to correct spelling, punctuation, and spacing.  One teacher admitted that she and her husband had decided to withhold technology from their son until middle school so that he could learn more independence in managing his time and learning.

Beyond the work students present, teachers have noticed discourteous behavior, such as dropping things on the floor rather than putting them in the trash, and when disciplined about such behavior, they reply that janitors are responsible to clean up.  As for doing their own assignments, many simply fail to complete their work.  Teachers complain that administrators disapprove of failing incomplete work, making it even harder to get students it do adequate work.  As for better students, teachers find that they often expect an A+ for every assignment, dissatisfied with a B, expecting a reward for doing the assignment without consideration of the quality of their work.

So, where do we go from here in education.  A summery in next week's blog will bring some hope from new ideas being tried.