Monday, June 11

Positive and detrimental values


                Sarah’s ethics in education class recently asked her to communicate two values: one of the most important we can teach and one of the most detrimental. I’m trying to talk her into guest writing on this blog to tell you her answer, which was thoughtful, well-communicated and intriguing, so I won’t tell you what she said. But she asked me what I would have answered were I in that class and I wanted to get other’s opinions on my answer.
               
                I believe one of the most detrimental values we teach our students is how to work the system. More specifically, students learn how to cram for a test the night before (or morning of) and then promptly forget the information as soon as the test is over. Trust me, I’ve been there. And at the time, it seemed like a smart idea. After all, a lot of students think if you’re smart enough to beat the system, why not. Beating the system can be a skill all its own.
                But having been there and graduated, I can also tell you this system of learning hurts students in the long run. Whatever information they were supposed to have learned, they have to relearn in college, or in the real world. I’m currently studying for the GRE, and let me tell you, I wish I had paid more attention in math (and taken college algebra, but that’s a different story).
               
                To counter this value, I chose teaching the benefits and importance of knowledge. If students valued knowledge, this cramming-and-forgetting culture could be replaced with people who are prepared for college, trade school or the work force, and adults who are prepared to teach any subject to others, or especially, their children. This would be particularly beneficial if you paired a love of learning with the ability to find information for yourself. Knowing how to and where to look for what you don’t know (and having the patience to do it) could give any student the tools to succeed. Cramming-and-forgetting culture does not.

                I have to admit, I don’t know how you would shape the education culture to fit this. The only idea I have stems from my high school Spanish class. Dr. V (I know, who has a PhD in a 1A school?) required a lot from us. She expected us to study daily and to understand the material thoroughly, and her tests were comprehensive. If I’m not mistaken, students regularly failed her classes. Perhaps if we expected more of our students, we would have better results. But I’m not sure if that promotes the culture of valuing knowledge. I’m not sure what would.

                I’m interested to know how others would have answered the question in Sarah’s class. What is one of the most important values we teach, and what is one of the most detrimental values we teach?
                

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