01/31/08
The two central questions posed within the session, “Is didactic instruction, accountability, and teaching to the test the best way to learn/are we really learning?” and “How does the culture of America impact the design and expectation of its educational system?”
As many of the class members are products of No Child Left Behind, the class contemplated how the legislation affected their primary and secondary education. “Given the current emphasis on accountability and excellence in test taking, were we really taught to learn?” and “Is the current emphasis on didactic instruction, in primary, secondary, and undergraduate programs, actually teaching us to be regurgitators?” are just two examples of the questions contemplated. Even as products of AP and Honors classes, we questioned whether we are/were intellectually challenged, as more often than not we find ourselves under whelmed by the academic performance we are asked to give. It is a pattern which began in our secondary schools and has continued on into our current studies.
Regurgitation is the path to a higher GPA, which means for many, entrance into graduate school. The goal then becomes not to learn, but rather how to look good on paper. Current research is just beginning to examine how students really learn. It can only be hoped that research is conclusive and listened to by our policymakers in time for our children to experience a better system than the one forced upon us.
Trinidad – A major difference between American education system and the Trinidad’s is the level of personal contact. Summer, our co-classmate who attended school in Trinidad, described the level of personal contact with her teachers. American teachers will pass you without recognition, but in Trinidad teachers remember former students and not just a face but more intimate details of the person’s life, goals, and previous achievements. They foster this attitude of interest and commitment to the students. This in turn compels students to return the teacher’s devotion and match the teacher’s investment in education with their own devotion. Because Trinidad is a former English colony, their educational material is the Cambridge curriculum, a far more rigorous curriculum than found in most American public schools. Example, tests administered in America are standardized, multiple choice exams, but in Trinidad a common test included the completion of an essay within a set period on time on a topic given just a few seconds before their allotted time began.
India – Discipline is a large part of the curriculum; corporal punishment is nto uncommon if a student provides the incorrect answer. Focus in placed more on concrete material, analysis of the abstract is not facilitated. Education is not a right; it is not guaranteed. Thus parents/family members pay for students and if you are fortunate enough to attend school, a return on the families’ investment is expected. Difficulty in securing an education continues into the post-secondary level. Only the top 1% of students are accepted into colleges and universities. In fact, the cut-off for acceptance to Business School can be has high as the 98% percentile.
In America, education is portrayed as a nuisance. Movies and TV demonstrate a system which holds students in confining institutions, restricting their pursuit of more pleasurable activities. There is a 'do-your-time' mentally. How are teachers expected to combat such a culture? How can we combat and challenge the culture to promote education?
'How can we close the gap between American educational achievements and European educational achievements?' should be a question asked as frequently as those posed by NCLB.
Discussion was based on the following readings:
-Review of science and technology academic standards for California, Pennsylvania, and Missouri -Fordham Foundation comprehensive review of state scientific standards
-National Center for Educational Statistics Higlights from PISA: Performance of U.S. 15-year-old students in Science and Mathematics Literacy in an International Context
-U.S. Leaders Fret Over Students’ Math and Science Weakness by Vaishali Honawar
Notes courtesy Jenn Conner
