Success is measured in lives transforemd

Success is measured in lives transforemd.

Why are we here?

Been gone for a while on training and teaching for our Biomed Program.  With school coming back I have started to think of a few things specifically “What is the purpose of school?” and “What make a good student?”

Let’s start with the first question, What is the purpose of school?  I believe the purpose of school is to help students become the men and women they want to be.  School is here for the students and not for teachers or parents or society.  If school does its job correctly teachers, parents, and society will also benefit but we need to focus on the needs of the students and not on the needs of the adults.

Over the past 20 years in teaching I learned that no matter the race, age, gender, or socioeconomic status that all students are the same; that they all have the same basic educational needs and seek answers to the same questions: “Why am I learning this?” ….“When will I ever use this?”

I realized that the only meaningful answer to these questions must come from the students themselves. The most effective way to help students arrive at these answers is by integrating relevant, rigorous and challenging curriculum with rich and varied real-world experiences.  For the past 10 years it has been my mission to develop not only project-based curriculum which meets quality standards but to engage as many community partnerships as possible. Through these partnerships, students recognize the relevance and connection between their program of study and future career choice.

Effective and rigorous academics in concert with high-quality real-world experiences enable students to answer their own questions, determine the type of men and women they wish to be, achieve their individual goals and dreams, and succeed as contributing of society.

When it is all said and done, we are here for the students. The students are not here for us.

Now let is focus on the second question, “What makes a good student?”  Good is a subjective term.  Usually a good student is someone that follows the rules, does all their work, does not ask difficult questions, never asks, “Why am I doing this?”  or says, “I did not do it because it is boring”.  A good student sits up straight, never causes a problem, and is more than happy not to think for themselves and to give the teacher exactly what the teacher wants to here.  A good student is one that is not too much trouble to the teachers and the school.

But is this really the type of people we need in the world?  Are these the skills we want our students to have years from now?  In school we seem more concerned with children that are well behaved than with children that are curious, caring, resilient, self sufficient, and self-aware.  If you are an over achieving teacher pleaser you are a good student.  If you are bored, tired, and not a teacher pleaser then you are called a “bad student” or a even worse “a bad person”.  Something I experienced me entire elementary school career.

As stated in It’s all about We, Rethinking Discipline Using Restitution,  Daine Gossen writes,  conventional teachers are not flexible and “Questions are seen as an affront to authority rather an opportunity to dialogue.  Challenges to the curriculum are frowned upon.  When there is jockeying for position the teacher searches for a more severe or unexpected consequence with which to surprise the student.”  Daine says that this can occurs when the product of education is homework and test scores and not on learning.

What is the purpose of school?  What makes a good student?  This is for you to decide.  Once you do accept the personal growth opportunity to make the necessary changes.