You shouldn’t have to suffer because you want to learn.
I think our system has fundamentally gone wrong in the fact that we put more importance on the answers you know to give than the questions you ask.
I’m a teacher and I’m not a fan of curriculum. The information is given to be taught in one way. You don’t fit that specific way of learning? Too bad, you fall behind, because we have to move on.
I refuse to see my students not get what I’m saying; I adapt how I teach based on who’s in class. I take the main theme of the day’s lesson, and I go with the flow of the group to get my message across. I’m lucky enough to have that flexibility since I teach a smaller group of kids, aged 11-13, in a Sunday school youth group.
I’m a student and I’m not a fan of curriculum. My least favourite thing to hear in class is:
“We don’t have enough time for more questions – we need to move on.”
I’m fine with visiting a professor outside of class time to ask my question. But I know that not everyone is willing to do that, which is unfortunate.
I love learning. I flip through textbooks at the beginning of the semester and read whole chapters if the content is interesting. I watch TEDtalks in my free time. Both fiction and nonfiction fill my home library. I’m not trying to come off as all high and mighty, I genuinely adore learning.
However, I don’t enjoy panic attacks and high levels of stress before a test. How can you fairly judge a group of individuals with various learning styles to be tested the same way? I thank my lucky stars that I know what my studying style is and how to prepare for a test, or else I might be in a very different place today.
Before every test, I jokingly say that it would be so much easier to take the test via interpretative dance. I’m not expecting an outlandish request like that to be fulfilled, but it wouldn’t be so awful if students had more options in how they could convey their knowledge. Schools make accommodations for students with specific needs or disabilities – what’s so difficult about fitting a student’s learning style?
I know full well that money, time, and bureaucracy all get in the way of the above, but isn’t school supposed to foster each of us to our highest potential – not weed out the weak and forget about them along the way?
I’m not in any way suggesting that we tear down the entire education institution- I just don’t see how a singular, standardised system should be a major factor in how your life turns out.
See You at BU 