First off, I really like the graphic novel as a medium (NOT a genre!), because of the implied content in the blank spaces between panels. My favorite is on page 17, where Mr. Bricker is unseen but apparently struggling with his task of cutting apples with a plastic knife, while Ms. Asile and Bill are discussing Quinn. Bill aptly states in response to Ms. Asile's comment that she is concerned about Quinn's ability to sit still and learn, "but he is learning--he's learning all the time. He's just putting things together in his own way." The scene ends with the plastic knife snapping in Mr. Bricker's hands. Should Mr. Bricker be labeled F.C.D (fruit chopping deficient) because he couldn't slice the apple? Should Quinn be labeled with a learning disability because he has a lot of energy and learns differently? On the top of page 27, Ayers states, "WHile working together, we need to learn to see each other as fully as possible". He then goes on to write about all the positive things he sees in Quinn--"enthusiastic participant in activities", "easy rapport with almost everyone", industrious, considerate...etc. The takeaway for me is that too often we jump to conclusions and think that we know what's wrong with our students before putting in the effort to learn about what's right with them.
I like and agree with most of the things Ayers writes about. I figured I'd comment on a few of my favorite quotes from the text.
1. Page 8: "projecting silver screen myths onto our students obscures the path to discovery". To the left, Bill is seen sitting with a bucket of popcorn at the movies; to the right there is a film reel that depicts cheering students as Bill rescues them from two guys in masks. I really think that too many teachers think that their jobs are actually about them, and that they need to be the center of attention. They need to be the experts who save the students from ignorance. But a teacher-centered approach deemphasizes learning and in a way, lets students off the hook.
2. Page 12: "goodbye to easy, unsatisfying answers", "welcome to learning as an act of construction and reconstruction". Too often (I think because most curricula require more breadth than depth), students are only exposed to the surfaces of many concepts. They are required to memorize a few things about a hundred different topics and then take a big multiple choice test at the end of the year that will measure what they "know". The problem is that they haven't learned anything of real value concerning the subject matter. But the student's (due to no fault of their own) think that they have in fact learned. Learning can really occur in classrooms where students can work to access those deeper layers of the onion. This may mean that they have to tear down what they think they have learned, and reconstruct a deeper, stronger version of a topic.
I have a few 9th grade biology classes this year. The students come to me not ever having done any real science. But they think they have. They have learned isolated tidbits about various areas of science, but they haven't ever been exposed to real scientific inquiry where they ask questions they are curious about and design ways to answer those questions. That's what science is, and to many of the students, this is a shocking revelation. On page 40, Ayers asks, "what would it mean to learn from the world and not just about the world?"
3. This last quote is related to the one above...on page 45 "I want to build spaces where (students) will develop the dispositions of mind that will allow them to shape and reshape the world." I completely agree with Ayers here. It's important that students are not given solutions to problems, but rather given the tools, and the time and space to practice working with those tools, which will allow them to find the solutions to the problems they encounter in their lives after high school. This will allow them to be self-sufficient and able to pursue knowledge in the future.
Look forward to the class discussion. see you later. Geoff
I'm looking forward to the class discussion too! Geoff, I knew that line about "but he is still learning" was going to resonate with you because you epitomize that scene in your classroom, pathways committee, and summer school. Students can't turn their brains off...
ReplyDeleteTo go off on a tangent for a minute, I found myself thinking about ATP last night after a pizza with my wife and then a pint of ice cream.... especially when I wanted it so bad, then ate it, and wanted to die. The worst part was I heard your voice in my head talking about my body recognizing an influx of potential energy and how it better store it as some fatty acids asap. Thanks bud.
Regarding your quote, "goodbye to easy, unsatisfying answers," I think that "easy unsatisfying answers" truly epitomizes our public education reality... or the reality of our students in public education. Students are grouped based on how well they can recall and organize "easy and unsatisfying answers" right? The best are honors students, the mediocre are mediocre, and worst are the worst. In fact, Ayers mentioned it with respect to the two curriculum cops and how they wanted to move Quinn as I recall. I think that there are few teachers that go against this reality, and in doing so, they put themselves way out on a limb with respect to students, parents, teachers, and administrators independently. In fact, these teachers are giving themselves a snowball's chance in hell at surviving the teaching profession solely for the benefit of their students (unless of course the teachers can't help themselves).
I'm concerned about how this idea of "easy unsatisfying answers" is playing out i my Algebra 1 classes. I think I have students that understand simple multiplication facts and those that don't. And I have to admit that I'm surprised that I knew more about multiplication in 4th grade than my current ninth graders do now, and that's not an exaggeration. In the first few days of school, my freshmen were saying things like 28=7x2... and when they correct themselves they say something like 7x3 or 8x2... These students are considered middle of the pack. So if any student is sitting in my class, and they know that 28=7x4, are they in the appropriate course? I think they are asking themselves, and soon they might ask me to "move up," while others have already contacted the guidance office and dropped my class for an easier one. My point, that took me all morning to say, is that these "easy unsatisfying answers" are the norm; they are the medium (am i using this word correctly?) that public education uses to place students and teachers. I do not recall any critical questions about multiplication from my students in the past few days.
In case I forget to mention this later... the optional literature by Frank Smith talked a lot about how kids are learning all the time and I made a note of it while I was reading Ayers.
ReplyDeleteOMG find a way to turn off this bot repellent-type these words thing.