Technologic

Last class we had a fantastic discussion about how the educational system of the US, though helping create a standard level of knowledge, helps close off the imagination and restricts students from learning efficiently. I think that if we start students learning a large volume of things when they are younger, they will be able to escalate the rigor in which they work and the level at which they work as they mature. It is amazing to me how children in private schools often seem more knowledgeable and more well mannered than those of the same age in public schools. That is mainly because the expectations are higher, and the school is challenging students more. If students had the opportunity to learn individually on whatever subject interested them, I think their knowledge, and ability to find resources, would grow exponentially because students will WANT to learn. For example, I have often been the classic case of not liking my teacher and showing that in my class effort. Well, when I entered into my senior year of high school, my favorite class turned out to be calculus. Of all subjects, the most difficult class I was taking turned out to be my favorite. My teacher made calculus tangible by simplifying the pompous vocabulary of the text book writers and by making it fun. She gave us the basics and let us figure out how to work with it, while remaining nearby and offering help if we needed. She often prodded us with questions to make us find the answers, similar to what we do in class. Because of her teaching style, I became so interested in calculus that I did extra problems in the book and started to learn higher levels of calculus outside of the class; all of my extra work landed me an “A” in the class and a four on the AP Test. This relates back to what Nelson was saying about education and what we touched on in class: if students are interested in something, THEY WILL WANT TO LEARN! Gosh, I wish our class could set up a new education system, it would be awesome…