We always hear the common phrase, "One size fits all," but does it really? In certain connotations it might; like if you're at a store shopping for some new clothes. There might be some t-shirts fit for everybody. However, in a school environment, that is not the case.
In a TED Talk given by Geoffrey Canada, he talks about how the school system has repeated itself for over 50 years, and clearly isn't working for students. He says, "One size fits all, if you get it, fine, and if you don't, tough luck. Just tough luck."
As he said this, I immediately thought about my own school. Now, I'm not trying to talk badly about it, but it's not perfect. I've noticed that our system feels very much like that saying; especially in math and science classes. I understand that it's hard to slow down the pace of a class for some students, but why?
Why should teachers just brush off the few students that still don't understand the content?
It was a struggle to get through my Algebra 2 class in my sophomore year. This was because when we took a test, there would be some students who passed with 100s and 90s, but the majority of the class either failed or got high 70s. Even knowing this, my teacher still moved on to the next unit, even though the majority of the class didn't know the previous content, or just barely understood it. He moved on because he was satisfied with just a few kids understanding it.
But this is a problem. In another TED Talk given by Sal Khan, he talks about how even though students will have gaps in their understanding, the teachers will move on anyway.
"On that test, maybe I get a 75 percent, maybe you get a 90 percent, maybe you get a 95 percent. And even though the test identified gaps in our knowledge, I didn't know 25 percent of the material. Even the A student, what was the five percent they didn't know?'
If I don't know 25 percent of the material and then we move on to harder units, and continue to get into harder units without me knowing the fundamentals, how will I understand it and learn it well?
Sal Khan suggest to change the school systems to mastery-based learning. I really like this idea because it helps students have a learning experience that is unique to them, not having them be put into a box and learn one way. This new system does sound like it could be difficult, but it would definitely be worth it in the long run.
Mastery based learning consists of students being able to work at their own pace, and not worry about a deadline on when they need to fully understand the content. That gives them enough time to fully master the material, hence the name 'mastery-based learning'. I, again, really like this idea because it would take the stress off of us students. I think it would especially for high schoolers because we are so stressed to pass all these classes because if we don't we won't get into the colleges we want to get into.
Citations
Canada, Geoffrey. "Our failing schools. Enough is enough!" May 2013. TED, TED
Conferences, May 2013, www.ted.com/talks/
geoffrey_canada_our_failing_schools_enough_is_enough/up-next. Accessed 22
Nov. 2019. Lecture.
Khan, Sal. "Let's teach for mastery-not test scores." Nov. 2015. TED, Ted
Conferences, Nov. 2015, www.ted.com/talks/
sal_khan_let_s_teach_for_mastery_not_test_scores. Accessed 22 Nov. 2019.
Lecture.
I agree, especially being in that class last year when only 3 students would pass the test, it shows most of the class didn't understand the material. I think that if teachers try to change teaching styles so we can fully understand what we're taught so we can do it in the future like on the midterm/final or another time. What can teachers do to change the classroom?
ReplyDeleteI love the one size fits all phrase. I remembering being in the same math class as you last year, and it was a major struggle. I didn't understand most of the math and after spending days in his classroom eventually went to the other math teacher for help so I agree with this 100% and love it!
ReplyDeleteThank you. I'm so glad I wasn't the only one feeling like this! I'm happy the other teacher was able to help!
DeleteI also agree that teachers should tailor their teaching methods to students. I am having a similar experience as you in my math class currently and I can see that my teacher isn't trying to help the students understand concepts but just get through the lessons.
ReplyDeleteMaybe, as students we should stand up and talk to the school board about ways to get more students passing in classes.
The bottom line is are the teachers or the students the ones who need to improve their habits?
I agree with what your saying and how the teaching style hasn't changed in years. Do you think grades and test scores would improve if schools were to change to this different style of learning? Would we keep the same grading system or get rid of grading all together? -Maurgan
ReplyDeleteDo you think that the reassessment plan is accounting for the idea of mastery you discuss? Is it possible for students to demonstrate mastery on every assessment? For me that depends on how you define mastery (which a discussion the school had a while ago when we were developing competencies).
ReplyDeleteYou mention thinking that such a system would be difficult. Do you know of any schools that are currently doing this?
Although I do agree with the majority of what you are saying, I do think that some of the stuff that you said in this isn't completely true. If you ask a teacher to go over something they will most likely will because they understand that if you're asking the question others most likely are and if you don't understand it at that point then at least in our school, you can go talk to them during acedemic advisory or after school. Not only that but you can also look in the textbook. sometimes the textbook does a better job than the person whos trained to teach.
ReplyDelete