#IMMOOC Week 1--> What do you see as the purpose of education? Why might innovation be crucial in education?
Mark Twain wrote, "I have never let my schooling get in the way of my education." What if schooling could stop getting in the way of education? I am in a unique position. I have not begun to teach at a school yet, so I answer this question through the lens of a student, as that is all I have ever known.
I'm not sure that I see schooling and education as synonymous. Maybe that is a problem. I have an "education" as they say. I finished college and am now working on a masters. I went to school. However, most of the education that serves me now in my everyday life did not come from school. It came from paying attention to life. It came from lessons taught by my horses, from watching my lawyer parents have a discussion about something which they disagreed, and it came from the therapist that taught me to reflect on myself and my actions. Not one of my teachers ever asked me to think about my reaction to something and how it could have been different.
School can never be responsible for the entirety of one's education. There have to be experiences outside of school. What school can do, is set students up to make the most of the experiences that they have. Schools must teach students to learn. No teacher can ever teach all the material there is to teach on a subject, but what they can do is teach a student how to learn all that they could ever want.
Many students are not leaving school hungry for more. They are not leaving school, for the day or for the summer, excited about taking the next step in their knowledge. This is why we need more innovation. I want my future students to lie awake at night thinking and reflecting on my class they had that day. As educators, we have to make what we teach matter. Seventh graders don't care that they algebra on a textbook page might one day be necessary. No one has shown them how it matters. They don't think it matters, so by the time these seventh graders become eighth graders, it has all been forgotten. We must innovate so the algebra keeps them awake at night.
I am privileged because horses already keep me awake at night. I have "the bug," as they say. In order to sell a horse I must be able to write an eloquent ad. In order to feed a horse, I must have a solid understanding of fractions and more extensive algebra. In order to spot pain or illness in a horse, I must have an understanding of how its body works. The math, science and writing that I learned in school helps a bit, but the transfer from school to real life was labored and awkward.
As a future educator of students of the horse, I will innovate in ways that will harness past experiences in order to contribute to new experiences. I will foster reflection that keeps goals in mind. There is no owner's manual for the classroom. We all must create our own drafts and never cease the editing process.
Mark Twain wrote, "I have never let my schooling get in the way of my education." What if schooling could stop getting in the way of education? I am in a unique position. I have not begun to teach at a school yet, so I answer this question through the lens of a student, as that is all I have ever known.
I'm not sure that I see schooling and education as synonymous. Maybe that is a problem. I have an "education" as they say. I finished college and am now working on a masters. I went to school. However, most of the education that serves me now in my everyday life did not come from school. It came from paying attention to life. It came from lessons taught by my horses, from watching my lawyer parents have a discussion about something which they disagreed, and it came from the therapist that taught me to reflect on myself and my actions. Not one of my teachers ever asked me to think about my reaction to something and how it could have been different.
School can never be responsible for the entirety of one's education. There have to be experiences outside of school. What school can do, is set students up to make the most of the experiences that they have. Schools must teach students to learn. No teacher can ever teach all the material there is to teach on a subject, but what they can do is teach a student how to learn all that they could ever want.
On an innovative university trip to study alpacas in Equador
Many students are not leaving school hungry for more. They are not leaving school, for the day or for the summer, excited about taking the next step in their knowledge. This is why we need more innovation. I want my future students to lie awake at night thinking and reflecting on my class they had that day. As educators, we have to make what we teach matter. Seventh graders don't care that they algebra on a textbook page might one day be necessary. No one has shown them how it matters. They don't think it matters, so by the time these seventh graders become eighth graders, it has all been forgotten. We must innovate so the algebra keeps them awake at night.
I am privileged because horses already keep me awake at night. I have "the bug," as they say. In order to sell a horse I must be able to write an eloquent ad. In order to feed a horse, I must have a solid understanding of fractions and more extensive algebra. In order to spot pain or illness in a horse, I must have an understanding of how its body works. The math, science and writing that I learned in school helps a bit, but the transfer from school to real life was labored and awkward.
As a future educator of students of the horse, I will innovate in ways that will harness past experiences in order to contribute to new experiences. I will foster reflection that keeps goals in mind. There is no owner's manual for the classroom. We all must create our own drafts and never cease the editing process.
Hi Sarah, Answering through the lens of a student is a powerful perspective to share with educators; after all, students are at the center of education. I loved this: "We must innovate so the algebra keeps them awake at night." - I concur completely!!
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comment! I am glad my student perspective made sense to an educator
ReplyDeleteI also love the phrase, "so the algebra keeps them awake at night." I've been thinking (and writing) a fair bit lately about celebrating and cultivating student passion. Sarah - I think this is what you are describing – when you are so passionate about something your mind continues to hum with thoughts about it, to the point that the excitement of the ideas might sometimes keep you awake at night. It sounds like you have that passion for horses, which will certainly help you cultivate it in your students!
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