I had always assumed that the education system was perfect, i mean itâs used to help mold the brains of billions of kids around the globe. As a kid, school holds a sort of authority over your life, itâs not really something you question. You assume everything is put into place to perfectly educate you and you peers, itâs a system you are taught to trust. However the older i got, the more i noticed instances that refute the previous mindset that had been put in my head for years.
An incident in specific that changed my view on education would have to be in the 11th grade. The summer before school started, I had been emailed my schedule for the school year. I remember reviewing my schedule, deeply focused on what classes i would have for the year. Wondering which of my friends would be in which period, and how many periods i had before lunch. I was pleased to see that i was accepted into my first AP class, computer science. Of course i was prepared for it to be difficult, not only because it was an AP course but because computer science involves a lot of math (which isnât a strength of mine). Fast forward about 2-3 months into the school year, something unexpected yet great happened to me. I was understanding and doing the work easily, even the math. This is because i work better with hands on work, opposed to other forms of learning. A lot of the material had been hands on up to that point, and it really made me more confident in my work and in my self. However i also realized that other kids were struggling either because 1. thats not how they were use to working or 2. because thatâs not how they worked best. This led me to the conclusion that even tho this may work well for me and others, that doesnât mean that itâs what works best for everyone.
At the end of every unit our teacher would do a survey just to get an understanding of where her class was at. I remember sitting at my desk typing on those cold MacBooks. Feeling like these surveys were unnecessary and a waste of time as i assumed the teacher wouldnât even consider anyoneâs ideas (none the less read all of them). The aforementioned survey would ask various questions such as âWhat was your favorite topic this unitâ, âwhat do you want to see next unitâ, and âAre there any lingering questionsâ. Another question being âwhat do you want to see changed next unit?â. Of course i put the usual such as âless homeworkâ or âmore extra creditâ as i was doing fairly well with how she was teaching up till that point. However iâm guessing multiple of my classmates asked for less hands on experiences, because as soon as the new unit took place thatâs exactly what happened. My teacher opted for less hands on work and for more written assignments and lecture type class periods. I then found myself struggling and frustrated that i couldnât work, i found myself exactly where i feared iâd be the summer before school started. This took a toll on not only my grades, but also my confidence in that course. Needless to say, some kids thrived in this new work environment and did a complete 360 in terms of grades.
Thatâs when i realized that the way weâre educated isnât perfect, you canât cater to every kids way of learning and you definitely canât please every student. However as an educator you have to find out what works for the majority, as the education system isnât an exact science. In saying that education isnât perfect, iâm saying that it wasnât made to perfectly resonate with every single kids way of learning. Some might have to work harder to grasp a concept than others, and although it isnât fair itâs OKAY. There are alternatives you can take on situations such as the one i was in. Thereâs lunch lessons, one on one talks, office hours, etc. Which is exactly what i did, i stayed after school a lot that year and even asked my teacher at the time for alternative ways of learning. Although at the time i looked at it as unfair that i had to work harder than others in order to grasp a concept, i quickly realized that just a few months ago other students were in my place. My teacher of course would not change how she taught the course to spite me, but she needed to do what was best for the majority.
Although we assume the best in the school system and other authorities in our lives, it is important to take a notice to this flow of value type trust. I made the observation that the education system wasnât perfect, and it changed my mind about education from there on out. I learned to rely on myself to understand things, because some educators ways of learning may not help me.
I most definitely understand where your coming from. Math has always been difficult for me when I am not getting a hands on experience and especially when I felt as if it was not broken down to my understanding.I liked how you gave us a idea on the reason to why Math has been a difficult subject for you. Also in my eyes you gave good imagery. I feel as if I was able to get a sense of the type of individual that you are based on the words you used , and how you described your style of learning. You seem as if you are a person who understands, and try even when things get difficult and in my eyes those are good traits to have. I found the 2nd to last paragraph pretty interesting because you gave the readers closure in a way. You told them that it was okay to feel the ways they felt, and it was okay for them to need an extra guide.
I feel as if you should add a little bit more when you talked about staying after school.
was staying after school beneficial for you. As in did you learn faster, or understood what the math teacher was teaching or was it the opposite.
Overall I feel as if you did a great job in telling your story, and telling use your experiences in school. I feel as if your last paragraph explaining your views on the education systems of today was important. Also how you talked about getting to learn more about your self is what stood out to me more. I say that because when it came to math , and in my story i had a very negative impact that changed my whole view on education in a negative way so hearing that yours was the opposite is kind of interesting.