Author: Hasani (Page 5 of 6)

I had always assumed that the education system was perfect, i mean it’s 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, it’s not really something you question. You assume everything is put into place to perfectly educate you and you peers, it’s 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 isn’t 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 that’s not how they worked best. This led me to the conclusion that even tho this may work well for me and others, that doesn’t mean that it’s 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 wouldn’t even consider anyone’s ideas (none the less read all of them). The aforementioned survey would ask various questions such as “What was your favorite topic this unit”, “what do you want to see next unit”, and “Are there any lingering questions”. Another question being “what do you want to see changed next unit?”. Of course i put the usual such as “less homework” or “more extra credit” as i was doing fairly well with how she was teaching up till that point. However i’m guessing multiple of my classmates asked for less hands on experiences, because as soon as the new unit took place that’s 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 couldn’t work, i found myself exactly where i feared i’d 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.

That’s when i realized that the way we’re educated isn’t perfect, you can’t cater to every kids way of learning and you definitely can’t please every student. However as an educator you have to find out what works for the majority, as the education system isn’t an exact science. In saying that education isn’t perfect, i’m saying that it wasn’t 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 isn’t fair it’s OKAY. There are alternatives you can take on situations such as the one i was in. There’s 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 wasn’t 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.

• One incident that changed my view on education would have to be in the 11th grade. I had been accepted into my first AP class, computer science. Of course i was prepared for it to be difficult but i thought it would be worth it and it was. I grasped concepts easier than i did in most classes and it all came easier to me. This is because i work better with hands on work, opposed to other forms of learning. However i realized that other kids were struggling because 1. Thats now how they were use to working or 2.Because that’s not how they worked best. I realized it was a huge step up for me but a real problem for them. At the end of every unit our teacher would do a survey and the survey would ask various questions and one would be “what do you want to change next unit?”. I’m guessing multiple people asked for less hands on experiences because that’s exactly what happened. I then found myself struggling and frustrated that i couldn’t work. That’s when i realized education isn’t perfect, and that it’s not meant to be perfect. You can’t please every student but you have to find out what works for the majority. Even if others might have to work hard to grasp a concept, that’s still how it should be looked at. Furthermore it especially made me realize that if education was an exact science neither me or another would struggle with grasping concepts due to wether we are a hands on learner or not.

My experience with various english languages like Jamila Lyiscott is almost exactly similar. I am Jamaican so at home i usually speak Patois which is a kind of broken english. I don’t just use it around my family though but around my peers that might come from the same background as me. However this isn’t considered the norm and seems unprofessional so i know how to code switch. A lot of the time i’ll speak it and people will look at me in confusion, either not knowing or being surprised that i speak anything other than “proper english”. Like i previously stated however, i do know how to code switch and adjust my english for other individuals. I know how to remove my accent and speak in “regular” english in a school environment or public environment. However around my friends i speak  like a regular teenage new yorker from the Bronx. I use a lot of unique slang that if i were to go to another state, they wouldn’t understand what i’m saying.

I don’t find either of these to be my proper or right way of speaking, They’re all facets which make up my speech. However i just know how to apply them based on my environment. Not always however as other people will hear my other accents slip through and acknowledge them. For example ive gone to virginia and my Aunt has noted that i have a strong new york accent, which i don’t hear because i’m so use to hearing it everyday. Or i’ll be talking in my house and all of a sudden i’ll speak “proper” english and my grandma will ask me if i’m a “Yankee” (A term in patois meaning American or non native to Jamaica). However something i thought was damaging growing up was being told to speak proper english, as if there was only one acceptable way and that America isn’t built on diversity.