Entry #14 - Dec. 7, 1998

"Aha. The Viral Theory of Learning! If we expose the students to knowledge, the germ will gradually spread (without further effort of course)... Seems like the same theory some of the students are working under! There is a conundrum here, though."

I was helping a colleague with a math unit on transformations, and we were previewing the work in the textbook. She warned me of the types of errors the students would likely make when recording the "slides," and suggested a few procedures for labeling the moves to minimize the errors.

A little puzzled, I said "Sounds to me they don't really understand what a 'slide' is. Shouldn't we back up a step and have them use tagboard shapes, trace them and slide them on the paper and then record the movements? At least then we would know they knew what they were supposed to be doing...."

"Oh, very likely, but there's no time for that. We have to cover the course."

"What's gained by covering the material if only one or two student in the room get it? " (Me being devil's advocate again).

She shrugged, as if to acknowledge the validity of my point. "Well, what else can we do? Just expose them to it, I guess. Maybe it will make sense to them the next time around...."

Aha. The Viral Theory of Learning! If we expose the students to knowledge, the germ will gradually spread (without further effort of course)... Seems like the same theory some of the students are working under! There is a conundrum here, though. Is it better for the students to immerse themselves in some topics of the years' work, in depth, and really get a handle on the skills and content, applying them in some meaningful ways -- or should they "cover" the whole curriculum, skimming over the surface like a water spider?

I know what *I* think, but I wonder how other schools resolve this question? Some of us just brush off the inherent contradictions and carry on, doing our best to follow the direction the school or district has given us. But what is accomplished by much of this superficial make-work? Very little, I'll bet. If anything, I fear some children are learning that "school" is a succession of meaningless tasks, in which one muddles along, filling in blanks and relying on help from friends and wild guessing to get by. And then we wonder why they aren't "motivated?" Duh!

I'm sure other schools must do much more in the way of hands-on, active learning experiences, and less of the copy-from-the board stuff (although that has its place), but I think we forget these are KIDS and they need to get up, move around, and make noise. We had recess in the morning at my previous school for all grades, including the 7th and 8th, and it was time well spent. They blew off steam, had a chance to socialize and get some oxygen into their systems, and returned ready to settle down again. I think we'd have fewer incidents of running in the halls and so on if students had a legitimate outlet for that energy.

Something else we really need here is a guidance program. Apparently there used to be such in the "old days" but it has fallen prey to budget cuts, and now a guidance period is assigned to the homeroom teacher, but the expertise in helping students select schools and programs is missing.

We've done a good job in giving our kids a sense of self-worth, but this is often NOT tempered with realism. I had a glaring example this week, talking to one of my Grade 8 students about his high school preferences. This is a boy who has made some real progress but is definitely at a very low level (Grade 2/3) academically, and also short on self-discipline and work habits. He has decided to attend a collegiate (university-prep program) next year! This is the student who doesn't spell "the" correctly, read anything at all except under extreme duress, and is late to school every day, with lost and unfinished work. I sighed. Where to begin?

I asked him why he thought he wanted to go there, since he would be expected to do a lot of reading and writing; other than that he thought it would be "cool" he couldn't say.

His other teachers and I will talk to his family and try to open their eyes to other choices for him, where he has some chance of success.

Another student, very diligent and keen to succeed, is also interested in a collegiate program, but has decided on one with a good resource program for Learning Disability students. This student's work is low average now, but with the effort and resilience she has shown so far I wouldn't be surprised if she achieves her goals.

I recently re-read Steinberg's "Beyond the Classroom: Why School Reform Has Failed," which talks at length of factors external to school that influence academic achievement. The top influences? Hard work and time on task! Unfortunately he had some very unsettling insights into our priorities and values as a society that conflict with academic standards, and makes it clear we won't solve the problems we're seeing in schools without addressing these other things. Definitely food for thought.
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[EDITOR'S NOTE: Readers interested in this topic might also be interested in this concise, easy-to-read summary of recent research on effective teaching. "Good Teaching Matters: How Well-Qualified Teachers Can Close the Gap," (Thinking K-16 newsletter, Summer 1998, The Education Trust.) It's in PDF format so you'll need Adobe Acrobat to read/print on-line. You can also order a copy at the Trust website.]

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