Mr. C. is my teacher for the week and his post shows much concern in his classroom. He gave an assignment where the students had to analyze the Wisconsin union problems. They were to think and give feedback on both sides of the debate by reading from different news websites. I understood his concern since nearly the entire class failed to do as he had asked. Most students, including myself, have simply been taught to memorize and spit back the information. This project was an attempt for students to step outside of that box and really think and determine for themselves what side of the issue they took.
Getting children to think on a different level is going to be very difficult since they have been wired incorrectly for so long. Not that memorization cannot work, we just need to attain a higher brain stimulation for our students to have a chance to excel above the norm. I propose that we continue the trend that Mr. C. is trying to attain and through consistency with this change we will be able to get the results.
I was able to relate it as a baseball instructor. If I ask a child to throw a strike the first time they pick up a ball, they will fail 9 times out of 10. However, if I am consistent in my instruction, the child will certainly throw more strikes over time. We have to establish and create things that have not yet been programmed in their heads.
Mr. C was obviously more pleased in the results that he attained from his students on this project. They had to create their own ghost town and well as figure out why some of the ghost towns weren't there anymore. But, this was just to help them remember their vocabulary for the week and of course a few words from past assignments. I think Mr. C certainly went beyond his calling on this one to make sure the students could ace the test. His writing, this time, is of much more praise compared to the last one, which means the students definitely enjoyed the project and it was much more memorable.
Mr. C's Teacher Blog
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