Assumptions in Learning

Do all students have a capacity to learn? Absolutely! Does our education system provide the most effective form of instruction? Not always. Teaching at a struggling school, it is very easy for many teachers to assume that the students "just can't do it". I find this to be a completely unfair judgment of so many of our students. I KNOW that our students can succeed. I have to believe that, or I wouldn't be able head to work each morning. The question is whether WE, as the teachers in our building, have the tools to help them succeed. Are we providing them with the best education? Are we motivating them to WANT to succeed? Are we giving them authentic material that they can see pertaining to their life? I would love to say that we are, but the results are not reflecting this. Our methods are not working. So is that the fault of the students? No. As the teachers, adults and guides for our students, it is our responsibility to discover what does promote active learning in our school. The students take what we are giving them, but is what we are giving them right?

While reading Socializing Intelligence, I was able to completely relate to and see the effectiveness of the Asian cultures' ability to create learning-oriented environments rather than performance-oriented environments. Students in learning-oriented environments are motivated to ask questions, discover learning and simply "want to know more". This in turn leads to a higher level of ability, which in the end results in higher levels of performance. The public education system that I know of tends to begin with performance-oriented environments in hopes that "being successful" will spark motivation and ability. However, if the students are hindered early in the process, they will not be motivated and their ability will be stifled. That outlook on education was such an eye opener. At my school I have often said, "the students are doing everything we ask them to do, but are we asking them to do the right things?". To me, the answer is quite clearly "no".

As any important step in change, admitting the problem is the most difficult but necessary avenue to success. As teachers, we sometimes have to admit that as hard as we work, we may not be working on the right things. Though it may be hard to swallow, failure is not the result of our students, but the result of a process gone wrong. If the students are not learning, it's because we are not teaching it in a way that is most appropriate for them.