June 2010 - Pearl Lewis

Stop blaming the parents and teachers for students’ choices.

3 March 20118 June 2010 by Dr Lewis

Peter Hilts, in his article “Is it time to blame the students?” addresses an issue that many educators feel uncomfortable expressing opinions on. In this “politically correct” time that we live in, everyone is afraid to step on toes. Responsibility is commonly shifted from one person to the next, so no-one has to feel too bad for too long. Hilts boldly looks at that the statement “all students are all good all the time” and critically evaluates it from the perspective of the teacher. If students are not just to acquire knowledge as they grow in years, but are also expected to “grow up“, shouldn’t they be taught to shoulder some responsibility for their learning?

“If attendance, effort, and integrity are part of the problem in education, it isn’t fair to hold teachers, parents, reformers, unions, politicians, or the tooth fairy responsible,” says Hilts. He is to be commended for making such a bold stand on a sensitive educational issue. “Students who give partial or no effort to classwork, exams and standardized tests are mostly or exclusively responsible for their behavior. When a student who can attend skips instead, that student is responsible.” Certainly any education system has some disinterested teachers, or teachers who simply hate the work they do but refuse to leave it. Every society has some parents who actively discourage the educational growth of their children, or who simply don’t care enough to encourage it. But is it always the teachers and the parents fault when children don’t succeed at school?

As Hilts so insightfully points out, “responsibility has two faces”, and this is as true in the classroom as it is anywhere else. When a teenage student is offered the opportunity to learn and CHOOSES not to, shouldn’t they be the ones to accept responsibility for that choice?

Parents are the reason that students cannot hack the Math in Physics?

3 March 20115 June 2010 by Dr Lewis

$High school kids cannot use fractions.$ “Another physics teacher told me that students cannot hack the math in physics,” says Stewart Brekke in his article entitled, “Urgent Math Crisis in our Nation: Basic Math Deficits Affect Student Performance in High School Physics and Chemistry“. Is this an unusual observation for a Physics teacher? Brekke estimates that the USA “may now have over 100,000 high-school students who do not know fractions and decimals well enough to do high-school physics and chemistry successfully, let alone go on to college and pass a physics or chemistry course.”

There is clearly a problem on our hands – many teens cannot do basic mathematics. Where do we find the source of this problem?

Stewart Brekke speculates that part of the problem may be attributed to the elementary schools placing too much emphasis on reading skills and not nearly enough on basic arithmetic skills. Japanese elementary school students typically spend two to three times as much time on developing mathematical skills as their American counterparts. The result of this shift in priorities is evident. Stewart also believes that the “lack of a proper foundation at home” is also a significant contributor to the poor arithmetic skills observed in high school students. Sadly, many children enter first grade without being able to count to ten, and their progress in arithmetic skill development is severely hampered.

“It is not that parents do not care, for, on the whole, I have seen them show deep concern about their children’s education, but that many of these parents do not take the time to teach their children number facts nor reading skills. These parents must be informed early that their child’s success in school means that they must start educating their children before they enter kindergarten,” says Brekke.

Education systems all over the world invest vast sums of money into remediation of high school students struggling with poor basic skills. Yet high school Physics and Chemistry classes continue to shrink in size as teenagers avoid confronting the issues that stand in their way of understanding these subjects. Are we trying to solve a problem instead of preventing it? What would happen if more of the national or state education investment was used for programs aimed at educating the PARENTS of pre-school children, thus effectively equipping them to help their children develop the basic skills needed for future success at school?

Can parents make a difference at home? All indications are that if parents do not participate in the education process BEFORE their child enters the school system, they may in fact be contributing to their child’s future scholastic failure.

Does withholding knowledge stimulate or stunt learning?

3 March 20112 June 2010 by Dr Lewis

I love to learn new things, and am constantly on some mission of discovery. Over the years, I have tried to share my enthusiasm for learning with my students, and anyone else who will allow me to indulge my love of learning. I have just as eagerly shared what I have learned as I have shared my enthusiasm for learning. One of my greatest thrills as a teacher is to see curiosity light up the eyes of a student, and watch them begin their own journey of discovery. I don’t believe we are ever too old to learn new things. I do believe that as soon as we choose to give up the quest for knowledge and understanding we limit our relevance to society.

Earlier today, I interacted with an intelligent, interesting individual who often writes some thought-provoking articles. A recent article of his stimulated some study on my part and raised some questions, so I addressed those questions to the author, in the hope that he would help me understand his thought process better. He responded in a rather unexpected way. He indicated that he did indeed have the answers to my questions, but felt that sharing what he knew would discourage me from thinking independently and stunt my ability to aquire or generate knowledge. If he answered my questions, that would somehow make him guilty of spoon-feeding me.

How often has an intelligent, educated, and seemingly-wise teacher with a vast and valuable knowledge- and understanding-base quenched the desire that a student may have to learn simply by not embracing a desire to share? How often is the learning process retarded, because those who have the knowledge will not share it with those who do not have it? I have, at times, experienced this “what is mine is mine, and I will not share” attitude in the highly competitive research environment where it is believed by some that withholding knowledge grants power, and sharing knowledge weakens your position to dominate as a researcher. How often does this attitude seep down into the classroom environment where the goal should be to encourage everyone to learn as much as they can?

Are there teachers who withhold answers just to ensure that the students do not grow to know more than they do? Is this restricted sharing environment comforting for the teacher, and effective in stimulating the students to seek their knowledge elsewhere? Are there teachers who are not motivated to take up the torch of lifelong learning? Do our formal learning environments still accommodate teachers who have no interest in growing and developing, so they always have something new to share with their students?