I recently wrote My Top 20 Education Quotes from 2009, but my favorite quote (perhaps even Mantra) for 2010 is from Will Richardson in 2008. A great thing about quotes is they can last forever...especially when you publish them. Here is the quote along with the post from where it came. A great read too btw...
"What I want from my kids’ school is to help me identify what they love, what their strengths are, and then help them create their own paths to mastery of their passions. Stop spending so much time focusing on subjects or courses that 'they need for college' but don’t interest them in the least. Help them become learners who will be able to find and make good use of the knowledge that they need when they need it, whether that means finding an answer online or taking a college course to deepen their understanding. And finally, prepare them to create their own credentials that will powerfully display their capabilities, passions and potentials."On My Mind & The Shifts 29 Dec 2008 11:00 am“Oh, and You Have a Degree, Too?”
I'm not sure I agree with everything in this quote. I think part of school is getting the opportunity to explore various subjects and sometimes LEARNING to love them. I used to hate language classes and thought I was really bad at language learning, but after about 8 years of having to learn a language, I started to really enjoy it and found that with the right attitude and learning materials, I'm now pretty dang good at it. Today, language learning is not only one of my greatest strengths, but also one of my most fulfilling passions. My point is, I think I could find myself interested in almost anything, given the right circumstances. Also, the most rewarding learning experiences I've had weren't honing my strengths - they were turning my weaknesses into strengths. I don't think we should underestimate the inherent opportunity in weaknesses.
ReplyDeleteAs for spending time "on subjects or courses that '[students] need for college' but don't interest them in the least," I agree that high schools may delve too deeply into some subjects, especially math, when the vast majority of students will never use math skills beyond what they developed in middle school and will promptly forget what they were forced to learn. I do however think that students should still have to learn a good deal of math, whether it interests them or not. In fact, part of what I consider a teacher's job is to effectively share their passion for the subject, so students can find it interesting as well.
I very much agree with the rest of the quote though - thanks for sharing!