We have become so reliant on a system of numbers because we know of no, or are unwilling to create an, other system to test what we know. A huge issue with teaching for tests is the fact that they end up measuring not how smart a person is but, “how much smartness someone has” (Postman 183). In order to be “smart”, a student must be able to use concepts in different situations, a skill that is often lost in the need to pass basic tests. In classes like math and chemistry, when pressed for time, I will simply memorize a process for solving something instead of understanding the concept, because I need the good grade.
Further, in this test-based society, we end up decreasing diversity in schools because we are unwilling to hear stories, and other ways of doing things. In public schools, the use of “Common Core” learning, promotes one way of doing something and one curriculum. This strict curriculum is unable to charter to the needs of different schools in different areas. Teachers will use textbooks and have students copy notes. Students can only ask a few questions because teachers are focused on getting through all the material, as well as catering to the majority of students. Postman finds textbooks to be “enemies of education”, because they promote “trivial learning” (Postman 116). Education comes down to an equation: memorize facts + take exams = good score.
However, the question then arises, what’s the point? How does knowing these facts in anyway prepare students for the real world? Further, if a student already knows what they want to do for their future, is it necessary for them to take “required” classes they don’t need, if they demonstrate proficiency in them? Another question: how would proficiency be demonstrated? Yet another test? The twenty-first century has created a public based on quick results. People are interested in learning material to get a good score and then moving on. No one has time for the process that learning and education should be. We become so caught up in the trivial stuff, they begin to seem increasingly important.
Works Cited:
Postman, Neil. The End of Education: Redefining the Value of School. New York: Knopf, 1995. Print.
I agree with you; we often prioritize learning in order to keep their GPA up instead of learning something we'll need to know in the future. We all have to learn intricate formulas and information in order to move on in life and never use that information again. It's pretty sad to think that we're spending all of this time studying for things that most of us will never see again.
ReplyDeleteI agree with your statement about having a common core and how it undermines diversity. If we are all apart of one system that doesn't allow us to learn material that will help us later on, how can we be expected to grow? Great post.
Common Core is definitely an interesting new development in education--and for some, a worrisome one. For those in my discipline, we see the beginning of a devaluation of literature. Knowledge must be of immediate practical use in the worldview of the Common Core--and literature seldom is.
ReplyDeleteThe "trivial learning" issue is also an important one--I always try to ask my freshmen students "why are we reading this?" I try to let them know that I realize that whether or not they read and remember Candor, Pride and Prejudice, etc. is totally not important to their future lives. But the skills they may gain in writing, reading, speaking, and listening ARE transferrable.
Coming from someone who spent 5 years in public school, I wholeheartedly agree with your response. At my middle school and old high school, the Common Core curriculum was practically the Bible--everything we did was centered around it, and there was no straying from it. The point you made about education coming down to a simple equation couldn't be more accurate. We were taught only the information that we would need to know to pass the End of Course exams, because in public school, it didn't matter how well you did during the year; if you didn't pass the EOC, you didn't get credit for the class. After I took my biology EOC in late April, we quite literally didn't learn anything else the rest of the year; our exam was over, so what was the point of learning new material? It's interesting to realize that our academic success is defined by something as small as a number that translates to a score, but that's the world we live in. You did an excellent job of supporting your point. Well done!
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