Talking to an adolescent

Reflective Journal Entry 2: Talking to an adolescent

"The mind is not a vessel to be filled but a fire to be kindled." Plutarch (46 - 127)

"We cannot teach people anything; we can only help them discover it within themselves". - Galileo Galilei (1564-1642)

"It is not that students cannot learn, it is that they do not wish to" Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, 1991

The following impressions were gained by interview of a 14 year old boy attending year 9 of a high fee private school.

The most striking thing that came from the interview is that kids want to learn, they are strongly motivated to learn. Primary motivating factors identified were being able to get a good job and meeting parents expectations. Other factors listed were having an interest in the subject and liking to compete with fellow students.

Learning how to behave appropriately in society was also listed as a major reason for schooling. Specifically, this meant learning how to get along with other people, including how to handle conflicts with peers, to know when to walk away from an argument.

Having the skills for a satisfying and meaningful life was also mentioned. “You need maths for most careers. But you can also use these skills at home, in hobbies for example” so education is also seen as preparing for a full and satisfying life.

There should be no surprise at this high motivation to learn. The desire to learn is an essential feature of all young mammals. Kids are pre-programmed to learn, it is called play.

"Games are thus the most ancient and time-honored vehicle for education. They are the original educational technology, the natural one, having received the seal of approval of natural selection. We don't see mother lions lecturing cubs at the chalkboard; we don't see senior lions writing their memoirs for posterity. In light of this, the question, "Can games have educational value?" becomes absurd. It is not games but schools that are the newfangled notion, the untested fad, the violator of tradition. Game-playing is a vital educational function for any creature capable of learning."
Crawford, The Art of Computer Game Design
http://www.vancouver.wsu.edu/fac/peabody/game-book/Coverpage.html

Kids thrive under an inspiring teacher and can work around an average teacher but a poor teacher can really kill learning.

What are the attributes of a good teacher? A bad teacher “has poor classroom control and you don’t learn anything”. A good teacher has a relaxed attitude in the classroom but can maintain control of the classroom. It’s actually the teachers who are uptight, insensitive or poor listeners that have poor classroom control. If the teacher can make the learning interesting, then classroom control is much easier. Then the learning happens. Kids want the learning to happen.

The teacher must teach to the whole class and be sensitive to their needs. For example, the teacher should share attention equitably between different ability groups.

Good teachers make learning interesting. They do funny stuff, they play along with kids, they have an instinct about to how to relate to the different ability levels in the class, they are inclusive.

How does this kind of teacher maintain their authority? I was unable to get a clear answer. A skilled teacher seems to know what the limits are when it comes to mucking around. I expect that a teacher has some natural authority, this is because kids want to learn and a good teacher can help them towards this goal.

Bad teachers “repeat everything a billion times”, they use needless repetition. Good teachers can present the same content but vary it by adding other elements and adding interesting side content. An example is the ball game. The teacher throw a ball and the student who catches it has to answer a question. “It works”. Another technique for learning vocabulary is to vary the task, one time they have to spell the word, next time they have to give the meaning.

What are the attributes of a bad teacher? “She was really mean to the kids did not listen to their needs. If a kid was crying, she would not listen to them and see why they were crying, she did not listen to what kids had to say, she would just yell at them, she had unrealistic expectations.”

What makes a good school principal? “Principals should listen to what students are saying about their teacher”. The kids can’t go to the principal and say “my teacher sucks”, so the principal must be a good listener and a good observer.

My final impression is that I could be a better listener. Listening to the tape, there are a few examples where I interrupted with a question and things might have developed nicely if I had said nothing.