In Ken Robinson's video "Changing Education Paradigms", he
talks about how schools lack creativity and are too rigid in instruction. I
agree, teachers should have more freedom in their instruction. I think there
has to be some sort of guidelines or standards to ensure the correct content is
being taught, however I think there is too much pressure on teachers to all
teach the same way according to government constraints. Teachers know their
students better than anyone and not all students are the same. My third grade
class is not going to learn the exact same way that my friend's third grade
class learns. I also strongly believe that there is too much emphasis on
standardized testing. Some people do not perform well under pressure, among
other factors, and therefore score low on a test when, in reality, they know
the material well. How can we tell students to be creative and encourage
movements such as STEM, but then put a cookie cutter test in front of them that
determines important decisions such as whether or not they advance to the next
grade level? I think there are better, more creative ways to display
knowledge.
Teachers should also not have so much
pressure to teach a concept a certain way. Teachers should be able to teach
concepts, such as how to add fractions, whichever way they think makes the most
sense for their specific students. If a student struggles with that method,
encourage a different method that makes sense. Students should not be
constrained to one method of solving problems. Different ways of thinking
should be encouraged. How will students learn to be unique if they are
constantly being compared to numbers? I believe the change starts with us, the
teachers.
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