Empowering Education
Ira Shor
Quotes
"Education is more than facts and skills. It is a socializing experience that helps make the people who make the society" (Shor 15).
Schools today have become more about who has the highest test scores, or who can memorize the facts. In reality the education you receive at school should be how to socialize with other human beings because those are the people who are going to makeup the adult society. While reading this article it mentions that when children are trying to learn they communicate to adults to find out when they want to know. Once these children become school aged they are then supposed to learn by memorizing facts and taking tests and eventually they lose that concept of socializing to find out when they want to learn.
"Participation is the most important place to begin because student involvement is low in traditional classrooms and because action is essential to gain knowledge and deep intelligence" (Shor 17).
Our class is a prime example as to why participation is important. Personally I have never had a class that wanted the student's full involvement when discussing topics. It has always been take notes, do papers, if you have questions ask. There was never a time where they wanted to know what we were thinking. By having lecture type classes where student involvement is limited I believe somewhat creates the anxiety come people about talking in class. Of course people are always going to be shy, but starting in elementary school it was always the teacher talking in order for the students to learn. Having teacher taught classes makes harder for shy people to become the talker of the class. This class has been the complete opposite in that aspect and honestly I don't think I've ever learned so much from one class.By having the ability to participate we are able to do more critical thinking and link what we are learning to our everyday lives. Having discussion based classes has definitely been one of the best ways for me learn and I wish my other classes were set up more like this.
"While a participatory classroom cannot transform society by itself, it can offer students a critical education of high quality, an experience of democratic learning, and positive feelings toward intellectual life" (Shor 29).
Society can't change by having once class that actually makes you use your brain and form your own opinions. More classrooms starting at an early age need to take this approach because more people are able to connect their lives to what is talked about in the classroom. Once students can relate to something in another person they are then able to better understand a situation, or even just feel more comfortable in the classroom.This can be related to Gerri August "Safe Spaces" in how if children have the ability to form relationships in the classroom they are able to have an easier time talking to their teachers if there is in an issue and the potential of making strong bonds with their peers. Having peers who know and understand each other makes a classroom safer and children more likely to contribute to what the topic is and then this has them critically thinking about what they are learning about.
Quotes
"Education is more than facts and skills. It is a socializing experience that helps make the people who make the society" (Shor 15).
Schools today have become more about who has the highest test scores, or who can memorize the facts. In reality the education you receive at school should be how to socialize with other human beings because those are the people who are going to makeup the adult society. While reading this article it mentions that when children are trying to learn they communicate to adults to find out when they want to know. Once these children become school aged they are then supposed to learn by memorizing facts and taking tests and eventually they lose that concept of socializing to find out when they want to learn.
"Participation is the most important place to begin because student involvement is low in traditional classrooms and because action is essential to gain knowledge and deep intelligence" (Shor 17).
Our class is a prime example as to why participation is important. Personally I have never had a class that wanted the student's full involvement when discussing topics. It has always been take notes, do papers, if you have questions ask. There was never a time where they wanted to know what we were thinking. By having lecture type classes where student involvement is limited I believe somewhat creates the anxiety come people about talking in class. Of course people are always going to be shy, but starting in elementary school it was always the teacher talking in order for the students to learn. Having teacher taught classes makes harder for shy people to become the talker of the class. This class has been the complete opposite in that aspect and honestly I don't think I've ever learned so much from one class.By having the ability to participate we are able to do more critical thinking and link what we are learning to our everyday lives. Having discussion based classes has definitely been one of the best ways for me learn and I wish my other classes were set up more like this.
"While a participatory classroom cannot transform society by itself, it can offer students a critical education of high quality, an experience of democratic learning, and positive feelings toward intellectual life" (Shor 29).
Society can't change by having once class that actually makes you use your brain and form your own opinions. More classrooms starting at an early age need to take this approach because more people are able to connect their lives to what is talked about in the classroom. Once students can relate to something in another person they are then able to better understand a situation, or even just feel more comfortable in the classroom.This can be related to Gerri August "Safe Spaces" in how if children have the ability to form relationships in the classroom they are able to have an easier time talking to their teachers if there is in an issue and the potential of making strong bonds with their peers. Having peers who know and understand each other makes a classroom safer and children more likely to contribute to what the topic is and then this has them critically thinking about what they are learning about.
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