I was reading the comments to David Kirp's NY TIMES OpEd piece, "How To Help Students Graduate." Boy, were they interesting. So many were in attack mode, especially some of the professors. Yeah, students can be erratic, impulsive, insecure, shy, hateful, egoistical, fearful, depressed, possessive, demanding, uninterested, bored, distracted, disinterested, haughty, immature, naive, Sure, they can be crammers, memorizers, procrastinators, grade-getters, corner cutters, maybe even cheaters. They can feel threatened, controlled, dominated, misunderstood. Truly, they make demands; they constantly desire to be noticed, valued, welcomed, wanted, connected, cared about, appreciated, heard, understood, seen. And, yes, many prefer to crack a keg rather than a book.
Gosh, they're so imperfect. What do you expect of them? Perfection? You won't find it. After all, they're highly fallibly human And, if you think otherwise, you're heading for a lot of frustration, resignation, and anger.
So many of us have convinced ourselves that we are such divorced-from-them-super-humans that we are divorced from reality and we don't get it. Do we really believe we're above all that? Do we really accept that we also are highly fallible humans? What do you think is the meaning of excuses, rationales, explanations I've heard and read such as "oh, it won't work" or "what will they think" or "they don't care" or "I'm not good at" or "I'm not comfortable with that" or "oh, I could never do that" or "It's too hard" or "But, I don't have tenure" or "I don't have to change?"
If we don't go into the classroom with an unconditional consciously positive mind, a hopeful spirit, and caring heart--welcoming and embracing whomever is in there with us--what are we doing? Where does the strength, dedication, perseverance, empathy, sympathy, and courageous action needed to bring to life that faith, belief, and hope come from?
We moan, groan, and blame that students are unprepared, that so many don't belong, that so many are among the ranks of the "letting anybody in." Do you think a lot of us truly belong in the classroom? Don't you think academic institutions are not letting anybody into the classroom to teach? Do you think that most of us are really prepared to teach? Want to blame wanting k-12 for student ills, blame, too, wanting graduate programs for a lack of training and preparation for classroom teaching.
If we're not skeptical about ourselves, as we are of them, if we're haughty and perhaps arrogant about ourselves, we're no match for the complex reality of the classroom. And, that human fallibility and complexity, on both sides of the podium, is the only game in town.
Make it a good day
-Louis-
Louis Schmier http://www.therandomthoughts.edublogs.org
203 E. Brookwood Pl http://www.therandomthoughts.com
Valdosta, Ga 31602
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