Sunday, August 28, 2005
Your First Job, from Fischer Price
It is a tricky thing, to teach. Although I do not think that teaching is the profession it should be - first off, I do not think it should even be seen as a profession, an argument that goes back to disgust over the Sophists getting paid for knowledge, a state of affairs that those such as Socrates were sure that would lead to the abuse of truth - I am still captivated by the possibilities of improving the lives of my students, and therefore disheartened by the equal and opposite possibilities of failing them.
What, really, am I there to do? I must transmit the syllabus to the students, so they may get their grades and go to university. Education, 'the key to better things'. Is that not a grand and worthy sentiment?
And how might I do it? The tried-and-tested methods are exposition through the mouth and visual aids, worksheets, workbooks, textbooks, exercises. And the students will, as they work on these things, take in the knowledge. And as they practise exam questions they will get better at answering the questions. And their skill will be rewarded, and off they go, to learn more!
Is this not also grand and worthy?
I am, sadly, not so sure. To say that education merely facilitates getting to the next stage of education gives it no intrinsic value, merely a simple instrumental value. What if we say that the purpose of going to university is getting a job? Then the whole of education is to fit into the world, gain a skill and then a profession or expertise. Is this really what we wish to see of knowledge and learning, just means to make a living?
There is something more to it than this. We have always seen knowledge and learning as special, and I reckon that most people will admit that a definition of education as 'getting a good job' is not the whole picture. And my problem is how to gently expand the world of my students, to make sure that as well as good grades they are getting a good education.
"But don't grades mean learning and education?" Grades show how well you do on a test. And is learning not about what you can do, who you are, who you can be? Is it not more emancipatory than merely passing a test? Does it not fulfil you as a person in a way that merely passing a test does not?
I believe feverently in the need to learn, in the importance of knowledge, in how it makes us more than just 'a person'. It makes us into a receptacle for greater things, and then a creative force for greater things. Learning and education and a love of knowledge did not lead to Einstein passing a test, but to create and invent and think. (And also be a socialist).
So, expect me to wrestle with this problem. I will update you with my ideas of how to introduce psychology and A-Levels to my AS students, and my experiences in carrying out these ideas. My syllabus aims are to stress the difficulty of the subject, warn students it is not an easy option, tell them what they will be learning about, and to give the students a programme of the first part of the course. All important in picking up strictly syllabic knowledge.
My wider aims include provoking the students to question what psychology is, for themselves, and to attempt to form a preliminary concept. What is the definition of psychology, or what are the definitions, used in normal life - in magazines, on TV, in explanations of human behaviour and thought? What does it mean to say "I have to look good and buy expensive clothes to fit in", for example? And what do my students expect the academic definition to be?
It is important for me to find out what the students think, so that I may teach, and it is also important for them, so that they can learn. We will map out our expectations of each other and try to meet them - to aid this I will also draw up a code of conduct for the class,
And we will, finally, play some silly games and look at what Cosmopolitan magazine has to say on psychological issues. with the class. Because learning is a very entertaining enterprise if you do it right, the implications of knowledge are vast enough to include all types of fun.
And that is also a good reason why seeing education as passing examinations is not fulsome enough.
What, really, am I there to do? I must transmit the syllabus to the students, so they may get their grades and go to university. Education, 'the key to better things'. Is that not a grand and worthy sentiment?
And how might I do it? The tried-and-tested methods are exposition through the mouth and visual aids, worksheets, workbooks, textbooks, exercises. And the students will, as they work on these things, take in the knowledge. And as they practise exam questions they will get better at answering the questions. And their skill will be rewarded, and off they go, to learn more!
Is this not also grand and worthy?
I am, sadly, not so sure. To say that education merely facilitates getting to the next stage of education gives it no intrinsic value, merely a simple instrumental value. What if we say that the purpose of going to university is getting a job? Then the whole of education is to fit into the world, gain a skill and then a profession or expertise. Is this really what we wish to see of knowledge and learning, just means to make a living?
There is something more to it than this. We have always seen knowledge and learning as special, and I reckon that most people will admit that a definition of education as 'getting a good job' is not the whole picture. And my problem is how to gently expand the world of my students, to make sure that as well as good grades they are getting a good education.
"But don't grades mean learning and education?" Grades show how well you do on a test. And is learning not about what you can do, who you are, who you can be? Is it not more emancipatory than merely passing a test? Does it not fulfil you as a person in a way that merely passing a test does not?
I believe feverently in the need to learn, in the importance of knowledge, in how it makes us more than just 'a person'. It makes us into a receptacle for greater things, and then a creative force for greater things. Learning and education and a love of knowledge did not lead to Einstein passing a test, but to create and invent and think. (And also be a socialist).
So, expect me to wrestle with this problem. I will update you with my ideas of how to introduce psychology and A-Levels to my AS students, and my experiences in carrying out these ideas. My syllabus aims are to stress the difficulty of the subject, warn students it is not an easy option, tell them what they will be learning about, and to give the students a programme of the first part of the course. All important in picking up strictly syllabic knowledge.
My wider aims include provoking the students to question what psychology is, for themselves, and to attempt to form a preliminary concept. What is the definition of psychology, or what are the definitions, used in normal life - in magazines, on TV, in explanations of human behaviour and thought? What does it mean to say "I have to look good and buy expensive clothes to fit in", for example? And what do my students expect the academic definition to be?
It is important for me to find out what the students think, so that I may teach, and it is also important for them, so that they can learn. We will map out our expectations of each other and try to meet them - to aid this I will also draw up a code of conduct for the class,
And we will, finally, play some silly games and look at what Cosmopolitan magazine has to say on psychological issues. with the class. Because learning is a very entertaining enterprise if you do it right, the implications of knowledge are vast enough to include all types of fun.
And that is also a good reason why seeing education as passing examinations is not fulsome enough.
