Give a man a fish, and he’ll eat for a day. Teach a man to fish, and he’ll eat for a lifetime. Best of all, go fishing with the man from the time he is young. Talk to him about the rivers, streams and lakes, the forest, and life away from fishing. He will not only eat his fill for a lifetime: he will enjoy fishing, appreciate his surroundings, and be eager to pass his knowledge on to the next generation.
The most important part of education is the person to person contact. Teaching provides an opportunity to pass on the important aspects of the culture that must be maintained over generations. Parents are often too busy to model being a good human to their children. Television, movies, and the rest of pop culture are more than willing to fill the void, but they don’t do a good job of providing decent role models. Attempting to give a student all of the information she will need in life is as futile as giving her a really big fish in the hopes that it will be enough food for her. The ability to learn is infinitely more useful in her life than an encyclopedia of knowledge. Grade by grade, subject by subject, it is imperative to model the learning process. Finally, it is important to give students the knowledge. They must be taught in varied, richly textured ways, so that they truly learn. Facts that are memorized and regurgitated are as useless the next day to the mind as fish going through that process would be to the body.
No matter what future a student pursues he will be a member of the human race, he will need to learn, and he may have some use for the subject matter. As such, it is imperative that he be taught to be a good person, respectful of his environment and those in it. Secondarily, he needs to know how to learn; how to discover the good fishing holes, how to study patterns. Finally, he needs to learn the facts specific to the various curricula; he must be able to bait a hook, reel in the fish, and gut it. If taught well in these areas, he himself will want to teach. Part of the thrill is the tug on the line, but what really keeps them coming back is the company.
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
Should we pay for scores?
“When you live in an affluent neighborhood, you see automatically that education pays off. When you live in [a low-income community], it’s harder to understand.” - Roland G. Fryer
As good capitalists, we should realize that money should be the carrot used to tempt us towards work. How many American factory workers would show up to work as regularly as they do if they were not financially rewarded for doing so? How about the waiters and waitresses? Dentists? Some of us are fortunate enough to receive compensation for doing something we enjoy and find satisfying. However, most people work with an ulterior motive of providing for themselves and their loved ones. Given this, should we expect students to be any different? The most driven students are not likely to be all that fanatical about molecular biology per se; getting good grades in challenging classes provides them a better shot at getting into the higher education institution of their choice, and maybe with a scholarship.
The incentive programs that Ash describes in Baltimore, New York, and Atlanta are a great idea. Some critics may decry the minimization of students’ intrinsic motivation, which sounds like Marx decrying the lack of intrinsic motivation for the laborer without connection to a finished product. To believe that even half of the student body (never mind the bottom half academically) is motivated from within by a sincere desire to learn is naïve. Whether it’s a grade, a transcript, parental approval, peer recognition, or any other factor, many students are motivated by something other than the class material (no matter how intensely stimulating the teacher finds it to be).
Even professional athletes, who are seen by many as having an enjoyable vocation, are frequently given incentive clauses in their contracts. Two years ago, Frank Thomas got half million dollar payouts in his contract every time the fifteenth of the month rolled around and he was healthy and able to play. Did this reduce his intrinsic love for the game, or incent him to take extra care of his health? Would this clause have been in his contract if he had a history of good health? It follows the same logic that struggling students could be led to more care for their academics without reducing their intrinsic love of learning. Compensation, whether monetary or non-monetary, is still compensation. The programs in Baltimore, New York, and Atlanta merely even the playing field, giving financial compensation to students who might not be striving for the non-monetary compensation of “good college” or “good job”.
Ash, Katie. Promises of Money Meant to Heighten Student Motivation. Edweek.org. Retrieved 2/13/08 from http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2008/02/13/23cash_ep.h27.html?tmp=575759920
As good capitalists, we should realize that money should be the carrot used to tempt us towards work. How many American factory workers would show up to work as regularly as they do if they were not financially rewarded for doing so? How about the waiters and waitresses? Dentists? Some of us are fortunate enough to receive compensation for doing something we enjoy and find satisfying. However, most people work with an ulterior motive of providing for themselves and their loved ones. Given this, should we expect students to be any different? The most driven students are not likely to be all that fanatical about molecular biology per se; getting good grades in challenging classes provides them a better shot at getting into the higher education institution of their choice, and maybe with a scholarship.
The incentive programs that Ash describes in Baltimore, New York, and Atlanta are a great idea. Some critics may decry the minimization of students’ intrinsic motivation, which sounds like Marx decrying the lack of intrinsic motivation for the laborer without connection to a finished product. To believe that even half of the student body (never mind the bottom half academically) is motivated from within by a sincere desire to learn is naïve. Whether it’s a grade, a transcript, parental approval, peer recognition, or any other factor, many students are motivated by something other than the class material (no matter how intensely stimulating the teacher finds it to be).
Even professional athletes, who are seen by many as having an enjoyable vocation, are frequently given incentive clauses in their contracts. Two years ago, Frank Thomas got half million dollar payouts in his contract every time the fifteenth of the month rolled around and he was healthy and able to play. Did this reduce his intrinsic love for the game, or incent him to take extra care of his health? Would this clause have been in his contract if he had a history of good health? It follows the same logic that struggling students could be led to more care for their academics without reducing their intrinsic love of learning. Compensation, whether monetary or non-monetary, is still compensation. The programs in Baltimore, New York, and Atlanta merely even the playing field, giving financial compensation to students who might not be striving for the non-monetary compensation of “good college” or “good job”.
Ash, Katie. Promises of Money Meant to Heighten Student Motivation. Edweek.org. Retrieved 2/13/08 from http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2008/02/13/23cash_ep.h27.html?tmp=575759920
Tuesday, February 5, 2008
Go Saints!
One of the teams I help coach, the St. Christopher's School wrestling team, won its seventh consecutive Prep League championship this Saturday. This is pretty cool on a couple of fronts. As I told my 8th grade Latin students, the last time the Saints didn't win the league, they were in 1st grade. Some of those 8th graders will have a chance to help the drive for eight in a row next year; 6th graders who end up wrestling may have a chance to be the first class to go all the way through their K - 12 career having each year be a Saints Prep League wrestling title year.
It's also neat to think back to guys like Jeb Pinkerton, Brian McGurk, Ryan Robertson, Kirk Adamson, Hunter Carpenter, Ian McDonald, Brian Herrod, Hunter McDonald and so many others who were in on the ground floor. Pete Shaifer, now at St. Paul's School in Baltimore, was the architect for the whole thing. An excellent mentor, he was foundational in my development as a coach. In only his third season with the team, he was able to build the framework for years of success to come. Congrats to the boys, Pete, and everybody involved with the streak.
It's also neat to think back to guys like Jeb Pinkerton, Brian McGurk, Ryan Robertson, Kirk Adamson, Hunter Carpenter, Ian McDonald, Brian Herrod, Hunter McDonald and so many others who were in on the ground floor. Pete Shaifer, now at St. Paul's School in Baltimore, was the architect for the whole thing. An excellent mentor, he was foundational in my development as a coach. In only his third season with the team, he was able to build the framework for years of success to come. Congrats to the boys, Pete, and everybody involved with the streak.
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