Monday, September 21, 2009
Things Fall Apart
How would you respond if a small group of newcomers entered our school and told us that our approach to education was completely incorrect? That in fact we needed to spend more time memorizing facts, practicing handwriting, and working independently than discussing ideas, sharing writings, and working collaboratively—if you’re ever going to become valuable in this world? To take it to the next step, how would you respond if they informed you that our cultural festivals, Kick Off Dance, Snow Ball, and participation in sports should be eliminated, for they detract from our goal of gaining knowledge? Now, beyond just saying that these elements are unnecessary or not working, the group begins to make changes to the practices and policies of our school. Record how you might react to just such a situation.
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If a group of new comers were to come to our school and tell us that are ways of teaching and interacting with one another is not the correct way of teaching I would think the following. I would say that the way that we do learn and are educated is one of the best ways. Children being able to interact with one another and socializing sometimes help stimulate a students learning. Also a student being able to share their work with others is a very useful tool. It allows an individual to visually see how they may be able to improve there writing skills, or even help another student improve their writing technique. For a person to become valuable, I believe that they should be able to interact, because in the real world, people are more than often times working with other people and need to have people skills. Finally events such as cultural festivals and dances that are had are valuable. They help the student body become one, and get to become familiar with one another. This is a chance for all to come to one place and enjoy themselves in a safe environment.
ReplyDeleteIf this ever happened in our school, i would inform the newcomers that that is their own personal opinion and that they should keep their opinions to themselves. Also, principles and teachers would have to approve whether the newcomes are allowed to suddenly change school rules. Our school community has their own interpretation of how rules should be followed. Thus, the newcomers would need to mind their own thoughts.
ReplyDeleteNikki
I would be very upset. I would react negatively toward the the ideology they were trying to re-instill in us. We are all used to having fun at school social events and to take those away from us would make us less excited to go to school. All the work they were now trying to get us to do would overwhelm us, especially if we are not strong "memorizers". Trying to relearn how we approach school and not be given the privelage of dances to blow off steam would upset me, a lot.
ReplyDeleteSydni Arnett
If newcomers were to come into our school and try and change the way we learn and live I would not stand for it. In fact if they tried to i would get everyone to band together to stand up against these newcomers. Sports and dances have become such a big part of this school that if they tried to take them away I would get together with Mr. Cleary and Mr. Syr to stop any changes these newcomers want to make. Also,the suggestion about handwriting might not be a bad idea for me as mine is horendous.
ReplyDeleteIf a small group of newcomers entered our school and tried to change the way our school is run I would disagree with them.The academic scores at Lynnfield High are outstanding and more memorizing of facts and practicing handwriting is unnecessary. Independent working is less effective than discussing ideas and sharing writings. This high school is accustomed to working collaboratively and the student’s scores prove it to be successful. Many graduated students from Lynnfield have become valuable in this world because of the education the school offers. The Kick Off Dance and Snow Ball have nothing to do with the high schools academics because they are held outside of school hours. Participation in sports should not be eliminated because sports benifit the students by keeping them healthy. Sports also allow students with poor grades to go to college. They do not detract from our goal of gaining knowledge because teamwork teaches students valuable lessons about working together and coping with people. Lynnfield High School has proved to run perfectly with the way the curriculum is set up now and I think no changes are needed.
ReplyDeleteIf a group of newcomers were to come into our school, and start telling us that our approach was completely wrong, I would have a couple different reactions to this. If they said that our methods of learning were wrong because we collaborate and work together, I would tell them that it is necessary in life to learn how to work with each other, because the chances for success are much higher with the help of you peers. I would not be mean to them, but I would firmly assert my opinion to them. If these new comers also told us that our school dances and sports were something that needed to be eliminated, I would explain to them that it is necessary to be rewarded for our hard work in the classroom. If we were to do school work all day and never be rewarded, many people would not have the motivation to succeed.
ReplyDeleteIf these newcomers were to come and try to take over our school i would not react obediently. I would fight back trying to argue why we have to change our schedule just because some outsiders decide they do not like the way we do things, and I will refuse to change anything until it is proven that we are at a disadvantage because of the way we do things in our school. (again Jackie Hurley could not get on so she wrote it through me).
ReplyDeleteIf a small group of newcomers were to come to our school and tell us how to approach learning I would be outraged. Lynnfield High School has an awesome academics program that is far better than many of the surrounding towns. Rather than just sit in class all day and study individually, the students and teachers interact and are able to form relationships that helps add to the learning experience. Also we are able to discuss our thoughts with the class which helps us build on our ideas. To take away this method of learning would take the fun out of school and i believe grades would be on a steady decline. It would also be unfair to take away our annual social events like our kick-off and halloween dances, not to mention after school sports. These activities only benefit students and add to the overall high school experience. If necessary i would take drastic measures and form a rebellion against the newcomers and refuse to change. I mean who do they think they are anyway, coming to OUR school and telling US how to run it. HOW RUDE!
ReplyDeleteIf a group of people came into our school and told us everything that we have been doing and learning since we were little was wrong, it would be very confusing. I would be upset that these people were trying to force their opinions and ways of learning on us. Everyone views things differently, especially people from different parts of the world. Working in groups and sharing our work is a very helpful way of learning that allows students to be able to work with others and make develop social skills. Although working alone is sometimes helpful, all the time is unneeded. Also I think that people coming into change our school system is not in interest to anyone, it will cause up roar and anger in the community. Also I think that these new comers cannot say if we can or cannot have dances because they are after schools hours and not part of the curriculum. Finally I think that this happening is very strange to the US because we have such good school systems and educations. But in places like Africa and other third world countries this is an everyday event. When foreigners come in, in small groups and change their way of learning and life. Taking out group work, their style of learning and also their dancing and playing. If people came into our school to make changes they would not be readily accepted.
ReplyDeleteIf a small group of newcomers entered Lynnfield high school and told us that our approach to education was completely incorrect, I would completely disagree with them. I definitely do not believe that we should spend more time working independently rather than discussing ideas, because i think a valid learning method is to interact with different people. Furthermore, discussing ideas can help us create personal opinions about certain topics and then share and discuss the opinions with peers. This teaches so many lessons, one being that everyone is entitled to their own opinions. Without interaction, i believe that a whole level of learning will be ignored. To become "valid in this world", we must learn how to communicate with different people and share ideas in order to come to an understanding. If I was told that all of our extracurricular activities should be eliminated, I would think that it is completely unfair. I think that social events such as sports and dances help us to grow and mature as individuals. For instance, sports cause us to strategize different types of plays. Being on sports teams also cause us to learn the value of teamwork. If the group decided to make changes to the practices and policies of our school, I would not react well. It would never be right for a group of people to randomly come into a school and decide that they want to change it around.
ReplyDeleteI think that if a group of newcomers came to Lynnfield and they told us that our way of education was incorrect, I would tell them I disagree because the way we do things from day to day is part of our culture and not theirs. They would have no right to try and remove our activities.
ReplyDeleteIf newcomers came to our school and told us how our education should be, I would be very upset. For a long time Lynnfield has been known for its' excellect scores on exams and rigorous curriculum. There is no need for a group to come in and totally change the whole system that Lynnfield has been following for decades. As for the dances and other activities, each school is entitled to its' own way of handling athletic and social events. Others should respect school policies and not corrupt on their ways.
ReplyDeleteIf a small group of newcomers were to come to our school and told us how to approach our education I would show how much I strongly disagreed. The way we are taught here shows in how well we achieve on standardized testing and other important areas. Sharing our ideas with others is how we learn from eachother. If we were to always work independently we would never learn from other peoples mistakes to better ourselves. Also, our cultural festivals do not destract us they are just simply a bonus. It is almost a reward to enjoy ourselves with the people we work with so hard during the year. I would probably protest in a way that would get my point across without causing a riot. People should respect our cultural differences as we repect theirs.
ReplyDelete