tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1513616792028141844.post3999105717617049905..comments2023-04-14T06:11:34.177-04:00Comments on Connecting 2 the World: Dumbing down in the World? Defining "smart"V Yonkershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11910904367068063554noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1513616792028141844.post-43957391662718210632009-10-09T20:45:22.185-04:002009-10-09T20:45:22.185-04:00Kia ora Virginia!
Thanks for the feedback and I a...Kia ora Virginia!<br /><br />Thanks for the feedback and I agree. I too found some of my best teachers were the strictest.<br /><br />@Payton - I think we're discussing different things here. Praise (and giving it) is quite a different matter, and as you correctly pointed out, if praise is to be appropriate, it should be given after grading.<br /><br />But what I am talking about are learners who are more concerned about their grading <b><i>before</i></b> any attempt has been made on their part at studying to achieve, so that a desired grade can be met. At the point I refer to here, praise for learning and achieving is simply not appropriate.<br /><br />Catchya laterBlogger In Middle-earthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08722634477041121797noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1513616792028141844.post-52861465566004154402009-10-09T18:29:28.850-04:002009-10-09T18:29:28.850-04:00Payton, I was thinking the same thing about the &...Payton, I was thinking the same thing about the "fear of failure". Teachers that hold students to a high level and yet LET them fail, then support them to overcome that failure.<br /><br />Ken, I didn't answer back immediately because I wanted to ask a few people (my kids and my students) about their favorite teacher. One thing that I think is different from our generation is the number of them that said that the teacher made learning "fun". I don't think that was ever a condition for my peers of a good teacher (although it did make it easier to learn). Overwhelmingly, however, was how many said that the teacher challenged them and they were able to succeed. Often they were the toughest teachers. I was surprised that my daughter identified one of the teachers who had a sharp tongue and could really be sarcastic and cutting as one of the best teachers she had. Why, because she set a high standard and EXPECTED a student to achieve it, motivating them to keep trying until they succeeded. She never gave up on them (and though my daughter didn't say it, she made it safe for them to fail and then supported them in achieve them).V Yonkershttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11910904367068063554noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1513616792028141844.post-28628418573784998352009-10-09T09:30:45.531-04:002009-10-09T09:30:45.531-04:00People have always wanted to be praised for how we...People have always wanted to be praised for how well they do something. We need to praise the process - hard work, practice, effort. The rating that comes in the end, grades, should be used to show where the learner is at that time. Motivation comes from not fearing failure - whatever that means to the people involved, but the willingness to try something new and difficult. The best learning experiences occur when everyone involved learns something.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13203346387519070782noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1513616792028141844.post-4941326244571368972009-10-07T17:33:32.024-04:002009-10-07T17:33:32.024-04:00Kia ora Virginia!
You have the advocacy for your ...Kia ora Virginia!<br /><br />You have the advocacy for your students that every good teacher has. You want them to do well, and don't we all think that in teaching?<br /><br />But I also feel that you are judging how students today might feel by the way you felt, as a student and at a different point in time in the development of society. I too had experiences similar to yours as a learner - way back last century!<br /><br />The shift that Marsalis alludes to is not so much one of teacher attitude, but of student attitude and possibly societal attitude. You said it in part in <a href="http://newmiddle-earth.blogspot.com/2009/10/is-whole-world-dumbing-down.html?showComment=1254923458911#c4803165825429678964" rel="nofollow">your comment</a> on my post, that students ask about how they will be graded - this is what <a href="http://newmiddle-earth.blogspot.com/2009/10/is-whole-world-dumbing-down.html#video" rel="nofollow">Marsalis talks of</a>.<br /><br />I have found that even high achieving students are focused on their achievement grades first, almost before considering what they must do to bring about that achievement through learning.<br /><br />I also believe that, in a complex way, this has been brought on us by society. I feel that the culture within society now places an emphasis on grading and <b>everyone</b> achieving highly, instead of an emphasis on the learning that could bring about that achievement.<br /><br />Catchya laterBlogger In Middle-earthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08722634477041121797noreply@blogger.com