A Collection of Random Thoughts

If grade levels and grades didn't exist, I think our school system would be better, and the confidence in students would be better. How do you determine if you're better than someone? The easiest answer is by looking at their grades. I cannot tell you how many times people have said to me; "You got a C in history? Well, I  got an A !" What, does that mean you're somehow better? No, of course, it doesn't! But some kids use this tool to determine if they are smart or dumb. The thing is though, getting good grades is not really that hard. All you have to do is memorize a bunch of stuff for a test, and then forget it all to make room for the next test. But I never liked learning like that because...I never learned  anything. The only reason we have that system is because we are told to get good grades (which makes you look more educated). If we didn't have grades, however, I think kids would actually start learning instead of memorizing. The pressure of ge...

These are my notes from a TED Talk by Sir Ken Robinson: Do Schools Kill Creativity. I thought the ideas were great, and very well delivered. I agreed with most of the things he said; how schools force students to stay still and not make mistakes. He brought up a very good argument; children are not afraid of being wrong. It's not that big of a deal. But as children grow up, they start learning that being wrong is somehow stupid, and makes you seem uninterested or uneducated. When in fact, the child just makes a mistake, just did something wrong. I really liked that he brought that up because that's how most teachers operate their class. If you're wrong, don't speak! So children learn not to speak. He also said the future is unpredictable, we don't know how our current technology will shape our future. And yet we are still using the outdated ways of teaching we used to in around the 19th century. Subjects like math and science are considered valued if you are goo...

As someone hoping to be a teacher of English, Literature someday, I hope to improve our existing education system. Yes, there are problems with it, but there is also room for improvement. I believe to get our education system to "perfection", we need to let our students individually decide what they are interested in, and teach for the sake of teaching, not for the sake of passing a test. I have always hated it when teachers enter a classroom, telling their students that a test is coming up and if they are not prepared they will definitely fail. What is the point of that? All that does is add stress. And say that a few kids managed to memorize everything the teacher threw at them, and pass the test with flying colors. Doesn't mean they learned anything, it just means they know what the teacher wants to see. Why can't teachers come to class excited about what they will be teaching that day? Why can't teachers make their class something to look forward to? Are you...