One shot in life

(In the library of the third most expensive school in the 4^th largest metropolitan area in the U.S.)

“Do you like math?” I asked.
“Yes,” came the answer.  “So Chemistry is no problem for me.”
“OK. Let’s work on finding the net charge of an atom in a particular element.  Can you  show me how to do that?”
“No.  I don’t know what to do with the numbers.  I don’t know how to work the negative numbers.”
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(Same library, different day)

“Do you speak other languages?” she asked me.

“Yes. Do you?” I answered.
“I’m in my third year of Spanish,” she said.
“¿Bueno, como estás hoy?” I asked.
“Could you repeat that? I didn’t understand what you said.”
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These students’ grades were better than average, but their abilities were not well developed for the level of math/chemistry and language they were in.  It bears out that testing and grade-giving are masks to ability.  What should be taught in classes across this country is practice in real world abilities.  What is taught is a lot of theory, rules, artificial, and simplistic situations.  A student’s world is artificial enough.  The real world has to become incorporated at some point.  Otherwise, if I ask a third year student in another language what her family is doing for Christmas, I won’t get an answer.  Or if I ask why Toyota's new hydrogen-powered engine is an improvement over electric and gasoline engines, I won’t get the most general of answers or "I don't know."

There’s one shot at life.  Experts in the field of education need to sound off in journals, in leadership for reforming the direction, in voicing an objection to political interference in curriculum, and in laying out a plan to directing a new flow to learning.  The new federal law, Every Student Succeeds Act is a good place to start because it ends the federal cookie cutter model of creating average students and lowering the level of the average.  If experts refuse to speak out, keeping the artificial world of the classroom cripples students until they figure it out on their own.  By that time, how many years have been wasted in an artificial world that can’t connect to a real world?  Some figure it out early and refuse to be crippled.  Others lose about 10 years before they figure it out.  Still others find it out too late to do anything about it.

Wouldn’t it be nice if students had a training so that they wouldn’t have to figure it out.  They just have to get better at seeing what the real world brings to the table and working with it to make it become a worn shoe that fits their feet very comfortably.  Then they can manipulate to their heart's content and be able to see new horizons, new angles with greater ease (and frequency, probably).

Just saying… just hoping… just shaking my head in the meantime... just applauding each reform that draws upon productive learning... just noticing those who lead young minds from darkness to light.