Monday, November 9, 2009

Anyon Talking Points

#1: "One teacher explained to me, "Simple punctuation is all they'll ever use."
As a secondary education English major, this exclamation by a working class teacher was extremely frutstrating to read. There are SO many different types of grammar and punctuation that are neccessary in the modern world. YES, simple periods and question marks are important in comparing a statement from a question, but this is an extremely sad fact to work off of. As a teacher, nontheless, as a student, there are ENDLESS ways that grammar could be used. What is so sad, is the fact that this teacher is somewhat right in saying that simple grammar is all that most children will use in growing up. Regardless, I stand my grounds in saying that a child who is well enriched in good English speaking skills: grammar, voice, presentation and comprehension will be a well rounded adult. If more people were better at smooth public speaking, more things would get done in this world. Direct communication and better voiced writing would undeniably benefit all children as they grow into hardworking adults.

#2: Children are continually asked to reason through a problem, to produce intellectual products that are both logically sound and of top academic quality"

This idea of looking into the "how" of everything from literature to mathematical formulas may benefit the upper elite classes, however, at least from what I have seen, is being attempted in teaching children of lower working and middle classes lately. In both my cousin's homework (he is 9), as well as in the children of my tutoring (at Harry Kazirian), more and more focus is being put on the "how" or "why" things are the way that they are in this problem or explanation. This idea, however should stay where it belongs: to the upper elite educational classes. The "deeper look" into the question being asked has clearly not gotten children farther in their studies. Rather, as I believe, it has set students back. Children of the working class who have simply grown for years under the impression that 1+1=2, are not going to improve their mathematical intelligences by rethinking the deeper "Why". Instead, considering other areas of their lives, these children are bound to resist or become confused ; ultimately resulting in hating school work, dropping out, and even "negative learning" occurring, where nothing is learned, but instead something is lost due to confusion.

3. Overall, the use of keywords in dividing up different social classes using words such as "elite" and "working class" was powerful enough in addressing this article. Not only were these words and descriptions wisely chosen, but after nearly fifteen minutes of sitting here and thinking, I cannot argue with the author's choice of descriptive words in dividing up these social classes. The word "elite" may come off the tongue as a little harsh and somewhat "snobby", but all in all, the term fits the description of many local social statuses in certain RI schools. The same goes for many local schools. "Working class" was never a term I though to be accurate in describing social class. Now, however, this article really has me thinking about all of these different descriptions and where about local schools belong. Truly, to the core, this article made me think....

1 comment:

  1. I felt the same way when I saw the first quote you posted. I am not an English major, but I like to use correct grammar when I write, especially for formal writing. A lot teachers say "students don't write as well as they used to." One of the reasons for this is reflected in that teacher's quote. If teachers share her attitude that periods, questions marks, and commas are the only important mechanical/grammatical components of English, of course writing quality is going to decline.

    ReplyDelete