YOU DON’T HAVE TO LIKE IT (STUDENTS WATCH AND TALK ABOUT US, ANYWAYS)
A few times a month, I’ll be on the whiteboard, jotting down examples for my lesson with my back turned to my students. The students find ways to distract themselves (while believing they have nothing to copy down along with me, but that’s another story). I let them rock until I’m turned back around and then they know it’s go time. Today, however, I took the opportunity to listen in when one student said: “School sucks.” I didn’t stop them. In fact, they went off for about two minutes and my ad libs were as follows:
“Oh, word?”
“Yo, for real.”
“Nah, I hear that.”
“Um, I can’t talk about that. When you graduate, I’ll holla. Not now, though.”
“No, not saying you’re not graduating, but yeah, that’s too old.”
“Yo, for real.”
“Nah, I hear that.”
“Um, I can’t talk about that. When you graduate, I’ll holla. Not now, though.”
“No, not saying you’re not graduating, but yeah, that’s too old.”
We took our students’ feedback for granted. If you ever want to know how a school is doing, you don’t have to ask the adults. Ask them if you wish. Well, most of them. Look at the reports and the jumble of quantitative data on any number of Excel spreadsheets. You don’t even have to necessarily visit the school, though that’s my #2 indicator, really. We could visit a school, get a peek at the gorgeous bulletin boards, and lay out gridded curriculum early and often. We can look at the accolades splayed near the entrance and the artwork on the walls. We can check the website with its responsive design and glossy photos, too.
And, if you want to know how a school’s doing, ask the students.
Our society vastly undervalues student opinion as a matter of course. In the way of efficiency and so-called rigidity, we continually push for institutions that force schooling upon students, not education Continue reading: You Don't Have To Like It (Students Watch and Talk About Us, Anyways) | The Jose Vilson
