Wednesday in class we talked a lot about passion. I have a lot of it. I am a very passionate person. I love with all my heart. I am extremely loyal. When I like or dislike something, pretty much everyone knows. When I do something, I put my all into it. I love learning. I always have. Has my passion for learning always been abundantly clear when reflecting upon my grades? Certainly not! In fact, my passion for my various love interests, my friends, my family, and so many other things often were of greater importance to me, especially in high school.
Being passionate about learning does not mean you do well. It does help for the student to be impassioned about the topic to be learned and have an eloquent, expressive, and effective teacher on said topic. However, this does not mean that this student will do well. There are so many outside forces which effect us each as students and teachers alike. All of the time, there are forces beyond our control or even within our control that take precedence to doing well scholastically. There is no way to guarantee success without eliminating these variables.
Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs states that unless your baser needs are attended to, you are unlikely to do well at much. I have a very personal and recent experience with this. Doing well in school is only possible when physiological needs and also those for safety are met. In a lot of situations, no matter how much a child may want to learn, if their needs are not being met, they might not "do well". I am sure that many children learn while hungry. Being cold or scared, I'm sure many students still learn. However, there are many situations in which students are hindered from "doing well" because of unmet needs, whether physiological or psychological.
What does it mean to "do well" anyway? Does it mean in the grand scheme of things you are successful in life? Can it mean just passing the class you're taking right now? For some might it mean being a CEO of a major corporation? Could it mean avoiding trouble? It might mean surviving for some. "Doing well" is just so subjective.
There are ways teachers can design their curriculums to make subject matter more relevant and useful to students. Usually in doing so, teachers inspire their students to excel and thrive, and by some people's standards, "do well." Enrichment programs and integrated curricula are methods of achieving just this. Here is a video I found of a school using an integrated curriculum to empassion and empower their students.
Check this out: http://youtube.com/watch?v=m2wgzLEpECI
I hope my passion helps me to be an inspiring and effective teacher. I know how important it is to instill in youngsters a thirst for knowledge and a love of learning. Perhaps that will help them to achieve good grades in my class, but more importantly to succeed in life. That is what I consider "doing well."
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5 comments:
After reading Sarah's blog this week, it got me thinking. I have had some set backs, but I am still here. My grades are not as good as I had hoped they would be throughout my college career, but I have not given up. A lot of people looked at me like I was crazy when I told them I was working full time and going to school full time. Several people told me they didn't know how I would ever get finished. I will be graduating finally this coming May. I am so excited! :D Did I do as well as I would have hoped? No, not really, but I will have completed what I set out to do when many told me I'd never manage it. Personally, I consider that doing fairly well. :P
Doing well is, indeed, relative, particularly depending on the individual's goals and path towards achieving these goals.
That really makes me wonder to.. I mean what is good to one person may not be good for another person? how do you judge what is good or not good? and how do you decide what is or is not going to be on a test? Standardized testing i feel relates alot to this topic because I feel that there is no standard for good or competent. Everyone has there own view on both.
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