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“An exploitive attitude is fostered. Not becoming involved with the subject, the student grabs for rote payoff rather than insight.”
“Everything is interesting, until ruined for us. Nothing in the universe is intrinsically uninteresting. Schooling systematically ruins things for us, wiping out these interests; the last thing to be ruined determines your profession.”
“Under such circumstances [of students controlling the sequence] students will actually be interested, motivated to achieve far more than they have ever achieved within the normal instructional framework; and any lopsidedness which may result will be far offset by the degree of accomplishment which will occur—it being much better to create lopsided but enthusiastic genius specialists than listless, apathetic, or cruelly rebellious mediocrities. If they start soon enough they may even reach adulthood with natural minds: driven by enthusiasm and interest, crippled in no areas, eager to learn more, and far smarter than people ordinarily end up being.”
I had a hard time choosing only one nugget to base my assignment off of this week. Throughout the reading I got the impression that Nelson had a passion for knowledge and for allowing the “creative juices to flow”. While the grading system of the United States can be helpful in that it gives a student certain goals to strive for, it can also be a hindrance to some students. To have one’s focus strictly based on that A+ grade can cause a student to sell himself short. According to Elaine Weiss, “Pressure on test scores has crowded out the art, music, and drama that cultivate a love of learning and that draw out children’s unique skills.” Don’t get me wrong…I’m not blaming teachers for this, or the parents, or the United States even. Every person’s situation is different and whether or not you choose to rise above and not join the masses in the struggle for that perfect score is what matters. Not that a good grade isn’t important…just don’t sell your soul to get there.
And just some extras for your Monday. 🙂
“When you can’t tear a teeny kid away from the computer screen, we’ll have gotten there [to real media of the future].”
“The computer doesn’t work that way”
“Computers are not everything, they are just an aspect of everything, and not to know this is computer illiteracy, a silly and dangerous ignorance.”
I understand the difficulty you having in just choosing one nugget, I myself had some difficulty as well. I also agree on your take of the grading system and how every student is different. People have all different ways of thinking and doing things its hard to grade them on that fact. This idea reminds me of something Einstein once said, “Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid.”
The focus on grades really is a struggle. Just as my previous UNIV professor said, students are so worried about getting the grade that they do not learn anything or take anything from the assignment. He used that information to his advantage and created assignments that didn’t seem too difficult but made you think about what the assignment was really aiming towards and if you show that you have reflected the grade is just a given. In grade school all students are either just not motivated to do the work or they are only focused on the grade. Either way not many can learn what the lesson is really about and retain it. There is a difference between an A+ student and a student that really understands the material.
I believe you and I both share the same feelings when it comes to computers. Computers are so useful in so many ways, and to truly not know how to use them is to be ignorant. However, I feel that there are many in the world today who do not have access to computers, so they cannot help this. But, the one thing that I think of with the absence of computers is how life would be different without them. They are all around us. They are found in almost every facet of life, and their existence proves advantageous.
I also did my nugget on the passages where Nelson focuses on the school system. I’ve heard multiple people say “oh this topic was fun to learn about until I found out I’m getting graded on it” and that phrase describes what he is talking about perfectly. I know I myself am automatically turned off by what I’m reading in school just because I know I will have to stress myself over a good grade.
I think Nelson wanted computers to change that type of schooling and enhance education. Though, as he predicted, just adding computers doesn’t help; you need to actually use them to change the system. Hopefully we can see some change in the future to foster more interest in students that we may not have always had.
My post had to do with the school system as well! There are many aspects of it that I believe should not be the way they are . People definitely put too much pressure on getting good grades these days. Although I believe grades are important and can say a lot about a person, I do not believe it is the best way to tell how smart someone is. There are many factors that can affect the grades people receive, like whether or not someone has test anxiety. I feel like there should be less of a focus on the letter grades people get, and more focus on what they are good at.
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