Yikes...that's a lot of writing. Hopefully you were able to listen to one of my songs as you took the time to read.
2.03.2009
high speed learners
So, I am not one for just blogging about things that happened during the day, but this one is kind of fitting. I was having a chat with another teacher today about a student's performance on a math test. I don't know exactly what the problem was, but somehow she had 8 + 4 = 32. Now for a sixth grader, that is just an obvious, rushing mistake. Then I was also reading some of my students' writing and noticed how poor their structure is. They had great ideas, but structure/flow was awful. And we got into a discussion about how students need to learn how to slow down and take their time. But as we talked through it, we realized that maybe this wasn't the case. Students live in an incredibly fast-paced world. Everything is instantaneous, and as soon as they are done one thing, it's on to the next. It seems that teaching students to slow down is counterproductive and possibly even futile. We decided that it's the education that needs to catch up to the fast pace of the students. I know we have talked about this in class, but it really hit home today.
Yikes...that's a lot of writing. Hopefully you were able to listen to one of my songs as you took the time to read.
Yikes...that's a lot of writing. Hopefully you were able to listen to one of my songs as you took the time to read.
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I agree that we live in that "fast paced" life where students are constantly moving from one topic to the next. Here is my question. Should we teach the kids to work at a faster pace with less errors or do we actually take the time to teach the children that there are things in the world that just need some extra time???
ReplyDeletehmmm...just a thought, not a sermon.
I totally hear you, Brian! But I was I was thinking the same thing as Mat. I agree that our students are used to a fast-paced, byte-sized lifestyle, but how thorough is their comprehension and where did the art of proofreading go? In perhaps our more sympathetic society, we are learning to accept typos and poor grammar more as people rush to get stories and comments on their website; but it is a little disheartening to have your students ask if "ur" instead of "your" is acceptable for their work. So, like you stated, how do we keep up the high-speed and yet take time for revision?
ReplyDeleteSide note - Your Pat McGee songs crack me up. Went to college with the guy, and he loved to come up on our Freshmen halls to play...for the new girls on campus! Good guy, though, and great strategy! :)
Brian,
ReplyDeleteYour comments about slowing the students down are very interesting. I just had the same conversation with our principal. I think we live in a very competitive culture. The students are pushed to be better than others in assessments (standardized tests. This begins in elementary school and is emphasized with SAT scores. They have so much to do that they need to get it done without thinking about it too much. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.
Wow, what great points and such a debate. I agree, Brian, that this fast-paced world is to blame for students rushing all the time and careless work resulting. I think it is always important to bring it to their attention, though. Of course it's going to be situational where it will matter. In a math problem like that, it may cost someone lots of money (say a builder giving an estimate), but in other areas, it may not matter as much. I'd say quality is always important over quantity. Slow down, kids!
ReplyDeleteBtw--great job with your blog site. I love all you added to it...the Simpson word of the day and graduation countdown are great!!!
So I am coming into this a little late, but, whoa, fascinating stuff.
ReplyDeletePersonally, I often feel the need to rush through many projects to get them done. I find myself completing as many tasks simultaneously as possible. Sometimes this does lead to errors, or less than stellar work. I guess I am a bad example. However, I find shortcuts, or realize some things don't need perfection. I'd like to think that maybe maturity has led me to be able to juggle things, but I am not sure about that.
I don't think we'll convince kids to slow down, but maybe helping them prioritize and realize what may need full attention is a good idea!
Going back to the math question, that is a real problem that I see all the time. And I think that they need to keep pace with the world...but like Nicole said, certain little mistakes could cause huge problems. I think there is a difference between going fast and being effective and just speeding through to get things done without paying attention.
ReplyDelete