Some Thoughts on Education

Those who can do, those who can’t teach, and those who can’t teach - teach teachers.

Last Tuesday, January 19th 2010, I attended a training day for high school teachers in Davis County.

In the PowerPoint slide show and movie-clip-fest, billed as a rip-off of late night T V, these claims flashed up onto the screen:

There are 1.3 billion Chinese,

There are .3 billion Americans,

Therefore: there are more honor students in China than there are students in America.

Now how did they make that leap of logic? What data was presented to give any justification in making such a claim? How does one know there are any honor students in China? We surely can’t trust the Chinese on that one, nor do I think we can trust those who make such unreasoned and illogical claims. This bit of tomfoolery illustrates the flaw in putting one’s faith in anything that appears scientific, but which, in truth, is based on irrelevant or intentionally deceptive statistics

This pseudo- scientific approach continued to concern me as I listened to the lecture presented as the Keynote Address by Ako Kambon. Kambon was a great speaker, who delivered an interesting and truly thought provoking sixty minutes talk; what he said so well did indeed get me thinking.

Kambon’s premise was that we (teachers) are dealing with a different student today than what students once were. Referencing a Michigan University study he claimed that the five top influences on students had shifted and changed since the 1950’s. He gave no explanation of the M. U. study or how or on what basis it came to its conclusions. I have found that, in academia, when researchers begin with an assumption, they are usually able to find evidence to support their beliefs. Here are the claims Kambon expected us to accept on faith, faith in M. U.

In the 1950’s, the top five major influences on students were, in descending order of import:

Home

School

Church

Peers

TV;

by the 1980’s the order had become:

Home

Peers

T V

School

Church.

But then, in the 1990’s, Kambon claimed, there was a major shift. The order of influence became:

Peers

T V

Home/Media

School,

with church dropping off the chart, down to number 10.

By the 2000’s, according to M. U., there was nothing left in the top five but media:

Media (influential in this order):

Videos (TV and Games)

Internet

Computers

Movies

Network TV

First, I challenge these claims. I make no claim to any proper scientific study, but then I don’t believe M. U.’s figures were properly gathered either. Let’s use a little reason, which is what scientists are supposed to do. Consider that school and church are examples of peers, and the family is also a place to interact with peers and much more. M. U.’s divisions of society and influence groups are arbitrary at best, and separating the influence of one group from the other impossible.

Second, Time spent using media does not necessarily equate to influence. How does one compare hours staring at a T V, surfing the net, or downloading music, to a few minutes of interaction with someone who loves you, or a week hiking in the mountains with your “church” leaders and friends.

The study seems to assume that students are mindless automatons, into which morals, attitudes, ambitions, and beliefs can be injected by flashy pictures and rap music. Kids are thinking human beings who can reason for themselves, who recognize right and wrong, and for that matter, can discern quality of information, no matter what the quantity.

One is forced to wonder what group of “students” was used to come to the assumptions M. U. grabbed, and how they determined how much influence a given source had on that group.

I provide an anecdotal challenge: When I related the M. U. claims to my seventeen year old, he scoffed at them. His family life is not typical, but he immediately asserted that family was most important to him. He spends a great deal of time listening to his I-Pod, mostly while snowboarding or climbing, (challenging physical activates requiring much time and effort, any such activates were not even mentioned by Kambon’s reference to the M. U. study) but my student does not seem to be unduly influenced by this media. My boy also does his home work and learns well in his classes. He is planning for his future and looking forward to building a life based on meaningful employment and interests that have very little to do with the media.

Also from my experience: I spend all summer ( nine plus weeks each year) surrounded by students who have pretty much forsaken the media to immerse themselves in service to others, building values, forming friendships, and experiencing nature, (again a powerful influence not even mentioned by Kambon).

By this time in Kambon’s lecture, I was already skeptical. However, his descriptions of corporal punishments administered by his parents had kept my attention. He then made his big shift, his call for action.

His turned his lecture to “Things to Know about Media Impact on the Classroom”. Five things that the influence of the Media had wrought on school.

His foundational assertion was that students could not learn by lecture, the foremost method of presenting information in high school. It didn’t seem to faze Kambon that his condemnation of lecturing was being delivered as a lecture. I find this too often to be the case with those who teach teachers. It is, “do as I say, not as I do.”

He led off with some declarations: (There was a PowerPoint, I think.)

1. Students have a shortened attention span.

2. Students are accustomed to being entertained.

3. Students have remote controls in their heads.

4. Students are accustomed to receiving information faster than we are accustomed to give it.

5. Students are now visual learners.

To his assertions I answer:

1. [Short attention spans] Teach students to and give them opportunity to practice developing longer attentions spans. Don’t take them as they are and adjust down to that stage of ability; drag them up to a better and more rewarding level of learning capacity.

2. [Entertaining] Accustom students to accomplishment, to the satisfaction that comes from doing the difficult and growing. Don’t teach down to them, lift them up. Success is better than fun.

3. [Remote control on the brain] Fine, teach students to keep control. Just because they can turn learning on and off at will does not mean they will. Force them to pay attention and keep their “finger” off the switch.

4. [Faster than I can deliver] First, I don’t really know what this means, secondly if it means what I think it does, that students can learn faster than I can teach; I don’t believe it. Nothing in my experience has led me to believe that pacing should be dictated by what students think they want, nor that repetition, drill, and practice are anything by beneficial to students. Ask any of them who are on a successful athletic team, play an instrument, draw, or snowboard.

5. [Visual learners only] Then cure them of this. How sad it will be if students, conditioned by computer, T.V., and movie screens, cannot learn to read a book or listen to a lecture. Why do we allow them to limit their lives based on the power of a bunch of profit driven multinational companies. Free them to learn on their own in any way made available to them.

Some years ago I saw a cartoon movie about a little robot left stranded on earth after all human life had escaped environmental disaster in a space ship. The film, titled Wally, presents a space ship computer that takes over the lives of the humans it was meant to protect by reducing them to fat, lazy, slugs that can do nothing but float from one meal to the next. Mr. Kambon seemed to want the same for our students.

Kambon rushed to his conclusion: Five to-do’s to save our teaching.

1. Give mental breaks.

2. Don’t be boring

3. Realize that our students are either channel surfing of turned off.

4. Use today’s technology to communicate to students.

5. He never got to five – “the bell rang”.

In retrospect, I critique Mr. Kambon’s action steps as follows.

1. [Mental breaks] Rather than giving mental breaks, a good teacher should increase the mental strength of his students so they don’t break down so often.

2. [Boring] Learning to play the violin is boring, learning to draw, or speak Chinese, or do a back flip on the snowboard may well be boring, but the thrill of real accomplishment that comes from doing hard things after tedious, repetitious, yes – even boring work until one is the master, is truly exhilarating. This is a joy that can never be obtained by those who will not pay the price of tedious effort. Let’s help our students overcome boredom by showing them what is beyond, by giving them the pleasure of learning.

3. [Turned off or channel surfing] Accept this fact, but don’t go off the air. Demand they work or fail. Require them to prove they are tuned in, and let them taste the reward of paying attention. Students must learn that they are the ones responsible for learning. The way to success is to help the student to make the right choice of channels based on long term goals not momentary stimulation.

4. [Today’s technology] Sure, use it, but remember this, students love to be read to, and once given the skill, to read. Students love to be told stories, and students love to write and create on their own as well. Just because teachers have new tools in their kits does not mean we should abandon the tried-and-true. Help students to learn that there is no movie, no video game, no cell-phone app, which can surpass their own mind and imagination.

5. [Nothing] This seems to me to be a fitting summary of all the rest of the lecture.


I left the room conflicted, perhaps concerned; I was an unabashed, and therefore perhaps an “evil” lecturer. I wondered if I were a dangerous dinosaur; dooming my students to failure in their contest against the Chinese.

I headed down the long hall to the library to attend my first “break out” session. It was a student panel discussion on Post Secondary Preparation conducted by Teena Carper, one of our school councilors. Ten to twelve students participated; addressing a room full of teachers, and one administrator. Half of these kids were current high school students taking advance placement or college equivalency courses, the other half were recent high school graduates attending local colleges or universities. They spoke to what teachers and high schools needed to do to prepare students.

Teachers must teach skills – especially better note taking and writing skills.

Teachers must have enthusiasm – “Don’t hate what you do”.

Teachers must come to class prepared to teach.

Teachers must be approachable.

Teachers should not give free time – that’s wasting time.

Teachers must provide classes that prepare students for college. Teach students in a college style class which will prepare students for college. Lecture is what “they” do in college, so teach students how to deal with lectures and give them experience with them.

Teachers must require students to write papers.

Teachers must push all students into more challenging classes. By challenging classes these students meant college prep classes, classes where they were expected to work hard and deal with boring and tedious work in order to learn things that will help them succeed in their future lives.

Teachers must not teach “test specific”, rather, teach students how to learn for themselves.

Teachers must take their job seriously so students can.

Teachers must encourage students to know more about what is going on in the world.

Teachers must tell students why they are learning.

Students should be excited to attend because the class is a place for learning, not a push over.

I left the student panel validated; determined to continue to do my best to be a teacher, not an entertainer or media conduit. I wonder how much money Ako Kambon charged the district to deliver his lecture. More than these students or Ms. Carper did I’m sure. I felt they earned more than he. They surely earned my respect. Kambon was entertaining; especially the line about giving kids “time-out” by knocking them out. But then, I probably won’t try that suggestion of his either.

I attended two more sessions, one on drugs in our schools, one on the state retirement program. It is always comforting to contemplate the number of years my students will be supporting me in my next adventure.

All-in-all, it was a very profitable morning. I am glad that I had teachers who taught me to question every lecture. I appreciate Davis School District for going to the trouble to provide quality presenters, and a wealth of information. I have continued to think about the materials given and grown from the mental effort they inspired. I am grateful to Ako Kambon for stimulating my determination to be a better teacher by doubting the things he presented in his truly challenging lecture.