Letter: There are better ways to teach
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Last month I took part in a Yes We Can Baton Rouge! forum in which the facilitator questioned the group about our views of our community, the school system and areas for improvement.
I shared some of the responses from the session with my aunt, a well-respected doctor of education who runs the Center for Urban Education and Innovation at Florida International University.
She asked me, “What does a good education look like? How will you know that your child has received a good education?”
Every response I could think of had nothing to do with the grades my child gets on tests, nor the scores he gets on standardized tests. My response had more to do with what type of person I would want my son to be when he finishes his schooling.
I want him to be a well-spoken, well-rounded, confident young man. I want him to be able to speak comfortably in front of his peers and adults, and to articulate his opinions clearly and succinctly. I want him to be a problem solver. I want him to care about others and be moved to help them by giving back to his community and his world.
My aunt felt that most parents would respond similarly.
I have discussed with colleagues my disappointment in how many schools operate, wherein there is little opportunity for the students to work together in small groups and engage in problem-solving activities. And rarely are there opportunities for teachers to work with students one-on-one or in small groups, which would enable the teachers to really get to know the students and their learning styles in order to cater the lessons to meet each child’s needs.
Their response: “This is how they’ve been teaching for generations. Your son just has to learn to sit at his desk and do the work like everyone else.”
Certainly I understand that discipline and order are important to having a successful classroom, but that should not limit the teachers’ nor the students’ creativity.
So, as Yes We Can Baton Rouge! continues to collect data to formulate the “covenant” it will ask the School Board to adopt, I urge the organization to get specifics from the parents as to what they really want for their children.
There are models around the country that accomplish all that I have described. Until Louisiana recognizes that there are better ways to educate our children, we will continue to be at the bottom of the right lists and at the top of the wrong lists.
Loren Brown
special projects manager
Baton Rouge
I shared some of the responses from the session with my aunt, a well-respected doctor of education who runs the Center for Urban Education and Innovation at Florida International University.
She asked me, “What does a good education look like? How will you know that your child has received a good education?”
Every response I could think of had nothing to do with the grades my child gets on tests, nor the scores he gets on standardized tests. My response had more to do with what type of person I would want my son to be when he finishes his schooling.
I want him to be a well-spoken, well-rounded, confident young man. I want him to be able to speak comfortably in front of his peers and adults, and to articulate his opinions clearly and succinctly. I want him to be a problem solver. I want him to care about others and be moved to help them by giving back to his community and his world.
My aunt felt that most parents would respond similarly.
I have discussed with colleagues my disappointment in how many schools operate, wherein there is little opportunity for the students to work together in small groups and engage in problem-solving activities. And rarely are there opportunities for teachers to work with students one-on-one or in small groups, which would enable the teachers to really get to know the students and their learning styles in order to cater the lessons to meet each child’s needs.
Their response: “This is how they’ve been teaching for generations. Your son just has to learn to sit at his desk and do the work like everyone else.”
Certainly I understand that discipline and order are important to having a successful classroom, but that should not limit the teachers’ nor the students’ creativity.
So, as Yes We Can Baton Rouge! continues to collect data to formulate the “covenant” it will ask the School Board to adopt, I urge the organization to get specifics from the parents as to what they really want for their children.
There are models around the country that accomplish all that I have described. Until Louisiana recognizes that there are better ways to educate our children, we will continue to be at the bottom of the right lists and at the top of the wrong lists.
Loren Brown
special projects manager
Baton Rouge
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