Thursday 9 December 2010

Busy....

I've been busy.I don't like to keep my blog not up to date.

But hey, I'm back. Not on maths today, but on education. I am asking myself the last few months what's going wrong with education and school these days.

I assume a few of you still make your way to school / college / university/... every day. Well. I was a teacher, once. I quit, because my students hated learning. It was so disappointing that I stopped. I can't force young people to work if they don't know what purpose it has.

It's different with adults. They want to learn something, they are motivated. They have a purpose, and they go for it.
So what is this thing: motivation? Why is a 14 year old not interested in acquiring new knowledge, but a 30 year old is willing to spend his free nights, aside from a family life and children, in a classroom, after a full shitty day of work? It's a strange thing. I don't know how it works. I know, once motivated, people can move a mountain. Students even two at a time!

What I noticed, is that my students were interested if the learning had to do with novel things, new stuff, so I liked very much to tell stories about recent discoveries, recent technologies, about the world. That's interesting stuff.

So, is there something wrong with the students (read: society in general) or with the schooling system?

Any thoughts?


12 comments:

  1. I think it's because teenagers still don't know what it is to have obligations and stuff to pay every days. The day they will be left on their own, they'll see how much education can help them get settled in life and how better their social life will be if they start working hard younger.

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  2. Teens think they will live forever and basically have a different perception of time. They can afford to make ignorant choices because they have millions of years to make things right.

    Of course once they get jobs and other responsibilities it becomes clear that they are not special and have to jump through hoops like everyone else. Knowledge becomes important as a means to an ends and now they suddenly start taking education seriously.

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  3. no worries meng im busy as well

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  4. they have to be confronted to became was they really want

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  5. Of monstrous lust the due and just reward: Following!

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  6. busy busy busy. that time o the year...HO HO HO

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  7. Teens dont fully understand the responsibilities that come through. Possibly because some parents dont punish them when they do something incorrect or dont push them if they are lazy and think they can get away with it

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  8. It's because kids these days are spoiled and don't know what it's like to pay for their own things.

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  9. u teach on a high school??
    this was my firs year on college and pretty much i gote none teacher interested in the student's learning... i guess that the fail education system from brazil i really fail...

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  10. Thats how I operate. If you make me do something, I dont want to do it.

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