Blog#7 - Education should be equal

This week's reading literacy with an attitude by finn reminds us that education should be a place where every student has the chance to grow, think critically, and make meaningful connections to what they’re learning. However, the reality is that not all students are given the same opportunities to do so and I chose these 3 quotes that I think reflect that

1. "Schools teach working-class children to work hard and obey."

This quote really shows how some students aren’t given the chance to think for themselves Instead, they’re expected to just follow orders without questioning whether is right or wrong. It’s like they’re just going through it just completing tasks without really understanding why or how and unfortunately I have seen this in various classrooms where students are only given worksheets to fill out, individually without being taught why they need to learn from it or why it is important for them.

2. "Middle-class children are taught to express opinions and think independently."

This made me realize how unfair the system can be. Some students are encouraged to ask questions and challenge ideas, while others are just told to listen and follow orders. I’ve noticed that in some schools, students feel comfortable speaking up, debating, and sharing their thoughts meanwhile in others, they stay quiet because they’re used to just being told what to do and this should be the case every student should have the chance to think for themselves, no matter where they come from. A school’s job shouldn’t be to create different levels of opportunity, it should be to give everyone the tools they need to succeed.

3. "Real learning happens when students feel connected to what they’re being taught."

I love this because it’s so true. If students don’t see how school relates to their lives, they won’t care about it and I’ve experienced this myself when a lesson feels meaningful like when it  talks about something related to my life or something I like, I stay engaged, but when it feels like just another thing to memorize, I completely lose interest and this makes me think about how I want to teach in the future. I don’t want to just throw information at my students and expect them to absorb it. I want to make learning something they care about by connecting it to their experiences and showing them why it matters.