Make Education Real

 



Schools spend so much time on test prep and this causes them to lose sight of what education should be all about.  There is no time for trips, trips that might actually make kids appreciate what they are learning because they will see first hand where those skills can be applied and that the jobs they want require the knowledge that they now deem useless.

Today I stopped at the museum at  FIT to see an exhibit on Technology and Fashion.  I've taught many kids who were interested in pursuing a career in the fashion world and could not understand how math or science would help.  If only they had access to something like this, they would see how others used the skills they are scoffing at learning to become important in the fields they love.

Schools are so consumed with evaluating students and with teaching them to bubble in the correct response, activities like trips to see real life applications do not exist.  It's sad.  So many kids will never reach their full potential because they are being stifled in the classroom.

(Picture taken in front of Flat Iron Building.   Everyone could take a free picture with winter scene.  I love the city this time of year.)

Teach What Helps

Peter was a former special education student of mine with an IQ of 75.  In spite of his limited intellect, he learned how to cover up his disability.  He was a personable young man and easily got a job in a nearby fast food restaurant.  He worked hard and was promoted to manager, a job he did exceedingly well most of the time.  I say most of the time because he had a big problem when the computer that ran the register went out.  He couldn't make change and needed someone to help him out.

I remembered Peter today when a friend told me the story of a cashier who didn't know what to do with the dime he was handed when the change due was $9.90.  I told this friend the story and he was glad.  He never thought of people being too limited to even make change.  I then told him about a girl I taught several years earlier who would not ride the bus by herself because she could not count out the four quarters she needed for her fare.  No one would have guessed this about her.  She looked like you and me.

Things are different today.  These two students would probably be in an ICT class because some administrator or guidance counselor with an IQ slightly above that of those two kids decided it was right for them.  They would not be able to pass.  If by cheating some miracle they did pass, what good would it do them?  College should never be in their future.

I don't know what happened to the young woman but Peter's life has been a success.  He got a job sweeping floors at a major company.  The guys liked him and taught him to drive the truck, a job that paid a lot more money.  He married a registered nurse and became the father of two wonderful children.  He didn't waste time or money pursuing a college education, something he never could have completed.