PART A: INTERVIEWS
Why would it be important to learn about things that we do not need for survival? Why do you think we’re learning about stuff that we’re not going to use in our lives outside of school?
Who is to say that we most definitely will not need outside of school?... Things may come out in conversations amongst intellectuals... We are learning these things because the government or the school system does not know what paths we are going to take in the future, such as career or lifestyle. Therefore it is always better safe than sorry to learn extra things.
Is school really teaching us to think? Or is it just teaching how to remember and recite?
It really depends on the individual. There are those that utilizes what they learn in school and apply it to everyday life, and there are those that are just in school and learning what they are taught and just regurgitate . So does the person go to school for the sake of learning or does the person go to school for the sake of getting a grade?
How certain are we about life, or about anything when we're in school?
We are not certain about life, because life can take a sharp turn down a foggy road. School is for us to get experience on socializing with others, and by interacting with others we are exposed to new ideas that can improve what we know.
Do you think it’s possible to learn through life experiences?
It is definitely possible to learn through life experiences. You touch a hot stove, you get burned. After having experienced that pain, you learn not to do it again.
[Follow Up]:What about solely on life experiences?
Of course not, because a person may have had a life experience but without thinking about it or knowing the significance behind it its useless
Phillip M. (Cousin)- Senior at Long Island City High School
When you’re in school, are you mostly concerned about getting the work done, or about how you appear in front of your peers?
To be honest, I’m more concerned about getting my work done. Because I like to plan everything out. It forces to not procrastinate and to focus. You do things step by step.
[Follow-Up]: Why is that you value one over the other?
Because it affects my future. And I don’t want to be yelled at by my teachers. My teacher yells at the students. Like my AP teachers. They give you a whole lecture. “You retards!.”
[Follow-Up]: Why is the other aspect not as important?
Well, you’re gonna make friends no matter how you look in front of your peers.
If not at school, what would you do with your time?
Well, I don’t know. I don’t really do anything. I would just find stuff that entertains me, like: games, hanging out, handball. You know, come on.
[Follow-Up]: Since you said you don’t really do anything, does school occupy your time? If yes, does it occupy it in a good way?
From time to time. But sometimes I feel like I have better stuff to do than school. It occupies it in a good way… It lets you socialize. You learn something. And sometimes you have fun.
[Follow-Up]: How do you think this will affect your overall social life, and intelligence? Would you be able to attain the same social status and become just as smart, without school?
I won’t be intelligent at all. I would be stupid. I would be more retarded. I think my social life would go down the pooper too. And I don’t think I would be able to have the same social life, or be as smart. I wouldn’t know where to start. And I think that your parents’ influence will be even greater on your social life and education.
[Follow-Up]: Why do you think that your parents’ influence will increase without school?
Because they’re the main nurturers. And won’t your parent’s social status and education affect your own?
[Follow-Up]: Well, our parents are supposedly the closest people we have in this world, shouldn’t they be the main nurturers anyways, regardless of school? So do you think school is taking away from that closeness?
Yes our parents are closest. And yes, school is taking away from our relationships with our parents.
[Follow-Up]: Do you think that’s okay?
I don’t think it’s wrong. It’s the American way. We’re Americanized. (“Sister” cousin: What?! That doesn’t even make sense.) Yes, I know.
Adam "Tyrone" W. (Friend)- fellow SOF student
Hmm. We learn about things in order to have an understanding of them. We may not use it in our life directly, but the process of thinking that we gain from learning the stuff that we don't need for survival could help in another way. Need more?
[Follow-Up]:This "process of thinking" that you speak of... is that really only attainable through school? Would there be a more efficient way of developing those mental activities- perhaps a method that would be more enjoyable, and take less time?
In school the process of thinking is already planned out, teachers assign you a problem, and then show you how to solve it using their method of thinking. Since people think in different ways, it looks like the only way to get that thought process into people's minds. I think that a more enjoyable way would be to throw people into a problem, giving them the tools they need to solve it, and letting them figure out how to solve it themselves. Although it does seem that the most efficient method is to drill the thought process into peoples minds.
Do you think that most of our knowledge is dependent on what school requires?
No, our knowledge depends on what we know, if people are interested in what they learn in school and it is required by the school then by coincidence or influence their knowledge is dependent on the school's. But I believe that we learn more outside of school, in the "real world", and our knowledge comes from there.
How much of our interests, do you think, come from our desire to suceed in school?
I think that those who desire strongly to succed in school will have more interests based off of what they learn in school, and those with a less desire to succed in school will have interests based on what they like.
I think that those who desire strongly to succed in school will have more interests based off of what they learn in school, and those with a less desire to succed in school will have interests based on what they like.
Is school really teaching us to think? Or is it just teaching how to remember and recite?
That depends on the core of the school. In schools like stuyvesant, students are given textbook assignments and tests based on what they've read, analyzing only whats in front of them, with no real "thought" behind in. In our school the teachers want us to think, and guide us toward the answer, by giving us the fundamentals of different subject and slowly putting them together in order to find an answer. By showing us how things can be integrated we are able to use that in our lives, by connecting problems to different situations accordingly.
That depends on the core of the school. In schools like stuyvesant, students are given textbook assignments and tests based on what they've read, analyzing only whats in front of them, with no real "thought" behind in. In our school the teachers want us to think, and guide us toward the answer, by giving us the fundamentals of different subject and slowly putting them together in order to find an answer. By showing us how things can be integrated we are able to use that in our lives, by connecting problems to different situations accordingly.
Amanda Y. (Friend)- senior at Eleanor Roosevelt High School
Is school really teaching us to think? Or is it just teaching how to remember and recite?
Second one. Because there's no way for you to actually like KNOW something unless you've experienced it.
[Follow-Up]: So you think that we can only truly learn through life experiences?
Yup.
[Follow-Up]: If it's not to teach us to think, then what is the purpose of school, in your opinion?
It helps us when we are in those certain situations. It sets up a certain standard.
What role does school play in your life? How exactly do you see it, in relations to you?
I don't know. I don't want to think. Hehe.
PART B: SYNTHESIS
Of all my interviewees, everybody appears to have submitted to our current education system. Not only has everybody accepted it for what it is, but also they're arguing for it. Everyone said something along the lines of: school preparing us for the outside world, and although it may not be completely relevant, the stuff taught in school will create a foundation for us. In my opinion, I think that may just be a way to validate their way of life, that wasn't chosen by them... us. I think we all want to believe that this path that we're following is the right one.
But all of this seems similar to stockholm syndrome. We've all been held captive by this institution, and not only are we not fighting it, we're not even questioning it. And although most people said that schools are teaching us how to think. But being that everybody had similar ideas, I don't really believe that's true. It ties back to the whole idea of Monkey Minds. We saw the first thing that comes to our minds- whatever the institution taught or led us to believe. And when we break out of those monkey minds, we usually take longer than usual (because it's not within our comfort zone), or simply say "I don't know. I don't want to think. Hehe."
No comments:
Post a Comment