Sound off: what do you think?
This year for my FCCLA (Family, Career, and Community Leaders of America) STAR (Students Taking Action with Recognition) project, I have chosen to participate in Advocacy. For this event I have to select a current, relevant issue and advocate for change. An issue that has recently come to my attention is the learning gap between teachers and students, i.e. ineffective classroom communication.
Communication is intrinsically important in the classroom. Students need to be able to effectively confer with their teachers and vise versa; if they cannot, the learning process will be impeded or may not even work. However, communication in education is very delicate due to the multitude of learning types that exist. One student may learn visually while another learns verbally, leading to conflicts and, ultimately, an inability for a teacher to reach all students equally.
As a high school student, I have had firsthand experience in this very classroom situation. I come from a very small town where the teachers know every student, but effective communication can still be very difficult. As a member of FCCLA, I have decided to take action in my school to promote more successful learning through an improvement in communication. At the termination of my analysis and project I would like to see an atmosphere in my school where students are comfortable with teachers and vise versa. An issue that has become very apparent in my research is the concept of “teaching to the test”, wherein educators teach their students enough to pass state or national standards and ignore other, equally valuable areas. I have found that, while this is uncommon in my school, it still happens more than it should. I also believe that the standardized tests we take are an inaccurate way of measuring our ability, despite the importance that is put on them by the education system.
What I am curious to know is where people from other areas, whether involved directly in the education system or not, stand on these issues and others like them. For my analysis I would like to gather as many ideas from as many people I can in order to compile the best methods of fixing a flawed system. What can be done to promote more successful learning in today’s diverse classroom?
gracecarhart 