Make learning a beautiful experience

Week 4 Journal Entry

After listening to the conversations from the videos, and going through the readings 

How has your experience of school shaped you as a learner, and as an adult?

What I learnt from the schooling – literacy, certain value based education as mentioned in the conversation parental role – most of my learning at home due to the parents and family who taught me basic etiquette and the social skills including behavior in the social groups and concern for others, respecting others and particularly elderly people. The value of education and the need for the lifelong learning which my family tried to impart with certain universal values of tolerance, compassion, empathy helping others etc. The school seemed to be one of the systemic effort in promoting the inequality (This understanding as of the literature I read and understand the same from this angle) as I felt the way teaching took place.  But I learnt a great deal from the teachers – time management, passion for the profession and concern for the students and their efforts in teaching discipline. To a large extent the values that I learnt help me to explore the same in my adult days and tried to see if I can keep the innocence of the school days and exploring the area of curiosity as well. 

In what ways do you think your own schooling could have been improved? 

Encouraging students to question, helping children asking the right questions, feedback as suggested in “good teacher” conversations and readings. Focus on motivating students to learn what they enjoy most rather than what the school has to offer. Transferring the energies into more positive areas. Teaching as to how one needs to face failure. 

What priorities do you think are the most important for schools today?

Creating Teaching/Learning environment where in every one is free to explore, question and find answers rather than just get answers. Curriculum should be only a guiding framework to know where one standing rather than a criteria to produce graduates. As one of the readings pointed out the system should help in reducing the inequality and help individual student to work to the best of their abilities. Bringing out and checking the strengths and skills of each individual should be the aim of the school. Technology which is into the lives of people should be used to make the updating of the skills. Teachers whose passion to teach should be given chance to express concerns. The school administrators should see that if the concerns are worth should be incorporated while taking decisions on teaching/learning. The school should provide environment where the teachers/students feel at home and enjoy the teaching/learning a beautiful experience.