Solutions
· Make school more practical.
· Instead of grade point averages, write a description of the student. Are they punctual? Are they hard working? Is their work poor, average, above average, or excellent? Do they respect authority figures and other students? Do they complain a lot? Are they passionate about the work? Do they ask a lot of questions? Do they go above and beyond—willing to do extra work? Are they absent or sick a lot? Would you want them to work for you?
· Get rid of the first two years of college. That stuff should be done k-12.
· K-12 should be more intense. Remember that not everyone goes to college.
· Make the class fun! Kids are more likely to learn if the class is fun. Think about it. Would you want to pay attention if the class was boring? We have a choice to make school and work fun, but we choose not to. It doesn’t have to be this way.
· Don’t lecture and take notes at the same time. Students will try to write down the notes, so they won’t pay attention to what the teacher or professor is saying. Either post the notes online or talk about the notes and then show them to the class or show them to the class and then talk about them, so the students can focus on one segment.
· Don’t give binder checks. If you notice that a person isn’t organized, but they turn in their homework, then they’re fine. You can help people organize their binder, but it shouldn’t be a grade.
· Book checks are irrelevant. They don’t check to see if you have all of the supplies on the job.
· If you’re doing group projects, make sure they get along with people in their group and that you grade according to each student’s work. Make sure they put their name on the parts of the assignment that they did.
· Use the Internet. Every student should know how to use databases and how to search for things on Google.
· Make the students do classwork. This way you can see what step they have trouble with and so they can ask questions.
· Make videos! The students can watch short lectures at home, and then ask questions the next day in class.
· Have discussion forums online. This allows students to interact with their classmates and write about what they learned.
· Don’t be upset if a student didn’t type an assignment. Take work that is hand-written.
· Teachers and professors should be paid according to their performance.
· Every class should have a survey about the class. The survey could ask the students if their teacher or professor's teaching methods worked for them and why or why not. It should ask why the students took the class; general education courses or because they were interested in the material. The survey should ask the students about what they did in the class that they liked and disliked and why they felt that way. The more feedback from students the better. Teachers and professors should take the comments seriously and incorporate it into their class.
· Teachers should tell you why the answer is wrong and put the correct answer. That's the only way students will grow--by learning from their mistakes.
· The last day of class should be a day where students can turn in late work, ask questions, and talk about the future (if they want to go in that field). The final should be held the week before or a couple of days before the last day of class. Students should be able to see the final exam and see what mistakes they made.
· Teachers and professors should care more about quality than quantity. Teachers always tell you that your paper should be a certain number of pages or that your speech should be "x" number of minutes. It shouldn't be that way. Your paper or speech should be done when you've accomplished your goal and answered everything that you needed to. The key is to say a lot in a few words. · If you're students are falling asleep, make them: do push ups, sit ups, jumping jacks, or jog-in-place. This will wake your students up and give them the energy that they need. They won't fall asleep because they don't want to be embarrassed in class. Plus, they'll get some exercise!
· Instead of grade point averages, write a description of the student. Are they punctual? Are they hard working? Is their work poor, average, above average, or excellent? Do they respect authority figures and other students? Do they complain a lot? Are they passionate about the work? Do they ask a lot of questions? Do they go above and beyond—willing to do extra work? Are they absent or sick a lot? Would you want them to work for you?
· Get rid of the first two years of college. That stuff should be done k-12.
· K-12 should be more intense. Remember that not everyone goes to college.
· Make the class fun! Kids are more likely to learn if the class is fun. Think about it. Would you want to pay attention if the class was boring? We have a choice to make school and work fun, but we choose not to. It doesn’t have to be this way.
· Don’t lecture and take notes at the same time. Students will try to write down the notes, so they won’t pay attention to what the teacher or professor is saying. Either post the notes online or talk about the notes and then show them to the class or show them to the class and then talk about them, so the students can focus on one segment.
· Don’t give binder checks. If you notice that a person isn’t organized, but they turn in their homework, then they’re fine. You can help people organize their binder, but it shouldn’t be a grade.
· Book checks are irrelevant. They don’t check to see if you have all of the supplies on the job.
· If you’re doing group projects, make sure they get along with people in their group and that you grade according to each student’s work. Make sure they put their name on the parts of the assignment that they did.
· Use the Internet. Every student should know how to use databases and how to search for things on Google.
· Make the students do classwork. This way you can see what step they have trouble with and so they can ask questions.
· Make videos! The students can watch short lectures at home, and then ask questions the next day in class.
· Have discussion forums online. This allows students to interact with their classmates and write about what they learned.
· Don’t be upset if a student didn’t type an assignment. Take work that is hand-written.
· Teachers and professors should be paid according to their performance.
· Every class should have a survey about the class. The survey could ask the students if their teacher or professor's teaching methods worked for them and why or why not. It should ask why the students took the class; general education courses or because they were interested in the material. The survey should ask the students about what they did in the class that they liked and disliked and why they felt that way. The more feedback from students the better. Teachers and professors should take the comments seriously and incorporate it into their class.
· Teachers should tell you why the answer is wrong and put the correct answer. That's the only way students will grow--by learning from their mistakes.
· The last day of class should be a day where students can turn in late work, ask questions, and talk about the future (if they want to go in that field). The final should be held the week before or a couple of days before the last day of class. Students should be able to see the final exam and see what mistakes they made.
· Teachers and professors should care more about quality than quantity. Teachers always tell you that your paper should be a certain number of pages or that your speech should be "x" number of minutes. It shouldn't be that way. Your paper or speech should be done when you've accomplished your goal and answered everything that you needed to. The key is to say a lot in a few words. · If you're students are falling asleep, make them: do push ups, sit ups, jumping jacks, or jog-in-place. This will wake your students up and give them the energy that they need. They won't fall asleep because they don't want to be embarrassed in class. Plus, they'll get some exercise!
Restoring the Meaning of Education ©2011