While it genuinely was my intention to continue to write in my blog after my summer course, unfortunately, a new assignment as a Grade 3 Spanish bilingual teacher took up more time than I ever imagined. After switching from high school to elementary, I have a whole new appreciation for what these teachers do for our students.
That being said, I have learned so much about young children and have begun to see the behaviours develop now that they will take to high school and probably, exhibit the rest of their lives. I see Student A who thinks he's worthless because his younger brother can seem to do it all, and mom and dad love that. I see Student B who will avoid writing at all costs, even if he is the master of the subject. Then there is Student C who is used to bossing everyone around, and now that her peers are not taking it anymore, is developing anger issues because she no longer gets her way and doesn't know how to communicate otherwise.
While I watch all of my students grow, and worry about each one like most teachers do, I have noticed that there are a few behaviours that are exactly the same, whether they are 8 or 16 years old. These particular behaviours are the ones that keep popping up in educational articles, in professional discussions and inundate my email and social media feeds. After spending countless hours reading and talking about this, and seeing both levels of early and late education, the consensus is in: we are raising a bunch of wusses.
Yep. I agree.
Yet, this has left me more confused than ever. If what we're doing as a society is creating entitled children who think the world owes them everything, then this is something that cannot continue.
In teacher's college, and to this day, we are encouraged to create "authentic tasks", activities that allow students to give input about how they would like to demonstrate their learning, an activity that reflects something that they would have to do in a "real-world" application. In theory, this is fantastic. Of course! Children, please work with me and teach me how to better your learning experiences. However, this is what I get in return:
"Awwww...but I don't wanna do this."
"I don't care if most of the students want this, I'm gonna do what I want to anyways."
Wait a minute. What? But I gave you the ability to tell me what will work for you, an opportunity to come together, share ideas and choose something collectively.
"Well, my mom and dad let me do what I want, and I don't want to do this."
Ahhhh...now I get it. Here is the "power" that parents are taking away from themselves and giving to their children. As I have read many times before, it is no longer the parents saying to their children, "eat your peas and then you can have dessert". No, parents are now negotiating the peas. "If you eat 5 peas, then you can have dessert."
Not only are we reinforcing crappy eating habits in this particular example (obviously the dessert is much more important that the vegetable), but we are giving children more power than they deserve. As parents, it is our prerogative and duty to teach children that we make certain decisions because it is what is best for them. No negotiations. End of story.
Because you see, what I encounter in the classroom at both Gr. 3 and Gr. 10 is the child that believes that they can take their way out of everything. That they do not have to follow instructions; that they do not have to do what is asked of them; that they don't have to hand anything in on time because they didn't feel like getting it done by the due date. All of these things are creating a huge disservice to our next generation. But, hey, their kids right? Yes, they are children, but we are teaching them throughout their education that these behaviours are acceptable, and consequently, will continue to be acceptable in the real world.
The reality is, they are not.
The student that thinks he doesn't have to follow instructions could be the student who is driving on the road and disregards all rules for safety.
The student that thinks that she does not have to do what the class is doing could be the student that can't hold down a decent job because she has no idea how to work with others.
The student that thinks he does not have to submit things on time could be the student gets fired for not doing his work or goes into a financial crisis because he cannot learn to pay his bills on time.
The student that thinks she can do anything she wants could be the student who believes that she should get any job she wants, just because she wants it.
These are real world applications, and no matter how much we change the way we parent or educate, this things remain constants. These are the "authentic" tasks that students need to be able to succeed at to be positive, contributing members of society.
While I support opening the dialogue with children and learning about their interests, strengths, and weaknesses, I also believe that children need to learn that there is more than just their opinion. That there will be many obstacles and disappointments in life and they have to be strong enough to overcome them. That people work hard for what they have in life and honestly, if they want to achieve the same, then being a wuss is just not an option.
