Do We Teach Children or Subject Matter?

Do We Teach Subject Matter or Children?

A few years ago the question in the faculty rooms of K-6 schools across the nation was do we teach subject matter or do we teach children. At North School in the nineteen seventies the answer was that we teach children. Now, with the No Child Left Behind Law and the emphasis on standards and testing the pendulum has swung fully to the opposite direction.

At North School, we were certain that the purpose of teaching was to try and reach the whole child, and you cannot do this with a concentration on subject matter. Of course, students need to learn how to read and write. They need to acquire mathematical, and computer skills. They need to know history and the basics of science. But, these basic academic skills are very difficult to acquire. You cannot pour the necessary knowledge into the student’s head.

The student will only acquire a deep and lasting knowledge of these skills if he sees the importance of learning them. He will learn much faster if he enjoys what he is learning and if he sees how these skills are relevant to his life. I cannot count the number of times I have heard a student say, “Why do we have to study history.” “This is boring.” “Why do we have to learn math?”

In teaching children one of the efforts you make is to show them that they will need the subject matter that they are learning. In a math class you may start a student store, and have students buy and sell with play money. You may have then do fundraisers where they have count the money for the products that they sell. You can have them roll the coins, fill out deposit slips, and take the money to the bank.

To create an interest in math, you can have them measure their own and their classmates heights and calculate the growth over the year. You can have them measure the length of their own shadow. Then measure the length of a trees shadow. And by using math determine the height of the tree. You can have them use their knowledge of angles and triangles to measure and estimate. Students love hands on experience. You can have them use protractors and compasses to draw and work with angles.

In teaching reading skills you need to find the student’s reading level and allow him or her to read at that level. You need to provide high interest books at the child’s reading level. At North school, we had a fifteen-minute period where everything shut down and everyone in the school read. Students had their favorite books in their desks and when the free reading period began everyone, including the teacher pulled out their books and read. Students learn buy example and seeing adults around the school reading set a good example. We encouraged our parents to set aside a time each night to turn off the T.V. and read. And, many of our parents took this advice.

In teaching history I found that you have to make the past reverent to the now. I would have my students examine how events the past influence the world today. We would discuss how class structure in Ancient Egypt compares with class structure in America today. We would examine how the beginnings of the City-State in Mesopotamia influenced our modern government structure. We would compare the Eightfold Path of Buddhism to our value systems of today.

If we teach children first and adjust the subject matter to their needs we have to teach more than academic subjects. We have to work on values. One college professor has stated that we must teach values that include fairness, honesty, respect, and trust. In order to teach these values we must conduct our classroom in a way that promotes these values. We must treat our students fairly not having favorites. We have to show respect to our students to expect them to act with respect. We must promote honesty. We must act in a way that will allow all our students to trust us.

Setting the correct example is very important, but it is not enough. We have to discuss these values with our students. I remember that I once asked my students how many of them would cheat on a test if they were sure that they wouldn’t get caught. Most said that they would cheat. We had a discussion that lasted for several days on the purpose of testing and how a test should show what you have learned on a subject. We discussed how a grade is just a mark on a piece of paper and has no real value. The students themselves concluded that their self-esteem in knowing that they would not cheat was more important than a grade. We agreed that if a student received a poor grade he or she would be given the chance to redo the paper or test.

In addition to studying values and the importance of character, in teaching children we have to give them an opportunity to explore their inner selves. Language class is a perfect place to do this. I had my students do several compositions on their nighttime dreams. We first discussed how important dreams are in leading to a better understanding of ones self. We looked at how other cultures valued their nighttime dreams. And we discussed methods they could use to remember their dreams. I read several of my own dreams to my students and allowed time for a discussion.

Students love to write about themselves and some of the best writing that I received from my students were the compositions that they wrote on dreams. They read their dreams aloud and we discussed the meaning of their dreams. Some of the students began writing dream journals that they could turn in for extra credit. Exploring dreams gave my students a lot of insight.

I also had my students write autobiographies. They started with the earliest thing that they could remember and continued through the sixth grade and on into their high school years. They could write true autobiographies or autobiographic fiction. Of course, I gave guidelines and their writing had to reflect a realistic picture of themselves. Again this type of writing gave students a lot of insight. In looking at their past and in projecting themselves into the future, they received a better understanding of their present self.

Now one of my major interests is writing. And I used my love of writing to create for my students an interest in the subject. In teaching the child, the teacher can use his talents and strengths to promote a love of learning in the student. I have seen teachers who had musical talent use their love of music to create a more creative learning atmosphere. I have seen teachers who had computer knowledge create a classroom where students could build their technologic skills. If a teacher is allowed to teach from his strengths he will always create a better classroom atmosphere.

The no child left behind law dictates that we teach subject matter, not children. The requirement that each teacher be on the same page and teach the same material eliminates creative variation. The emphasis on test scores takes away the time that a teacher should use to explore the needs of the children. The proponents of the No Child Left Behind Law have never spent a day in the classroom. They believe that teachers can pour knowledge into the heads of their students. They believe that every student learns at the same pace. They see no need for adapting to the skill levels of the individual. They believe that we can stamp out educated children just like we can stamp out products on the assembly line.

Many critics feel that the No Child Left Behind Law is a failure. One of the main reasons for its failure is that it advocates that we teach subject matter instead of teaching children.