One segment that caught my attention to stop and contemplate is that the teachers' gratification is shared by all the students in the classroom, and they soon learn to delay their satisfaction and share success with the classroom. I vaguely remember there was a period of time in elementary school when I was eager to answer questions, and it slowly vanished later as I advanced to higher grades. I thought it was a natural course since in lower grades, the answers are easy, so children are all eager to display their understanding, while in higher grades, the answers are not direct so many would take time to get an answer, and also become less confident in their correctness. The article brought a different view on such a transition, that it is rather caused by social behaviour adaptation instead of confidence in answers. It is an interesting angle, and teachers should certainly adapt to this behaviour change when teaching transitioning grades.
Another segment caused me to stop and think is the part about using payoff systems that give rewards to children outside of the process itself. From other sources I've read about, this is a widely discussed issue that many different schools of thought were involved. My personal take is that in principle, such a system could be harmful in the long run in guiding a healthy learning habit that would be beneficial in a life time. However, there are aspects and limitations to a person's learning journey, where at times, especially when we are facing critical assessments or disturbing effects in our lives, such a system could be beneficial in occasion. In an ideal society and education system that promotes equality, provides ample resources, and uses a full spectrum assessment system, students may have the time and resources to healthily continue their learning journey. But in our current state, we inevitably have students who do not have the luxury to have the time, environment, or resources to improve at a slow but healthy pace suitable for themselves. Instead, they must pass certain critical assessments to improve their life quality to have the resources to feedback to a healthy lifestyle where constant learning is undisrupted by life events.
After finishing the article, I would have to say I agree that there are much more aspects where a school teaches children outside of the classes themselves. Eisner brought up many aspects where the teaching methods have more intrinsic subtle effect that people may not realize when designing or operating. However, school is naturally part of social structures and operated within society's value system, hence there are inevitably certain structures that follow our society's operation, therefore changes to these structures may face the resistence of parents, employers, and even governments. I believe B.C.'s current curriculum design must have considered many factors, but some may be outdated and inevitably out of sync with current student's needs or living environment. It would be difficult but also beneficial for teachers to adapt their day to day operations based on their observations when situations allow.
This was a thoughtful and nuanced response. I liked how you revisited your own shift in eagerness to participate in class — from elementary to higher grades — and used Eisner’s perspective to reframe it. Recognising that this might be more about social adaptation than about confidence is a sharp insight, and it shows you’re using the reading to rethink your own schooling.
ReplyDeleteYour discussion of reward systems was particularly strong. You didn’t just state an opinion; you weighed the long-term risks against the occasional benefits, and you situated this within broader realities of inequality, resources, and life pressures. That shows depth of thought and an ability to see education within wider social contexts, which is very much in line with Eisner’s message.
The final section tied everything together nicely by pointing out the tension between schools as social institutions and the resistance to change from wider systems. Your suggestion that teachers can adapt day-to-day within these constraints is a practical and realistic takeaway.
As a next step, you could make your points even stronger by tying one of your reflections directly to an example from the BC curriculum — that would anchor your systemic critique in a local context.
A great blog entry Yikang! Keep identifying those implications!