Sunday, July 20, 2008
Learning from others
John Dewey said: "I believe that the only true education comes through the stimulation of the child's powers by the demands of the social situations in which he finds himself". I believe that he was correct. The way I see it, you can learn subjects like Political science, Spanish, Physics, or Business strictly from reading, though will you really understand how to use the concepts without being in real world situations? I think that you learn a lot from other people (social situations) and their experiences. You may have read a lot about court cases, but have you ever actually talked to a lawyer and how things really work in a law suit? Every time I talk to someone I try to find something to learn from them, and most often I learn more than I would in school. For instance, did you think it was a coincidence that our MAC prof's have almost all been teachers before.....why do you think that is? I knew U of M was a smart school haha, they hired people who have real life experience to share with us, and I have already learned more than I ever could've imagined. I hope that you all realize that you should always talk about your experiences, and you never know, you may just change someone's life. I would also like to hear them!
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2 comments:
I loved reading your post. I completely agree with you in that the most learning comes from experiences and sharing those experiences with others. We talked about intellectual character and how our 'standard' school systems do not leave much room for the development of intellectual character and behavior. I think that by sharing real-life experiences, we can learn so much more than just reading out of a textbook.
I may have told you this before, but I didn't realize I wanted to be a teacher until I job shadowed a physical therapist. When I sat down and talked with him and saw what his profession was like, I knew that it wasn't for me. I sort of fell into teaching because I loved tutoring and being a study group leader. Those experiences helped me to learn a lot about myself and my passions.
I'm sure you have many amazing experiences to share from all of your travels. I'd love to hear about them sometime! Maybe on all of our early morning drives to Romulus...
*Splendid* insight, Shannon. Your passion for connecting what goes on in school with the world beyond will come through in your teaching, and will infuse your interactions with your students. Another cool thing about what you discuss here is that it can be immensely valuable to bring adult community members (parents!!) into class...kids are naturally hungry for these kinds of authentic connections.
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