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Positive Educational Direction |
October 2009 Table of Contents | Next Article » Introduction: October 2009
Welcome back to a new school year! You may have seen the piece in The New York Times News in Review where esteemed educators gave their best advice to freshmen going off to college. (link to Op-Ed piece) My colleagues asked me to distill some of my own advice to our high school students - I think you'll see some familiar themes here! If you find you are not inspired by a class's material, ask your teacher if he or she can recommend related reading. This is the best way to connect with a teacher and a subject. And never bring up the subject of grades which can make you look pragmatic and selfish instead of genuinely interested in the subject. If you are genuinely interested, your grades will take care of themselves. If class discussion is dull or virtually non-existent, bring material from that related reading to the class. This is a terrific way to provoke discussion. Ask your fellow students what they think and also ask your teacher to shed light on ideas you would like discussed. Take responsibility to enliven your classes, without dominating them and without giving closed-minded opinions. Always want to know more about how others' think, especially peers or teachers who think differently from you. It is not just the teacher's responsibility to create good classes; it is also your responsibility as a student. If you tend to prefer Math or Science, you might not think you value Humanities courses such as Literature, History and Philosophy. But these subjects teach you the English language in depth and they teach you how to think qualitatively. No matter what quantitative field you pursue, you will want to be able to communicate. And read! Reading will improve your vocabulary as well as your natural sense for language, and it will broaden how you view and think about the world. I hope your year is off to a great start and we all look forward to working with you throughout the next several months. Cheers! Don |
