Labor Day has come
and gone, and from now until next summer, one quarter of the United
States — students and teachers — will be in school almost
every weekday. The rest of us will probably think about our schooling
at least once a day, whether in anger or gratitude or love. Our
teachers have marked us, happily or unhappily; our studies have
enlarged us or frustrated us; our classmates have had a profound
effect on how we perceive ourselves. Every American who has been
there considers him/herself an expert on the subject of school.
And why not? You can't
spend six to eight hours a day, 180 days a year, for a minimum
of ten to twelve years in a school system without having an opinion
on its good and bad aspects. Unfortunately, many of us dwell on
the latter. I spent a lot of time disliking school when I was
young, even though I was a good student. My husband, who was an
even better student, adored every school he ever entered, even
when his teachers were not charismatic. The difference seems to
be that his schools had smaller classes, and curricula that included
art, drama, and music, which brought an amount of joy into his
schooling.
Teaching is almost
our family business. I'm the daughter and stepdaughter of teachers;
I'm married to a teacher; I am the mother of a teacher, the sister
of a teacher, and I myself am a retired teacher. I came to the
profession through the back door, having asserted my independence
early on by announcing that I would never be a teacher.
I managed to hold out until I had developed a fairly successful
separate career and had borne three children, but then I discovered
the rewards of watching my own offspring learn. I was not, I hasten
to add, home schooling them. I was just being their mother. But
parents are a child's first teachers, and they're probably the
most important ones. By the time my youngest son was ready for
school, I decided to be paid for what I'd learned to love: the
process of teaching and watching little children learn. I never
looked back, and taught for 25 years, and loved it.
My youngest granddaughter
started kindergarten a couple of weeks ago, and I look forward
to what she'll have to tell me about school, not because her ideas
will be "cute" but because they'll tell us if she's on the right
track, in the right class. Fortunately, she has parents who are
similarly attuned, and who will know what to do in case there
is not a good fit between child and school.
I think that the first
five years of school are absolutely the most important part of
a person's education. By nature, humans have curious, questing
minds. As long as their confidence isn't damaged or their curiosity
squashed early on, children will love school even if the teacher
isn't particularly inspiring. And if they have learned to respect
the rights of others and to take pride in their own ability to
learn, children will thrive during those early years. The carry-over
should take them well through the rest of their formal education
and out into the great world beyond.
I wish that I could
pass on to my granddaughter all the things that I have learned
during my long years in school (as both teacher and student),
but she is too young to absorb or withstand long, philosophical
ramblings. I'll leave it to her parents to deal with the day-to-day
stuff. But perhaps someday she'll have children of her own to
deliver into the hands of our public education system, and if
she does, here are the few things I think are most important to
know about school:
- Education isn't something done to you. It's a process and
a partnership. No one can open your head and put in the knowledge.
You're in charge of your own learning, even at five, and if
you're not willing to put forth some effort, no teacher can
help you.
- Education isn't a commodity that can be bought, and it doesn't
end with a "terminal degree." It's a process that continues
all your life. It started with your first breath, and will end
with your last.
- There is no "correct" way to teach or to learn. What works
for one child may not work for another. What works for one teacher
may not work for another. You will have a variety of teachers,
and if you're determined, you can learn something from all of
them, even the ones you don't like.
- Don't hesitate to use "old fashioned" methods like memory
and drill; they train the mind and can provide a rich resource
if ever you find yourself unable to read or listen. Your great
grandmother has whiled away many an hour reciting great poetry
to herself, since she became blind and deaf.
- Don't forget to include the physical in your learning. Sports
of all kinds, dancing, even cleaning a house will keep your
muscles and nerves alert and strong if you do it with vigor.
- If ever you find yourself in over your head in a subject
or class, ask for help in a loud voice. There is no shame in
not understanding something. The only shame lies in trying to
cover up your distress.
- Fast learners don't necessarily learn more than slow learners.
They just learn more quickly. One of the men who uncovered the
double helix structure of DNA has a decidedly average IQ —
which demonstrates nicely that speed of learning doesn't have
a whole lot to do with good thinking.
- Not everyone is going to like you. You won't like everyone,
either. But as my friend's grandmother says, "You don't have
to get thick to be nice."
- Tests test only the facts you have learned. They have nothing
to do with your value as a human being. They show only what
you have or have not learned yet.
- The most important word in education may well be yet.
I learned that when a four-year-old greeted me on the first
day of school with a worried: "I can't tie my shoes." Her mother,
who was standing nearby, leaned over and said gently: "You mean
you can't tie your shoes yet." That one little word held
the entire mission of school. It implied that success would
come at the proper time. It held out hope, and offered the challenge.
And it made it all right not to know. Yet.
Dear Julia, I hope
that you will love school, and that no matter what you choose
to pursue in life, you will always hold a fond spot in your heart
for your teachers, especially for the old teacher who happens
to be
Your Grandma.
