This article has been making its rounds on the net. The writer made some suggestions on how to improve students' experience of school. These points make sense on paper but, having worked with school administrators, I can offer reasons for not implementing them. These are also reasons for actively preventing the writer's suggestions from being realized.
The numbered points correspond with those in the article, so you may wish to refer to that article while reading this.
#1 Students sit all day, and sitting is exhausting
Reason to not allow students freedom to move around - they may hurt themselves while not sitting down in class. A higher degree of freedom creates an issue of legal liability. I have had many encounters with this "cover your backside" mentality. One example happened two winters ago when it snowed overnight on campus. The staff and students arrived to a picturesque, white fairy-land the next morning. Of course the natural thing to do was to play in the snow before class started for the day. But around the second or third period of the day, a general order was issued from the administrators - DO NOT let the kids play in the snow. The reason given was so the students don't slip and hurt themselves. Teachers had to patrol the school ground during lunch break, herding students back indoors if they wandered out.
#2 High school students are sitting passively listening about 90% of the time
Reason to curtail student participation or taking time to allow students to learn at their own pace, especially at high school where they have to face a graduation exam (in the Singaporean context, 'O' & 'A' level exam) - teachers have to ensure the complete coverage of the exam syllabus. It is difficult to cover the curriculum in time if teachers integrate more activities and participation. Sometimes school policy can directly conflict with allowing students to learn at their pace. For example, in a school I used to work with, there was a blanket policy of not giving students more than two tests a week across all subjects. That meant all subject teachers had to book their test dates at least one term ahead. With other school-wide activities also having to share the same time-table, it would be nearly impossible to "finish the curriculum" in time for the exams. Don't forget that teachers are held accountable for students' performance in tests and exams, not how well they participated or learned things on their own. True learning takes time, but that must be sacrificed for the sake of exam preparedness.
#3 Students are made to feel like a nuisance
Two reasons conspire to create this feeling. First, teachers are have to go into class with the goal of completing the lesson objective. This is also one of the main things administrators are looking for when they drop in to observe teacher competency in class. Second, there is an erosion of trust between schools and parents. This results in school administrators emphasizing the legal implications of getting too close to students. In other words, be prepared for legal troubles if teachers invest their emotions into building relationships with students. So the result is that teachers go into class to do what is required and no more, some even to the point of shooing students away if they got too close for comfort.
Doing school, like many things we do in society - politics, social welfare, healthcare etc, is inherently difficult. I don't think there is a silver bullet for it. Many teachers I know personally work under adverse conditions, but they try their best for the kids. They are the unsung and unappreciated heroes who want to make a difference in the lives of future generations. If you are a parent with school-going kids, please take time to thank the teachers. And to school administrators, it's not about the salary or benefits. All teachers need to know is that they have the backing of officials when things don't turn out like you expect on paper, in other words, please watch our backs and give us your trust that we are doing our best for the kids.
You're welcome.
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