The Un-Schooling of Ms. S
I come home from the school where I work and shrug my backpack to the floor, take off my shoes and socks, and crawl into my unmade bed. I am so tired that I barely get myself rolled over before I am asleep. I dream about teaching pre-algebra to Daryon, a student that I butt heads with on a regular basis. He's yelling at me.
He is frustrated by the difference between school and un-school, or the life outside of school. He doesn't understand why he can't say "F*** this" in one place and not the other--[why isn't it the same?] He doesn't understand why it matters if he chooses to glue bits of paper all over his body and dance around the class yelling, "I've got chicken pox, look out!" [he's not hurting anyone]
He has a quick mathematical mind. He knows the algebra. He knows how to solve the proportion. What he doesn't know is how solving proportions for "x" matters to him. He's told me that he's going to work at McDonalds anyway, so why does he need to know what the F*** "x" equals.
I don't know. Why the **** would a McDonald's employee need to know algebra? Why the **** doesn't school matter to real life? Well, maybe it does matter to real life--somebody's idea of real life. But me and Daryon wonder who this somebody is 'cause it sure ain't Daryon, and I'm not sure it's me either.
He is frustrated by the difference between school and un-school, or the life outside of school. He doesn't understand why he can't say "F*** this" in one place and not the other--[why isn't it the same?] He doesn't understand why it matters if he chooses to glue bits of paper all over his body and dance around the class yelling, "I've got chicken pox, look out!" [he's not hurting anyone]
He has a quick mathematical mind. He knows the algebra. He knows how to solve the proportion. What he doesn't know is how solving proportions for "x" matters to him. He's told me that he's going to work at McDonalds anyway, so why does he need to know what the F*** "x" equals.
I don't know. Why the **** would a McDonald's employee need to know algebra? Why the **** doesn't school matter to real life? Well, maybe it does matter to real life--somebody's idea of real life. But me and Daryon wonder who this somebody is 'cause it sure ain't Daryon, and I'm not sure it's me either.
posted by The Mentors | 10:40 AM
2 Comments:
Reading through this, I realize it sounds like I want everyone to take it easy on Daryon. I don't. I want them to challenge themselves to make what they teach Daryon matter--not to some legislator or beaurocrat--but to Daryon.
Hmmm, the challenge of every teacher - RELEVANCE! Maybe this is why the days that stand out from high school are the days that Mr. White made it is so we HAD to see how what old dead guys wrote really did apply to our lives. That's what made him a great teacher.
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