What did you learn what was it worth

And the trouble is this very, very important question is really not asked nearly often enough. Discourse around education tends to be about method. I think that we need to think in terms of educating for the unknown, for what might come up, for nimble ways of thinking about it, for large understandings that can help us code the unexpected, as well as the expected.

Well, that is completely bizarre. We simply have to do better than that. What is one to do with them and how are they relevant? One way to think about it is that we need to teach content looking for what you might call understandings of wide scope.

Not the narrow, deep pieces of knowledge that make up a large part of any discipline, but the ways in which the discipline looks outside itself. We need to rethink that. Share this post. Do you agree or disagree?

Provide a comment on this page if you agree or disagree together with a sentence to explain why. Want to keep learning? See other articles from this course. This article is from the online course:. The better you understand English grammar and the better you speak the language, the easier international working life and higher education becomes. While English is the most commonly learned second language around the world, many believe that it is also one of the hardest languages to learn.

In my opinion, you can also experience the same when studying English! When you were born, it was easy to learn your mother-tongue. You were immersed in your first language, everyone tried to help you and you learnt it by practising.

You likely achieved fluency in your mother-tongue quite effortlessly, with a mixture of implicit and explicit learning in school. Then a time came where you had to learn a second language…. By now, it is getting more complicated! Then you learn past, present and future tenses, conditional sentences and prepositions — and the list goes on.

The more English rules you learn, the more exceptions you have to learn — and it seems to be so much to remember. We never know what the future brings, and whatever situations we find ourselves in, such as a job promotion in international business or relocating to another country, speaking English fluently is certainly an invaluable skill to have.

You may fly on the wings of love, marry and move to a country where you would benefit from being able to speak English. His face smoothed in surprise. He sat up a little and opened a notebook. The next day he brightly offered to replace the bumper on the old truck I drove. The start of Greg's visible respect for school was simultaneous with my visible respect for him as he wanted to be seen: wild, misunderstood and in need.

To know why it is important to understand what students value, I encourage everyone to reflect on how they feel -- and perform -- when a school leader knows and acts on what is important to team members. Now think about when a leader ignores or disrespects team and individual values. How does it affect performance?

I have learned this: discovering and appealing to what students value has the power of a "return on investment" of their eagerly engaging in and owning their learning.

And that is the pedagogical gold ring. Following are practices for uncovering student values. Each may be used alone. However, they yield more accurate information when applied as a set throughout a school year or term. This shows students, from day one, that you care who they are and what they value. I have asked the following of multiple groups, from fifth graders to college sophomores:. Closely read students' answers on what made a teacher the best or worst, rendering a class the best or worst experience.

A one-on-one conversation can have significant results -- it humanizes you, and it provides insight on where students are emotionally. Prepare only a few questions, with the goal of gaining in-depth answers. Here are examples:.