By Alex Tokarev, Jun 22, 2009 in Pedagogy and Teaching
Every fall I give the freshmen my "tough love" speech. I talk to them about my dream. A dream of a Christian school. A holy place, a temple for dissemination of knowledge about our Creator and His creation. Where teachers do not have to act like prison guards during exams. Where students understand that more sweat in training means less blood in battle. Where they come to learn to think in order to serve better their neighbors. Where the promise of a promotion, a higher grade, or a shinier sticker is not a necessary incentive for working hard. Where everyone is willing to go an extra mile not for public recognition but for the glory of God.
Many schools in America severely underestimate their students. I believe that they could accomplish much more if we treat them as adults. Because the students are inherently curious. We do not have to treat them as the IMF treats the developing countries—luring them with a carrot and punishing them with a stick. Most of all—giving our students the freedom to choose will make them more responsible. The inevitable mistakes they make will teach them valuable lessons.
I denounce paternalism as a way of treating the young men and women who come to us for wisdom. And I expect them to do the same for us if they enter the government one day. My philosophy—give them "the long rope" and let's see what they do with it. If some choose to hang themselves – good. That would benefit the rest by creating an incentive to excel. And it would teach the failed ones a lesson more valuable than any textbook can provide. We want to impact our culture in a positive way, and if it comes at a price of a few public (self)executions, so be it. It's the natural selection at its best. If the freedom to fail works so great in the market, we have to trust it to work at school.
3 Responses to "Tough love"
Anonymous on Jun 23, 2009
"Giving students the freedom to fail." Yes, this is good. Not something that would sell well with deans/provosts bent on retention, but a sure way to retain the best students. The way I put it to students is that every test, every exam is partially objective, partially competetive. I give them a whole lot to read, to memorize...some will know the basics and they can be satisfied with a decent grade; but others will excell. Grading competetively and making grades public (and the work that earned them) means creating an upward arch of achievement all around.
Anonymous on Jun 30, 2009
This past semester, I TA'd (TAed?) for the first, and last time. I gathered one afternoon with the other TAs to discuss our grading rubric for the first essay. I had already graded a few and the others were appalled to see that I had used red ink.
Doing me the service of enlightenment, one TA explained, "John, we try not to use red ink, the student's perceive it as offensive and abrasive. It's better to use softer colors like blue, green and purple."
At this point I noticed that, in fact, all of the others' papers were marked with the same colors that Martha Stewart uses in her easter table setting. Meanwhile, my papers looked liked a scene from Rambo.
I suggested that the world after college is not a pastel world, but one full of red ink. Unfortunately, that "subtle" recommendation for tough love didn't resonate.
Lee Trepanier on Jul 11, 2009
I applaud the efforts of tough love; but, to add to what John and Susan have said, the difficulty we have to encounter not only comes from administrators (don't scare away our tuition dollars!) but from a culture that cultivates self-esteem above all else. By the time we teach our students, they already have had 18 years of helicopter parenting. This is not to say we should abandon traditional approaches to the classroom, but we should be willing to adapt them to a changed culture.