(Part 2 of 2 – Continued from Part 1)
As educators, we over-complicate teaching and learning.
We over emphasize technology.
We over emphasize group work.
We over emphasize project based learning.
We place too much emphasis on entertaining our students and too little emphasis on educating our students. Lets get back to the basics!
Students should read – more!
Students should write – more!
Students should study – more!
And finally, students should be quizzed, tested, and assessed on their progress!
Educators, we must raise our expectations! We should take the textbook, read it, study it, and master every page. Afterwards, we should demand that our students read, study and master every single page too. Sure, we can add our individual touch to our lessons, notes, and stories. We can supplement the textbook any way we deem necessary. We can add to the textbook, but we should never subtract from the textbook. We must cover every page!
Will the students like this approach? No, but that’s not news! We already know that most students don’t like to read. We already know that most students don’t like to write. However, just because the students don’t like to do it, does not mean we shouldn’t make them do it!
We are the educators! And we should make our students read, write, and study the entire textbook – 5 to 6 pages at a time!
Maurice Guest Jr., is an education administrator in Little Rock, Arkansas.
Maurice Guest Jr. 