When you teach 8th-grade, one thing you constantly keep in your mind is that you are training your students for what they will encounter in high school. I assume 5th-grade teachers have this in mind for middle school, and kindergarten teachers have it in mind for 1st grade. There is no time at which a teacher is not preparing students for the next level. We expect this to come with resistance from students, but it should not come with resistance from parents. Yet, adults often communicate resistance to kids, both consciously and unconsciously.
Schooling is one of the few things everyone has in common. Whether public, home, or private, all of us have been to school. We have all progressed from basic reading and arithmetic to complex novel analysis and geometry. We have all gone from the idea that science is a set of terms to the idea that science is an examination of how and why things work. We have all moved from the idea that history is a study of the events in the past to a recognition of how those events affect our present. We all know that we are better and more interesting people because of the things we learned outside of our career path, but we do not communicate that to students.
Here's a short list of things I wish adults would stop saying to students:
1. I never use algebra anyway.
Yes, you do use algebra. You use it every single day of your life. You don't sit down with a pencil and call an unknown x because you have internalized algebra to the point where you don't need to do that anymore. It's no longer algebra as much as it is algebraic thinking. When you figure out if you have enough money in the bank to pay a bill, you are using algebraic thinking. When you figure out which coupon is the better deal for buying a box of cereal, you are using algebraic thinking. When you decide how hard you need to hit the brakes to keep from hitting the car in front of you, you are using algebraic thinking. The part of your brain that was strengthened by taking algebra is essential for modern living, so stop devaluing it with teenagers.
2. When you get to high school is when it matters because it will go on your transcript.
I was guilty of this one when I taught 9th-grade. The idea that your transcript mattered seemed to be a good motivational tool for incoming freshman to take their classes seriously. What I didn't realize was that I undermined my own value by implying their education up to that point had no value. When you underestimate the value of ANY part of a student's education, you teach them to undervalue all of it. Yes, the transcript is an important piece of one possible path in their lives, but so was learning to share in kindergarten. The transcript will be looked at by colleges, but a student's work ethic is what shows up in teacher recommendation letters, regardless of grades. The transcript reflects your performance in classes; it doesn't say what kind of person you are.
We all had subjects we liked less in school than others. There's nothing wrong with communicating that you are a human being. That is not, however, the context in which this is usually said. This usually comes about when a student doesn't want to do their math homework or doesn't want to read their history book. Someone, then affirms their lack of motivation with this statement. If you, as an adult, take a moment to look back on it, I imagine you can now find value in something you didn't see at the time. I wish I had paid better attention in history because I can now see the patterns that got us to where we are today; I couldn't see that as a high school freshman. I spent all of my time in Human Anatomy and Physiology Lab in tears. I was emotionally overwhelmed by the cadaver on the table, but I never learned more in a class than that one (in spite of the C I earned in it). I hated, hated, hated, reading Lord of the Flies, but I can appreciate it now that I see it being played out in culture. When you tell a student you hated a subject and let it rest, you teach them there is only value to things they like. Perhaps, you could augment your statement with what you learned from it even though you didn't like it at the time.
If you are a parent, you know that you can say something, say it clearly, and say it repeatedly and still have your child look you in the eye and say, "You never told me that." Multiply that by 25, and you might stop suggesting that if students don't know something, it is on the teacher. We do our best to actively engage students, but we cannot learn it for them. I have had tests in which student scores ranged between 3% and 97%. During a review for my last test, every student got a question wrong, which was a great opportunity to talk about how a lot of people being wrong doesn't make it right. Teachers examine our tests after students take them. When a large number of people miss a question, we do go to that question to make sure it is fairly worded, has been taught, and has been properly marked on the key. Then, we go over that question with them in the next class to explain why they were wrong and how they could approach it differently the next time to get it right. We do not automatically throw it out because that teaches our students that it is okay to be wrong if a lot of people are wrong.
5. You shouldn't take that class if it doesn't line up with what job you want.
Every teacher has at least one student who tells us why they shouldn't have to take our class, no matter what that class is. One student, in particular, stands out in my mind. He wanted to be a musician (although I've also heard this statement from future baseball players, politicians, and writers) and just didn't believe he should have to learn chemistry. Most of the time, we approach this from a standpoint of needing a backup plan in case the whole musician thing doesn't pan out, but I don't think that is wise. It is just feeding the idea that education is only valuable if it relates to your job. I said to this student, who I had a good relationship with, "What if the only thing I could talk to you about was chemistry? Would we have the relationship we have?" He replied, "Well, no, I guess we wouldn't." The reason I could have a conversation with this student, or any of my less scientifically inclined students, is because I am a human being with diverse interests. I've learned enough about art and music to hold a reasonable conversation and to be able to learn from someone who knows more than I do on the subject (usually, my students). I read enough to be able to talk about favorite books with students. I loved my general ed classes because, while they weren't applicable to my future career, they were making me a more interesting person. Let's teach our kids to be curious, not to be jaded about anything that isn't in their chosen field.
6. It's only (fill in the grade here). It doesn't matter anyway.
This was the one that started it all - this mom who was communicating to her daughter that it was okay to fail because this year didn't matter. Every day of your life matters. What you do that day matters because you are trading a day of your life for it. Every day, you are in training to become the person you will be tomorrow. I don't believe in preparing for college in kindergarten, but I do believe that kindergartners are capable of preparing for next week during this week. I do believe a third grader is in training for fourth grade. I do believe I am teaching my 8th-graders to become high school freshmen and my seniors to become lifelong learners, whether that is in college or a job or just as people. I am teaching all of them the work ethic that is needed for their current level and preparing them for the work ethic that will be needed at the next level. That student did not suddenly become a motivated, hardworking learner when it "started to count" her freshman year. Because she had been taught that she only had to work if she thought it was necessary, she carried poor work habits and study skills into high school. Even if you think a year doesn't matter, DO NOT let your student hear you say it.
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