Forming a mind
In the informational essays of Montaigne, “On the Education of Children,” in his letter to Madame Diane De Foix, Comtesse de Gurson, he pointedly decided the correct way of how to educate a child. Montaigne clearly says in his letter, "it is by order, and not by force, that it is to be acquired." He continually states that education cannot be obtained by force, but only with order and subtlety. Another wise opinion that he placed before the countess was, that a child should be brought up to think efficiently and to be an independent person by it, to have his personal opinions and to have time to wonder about them. He says that every aspect of a student 's life should be instructive, continuing that everything he does should
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“I do really believe, it had been totally impossible to have made it to submit by violence and force.” If an instructor teaches education with vexation and pressure, the students will only learn to hate it, associating it with anguish, therefore, becoming sluggish and uncaring when in the study room. As seen in schools present and past, children rebel against even the slightest bit of work. The work the students are given is completed in drudgery. From experience, children enjoy the classes that have good and kind teachers. Even if the workload is high, they appreciate how the instructor teaches and want to make them proud putting their best effort into their …show more content…
These are the students that will leave marks on the world. These are the people that will speak up for themselves and address the problems of our world. If a teacher instructs using Montaigne as a role model, the children will be the people who are proactive and become the leaders of our time. In contrast, the students today are falling into the trap all children face. The big question for many children is if they should follow the crowd or to be themselves and rise above all others. Quickly, the fear of standing out is decides for the individual, and they blend in with the rest of the
Richard Rodriguez in “The Achievement Of Desire”, is a man who started to reflect on his early adolescence at the age of thirty. The author struggled to maintain a balance between a successful education and the life of coming from a working class family. At a very young age Rodriguez had decided to make education his one and only top priority, not noticing it would affect him gradually. He would rather spend his time with his books and learning than having quality time with his family and friends, however he became aware about the separation occurring between himself and his family, explaining throughout the text how he was not able to have conversations with his own family and becoming an outsider to his education and home. However, fails
Michel Eyquem de Montaigne was born on February 28, 1533, in a time when only the wealthy received the privilege of a good education. Around 1539, Montaigne's father sent him to the College of Guyenne in Bordeaux, where, by the time he had reached his thirteenth year, had completed the curriculum under the direction of George Buchanan. Montaigne spoke well of his educators and praised their teaching techniques, but chastised the stern discipline of most of the schools during his time. He said that if one were to visit a college where lessons were in progress, nothing could be heard, save “the cries of children being beaten and of masters drunk with anger.”1 In his work, The Essays, Montaigne emphasizes some very important subjects, such as the need to teach children with gentleness, make learning an enjoyable experience, and train a child's personality. Though Montaigne's thoughts on education may be contrasting to the world today, he understood the process of learning very well. His ideas may be applied to instructional theory to this day.
When I first decided to be a teacher I had many thoughts and opinions about teaching and education. Some of my thoughts and opinions have stayed them same; however, many have changed from the discussions and readings in LL ED 411 and 480. When I first decided that I wanted to be a teacher I thought that most students learned in the same manner. I also thought that the teacher should have power over the classroom. Likewise, I thought that technology should not be used in the classroom--except to type papers. I now know that there is not much truth to my ideas and thoughts because my thoughts were shaped only from my experiences. My experiences are narrow because they were shaped from the problems in schools and the old ideas that teachers still have. Now that I have learned the other sides to these problems I know that my thoughts about teaching and education are not fully developed.
The field of composition studies has worked to define and make sense of the "basic writer" for decades. In 1977, Mina Shaughnessy called basic writing the "pedagogical west," a frontier, "unmapped, except for a few blazed trails that individual teacher propose through their texts" (4). Since Shaughnessy, the work of David Bartholomae, Min Zhan Lu, Bruce Horner, and others, has expanded upon, and called into question, the term "basic writer." In this paper, rather than do away with the term altogether, I will offer a study of a writer who would be typically labelled "basic." This study will place her work beside that of an acclaimed and historical "expert," Michel de Montaigne. Through a series of close readings, I hope to illustrate the rhetorical oves from dialogue to performance that "Studentessa" (a former and anonymous student of mine) undergoes in her writing. At the same time, I will mark moments in which Montaigne reinscribes these rhetorical moves into his own writing. Ultimately, these points of intersection will reveal the richness inherent in study of writers we call "basic," and allow greater appreciation for the performative abilities of Montaigne.
As I continue to shadow cooperating teachers through my field experience observations, I believe that some students can be taught self-discipline while others need to be “controlled and disciplined”. Not every student at the middle level has the same amount of motivation, learning capability, and discipline; which can be a huge academic factor in their schooling. By stating this, I believe tha...
It is a teacher’s responsibility to make sure that the student’s behaviour in the classroom is appropriate and well managed, but doing so can be a difficult task. There is often a divide in the classroom between those who want to learn and those who don’t seem too concerned about their education and as Churchill (2013) states “Don’t particularly want to be their”, this can have an effect on everyone (p.56). Students that lack respect towards teacher...
Now let's say there are exams on so this teacher has double the workload they would have and something has happened back home which is stressing them out. Then they have to come and face this child that won't listen disrupting every other student how tempting would it be just to end this or make them. I know that is very dark and a huge "what if", but in the moment and circumstances it might just take over. Even if an attack did occur it has been known that highly trained police officers under panic take a bullet to an innocent civilian imagine a low paid teacher that has been given a light demonstration on the
Montaigne was born into a very wealthy family on February 28, 1533 in the town of Saint Michel de Montaigne. Soon after birth, his father sent him to a small cottage to live the first 3 years of his life with a peasant family in order to “draw the boy close to the people”. After these years, Montaigne was sent back to his family estate and was taught Latin as his first language. Later in his
Through reading William Glasser use of noncoercive choice to promote quality learning and student self-control, it sheds light on the realities of today’s schools and students and how the approaches that teachers have used in attempting to make students behave responsibly have been unsuccessful. Teachers often times try to force their students to behave a certain way or to do things, but in reality it may cause your students to act out against you and you are still unsuccessful in making the student behaving responsibly. Glasser believes that you get far better results when, instead of using force, you use positive influence to get students behave more effectively and you accomplish this by employing noncoercive behaviors (Charles, 2011).
With lifelong effects, teachers impact the quantity, quality, and overall enjoyment of the educational experience. Their effect dilutes itself the classroom, into present life, and even the future. In the classroom, they mold and guide youth in their lifelong quest to search for the truth and their own voice in the world. Yet their influence does not stop at the classroom door. In fact, teachers have a profound impact on morals, creativity, and even politics. "Teachers always have the power in the class," Christian Zawodniak discusses in , "I'll Have To Help More Of You Than I Want To." They hold the grades and students usually perceive them as holding the knowledge too (Zawodniak 124). But how should a teacher exercise this bestowed power? Is a forced learning environment more beneficial or is a cooperative pedagogy more productive? With diverse students and unique learning needs, it is difficult to identify one or the other as more advantageous. However, I will attempt to explore the benefits and disadvantages of both, as well as how they can be combined or compromised in a delicate balance. Although I will strive to stay neutral and merely present the options, I may also occasionally include my own personal experiences.
Someone once said, “Your attitude determines your altitude.” When it comes to education that is certainly true. When it comes to learning in today’s society, one’s attitude effects a lot of one’s learning. Attitude and education go hand in hand. Today students are learning that grades are the most important thing and not necessarily the learning that comes along with those grades. Students spend time blaming others, especially teachers and their teaching styles, instead of taking initiative and doing the work. Students also, unfortunately, resort to cheating; because they feel like that’s what they have to do to pass the class. When in all reality if students just had a better, more positive attitude towards education; their learning would
When we are in a class we expect certain level of behaviour in terms to deliver a lesson effectively. There are moments where the students purposefully or not break that level. Some of the reasons for that are: lack of interest, inappropriate challenges or learning disabilities. All of these reasons are closely linked with the level of motivation which is the main leading power of progress.
"The important thing is not so much that every child should be taught, as every child should be instilled with the wish to learn."
Along these two weeks we have been prompt to make a recall to our own way of learning and why we became a teacher: Was it because coincidence, due to life circumstances, maybe because family tradition, was it a conscious decision or because someone influenced us? Whatever the answer is, we have to face reality and be conscious that being a teacher does not only means to teach a lesson and asses students learning. It requires playing the different roles a teacher must perform whenever is needed and required by our learners, identify our pupils needs and preferences, respecting their integrity and individuality but influencing and motivating them to improve themselves and become independent.
I went to primary school in the early 1980’s; I had a very typical education for the time, Maths, English, Science, with hefty doses of fear, in the form of the threat of corporal punishment. We sat in rows, no talking, no sharing of ideas just copying from the black board into our books; these days it would be termed a behaviorist model of teaching. My classmates, those who didn’t fit the norm, had a very lonely, isolated experience; in some cases I know the experience frightened them off learning forever. When I began my study I knew that there must be a better way to teach all students, and I am very glad to say there is; Groundwater –Smith, Ewing and Le Cornu (2007) state, “ for education to transcend mere schooling it requires that students be recognised as full participants in the learning process” (p.4). So, my reflections, questions and decision are based around my desire to find a teaching styles that place children firmly at the centre of learning, that respects children, and empower them; from my study I can see it is these approaches that get the best outcomes for students, and enable teachers to be truly effective. I have chosen to discuss in detail at some of the elements of my study that are at the core of effective teaching; knowing and understanding students and how to motivate them, positive and proactive classroom management, constructivist theory, and finally behaving professionally and ethically.