Whew! It's Over!

Well, my second, and much more challenging, semester of grad school is behind me. I had two tough classes, and did not have time to blog much over the last couple months.

For both of you who read the blog (Thanks, mom. [Actually, I don't think my mom knows what a blog is.]) I will try to post a little more over the next month.

What Does Education Mean?

Over the last few months, I have been contemplating what education means. A few things prompted this thinking:

• My daughter is going enter middle school next year (YIKES!);
• I have started my master's degree;
• My wife is an educator (department head of Pre-Curriculum at a nearby community college);
  
• I teach in the Developmental Studies Department, at a different community college.
  

All of this has made me ask, "What is the value of an education?"or, "What is the value of a good education?"

I deal with students who are not ready for regular college-level classes, at least mathematically. (Some are completely unprepared.) I have students who are right out of high school up through students who complete high school before I was born. Some have been in college, some only have a GED. I am always fascinated to observe how students spend their education. Some show up when it is convenient for them and do the absolute minimum. Others go all out, taking notes, doing extra homework, asking for help, etc. Most are somewhere in between. (My wife deals with the same range of students.)

As my daughter prepares for middle school, thoughts turn toward he college education. (She does not have a choice. She will go to college.) In looking toward that goal, I want to prepare her to be a student who is not a minimalist ("What do I need to get by?")

I am approaching my master's studies with the question, "What can I do to get the most out of this?" I will admit that I was not always the best student in college, although my grades were very good (3.83, not to brag or anything). I am taking this much more seriously. Perhaps it is a function of my age. I have been in the real world.

That is one thing I notice about my students. The so-called non-traditional students (i.e. those who have been in the real world, as opposed to those jumping in from high school) are much more serious and motivated.

If we value our education--if we ask, "What can I get out of this?"--we are more likely to receive a better education.

This says that I is smart

You paid attention during 97% of high school!

85-100% You must be an autodidact, because American high schools don't get scores that high! Good show, old chap!

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This Is Wild

Apparently, at Duke University researchers have discovered that monkeys can "perform mental addition." The scary part is "that they performed about as well as college students given the same test." Yikes! Although, from my experience teaching developmental math, I am not all that surprised. When you ask a student was 8 plus 4 is, and they reach for their calculator, it is scary.

Does this tell us something about the intelligence of monkeys, or the inadequacy of math education in our public schools?

Being Computer Savvy

I am not the most computer savvy person in the world. I know about enough to mess everything up.

The problem is that we live in a world that is almost completely dependent upon a computer. The gas pump, ATM, cash register, and about everything else built in the last 10-20 years has some computer chip in it.

To be successful in any line of work, you need to know how to use a computer. As a teacher at a community college, I am tasked with the job of educating many non-traditional students. These are students who have been out of school for any number of years. I have had students who graduated from high school in the 1970s, before the advent of the four-function calculator. Many of these students are "cyber-phobic." (That is a term coined by my Intro to Computers instructor in college.)

The problem is that many do not have a computer at home. They have worked jobs that did not require the use of computer. Now they are entering a world where computers are all-pervasive.

All of the homework for my classes are on-line. Many students struggle with how to type an Internet address in the bar. Some do not know how to type an e-mail address (i.e. they leave out the "@" or the ".".)

We need better technological integration in our educational system. We need to "force" students to learn and gain computer skills. That goes beyond how to play solitaire.