Thursday, July 29, 2021

Final Post: What Message Do We Send?

Academic Pressure and Mental Health | MindPath Care Centers    

    Full Disclosure: I got a little carried away and listened to episodes 163-169 this week. Between episodes 164, 167, and 169, I was most impressed by the idea that we send messages to kids through our classroom practices. The most obvious and clear example of cognitive dissonance for teachers is thinking our classrooms encourage risk-taking and individual thinking when in reality grades pressure students to conform to set thought processes and make as few mistakes as possible. 
    I didn't have many issues with grades until college, and in many music theory courses (similar to math) I was failing not from a lack of understanding, but the weight of my assignments as I first was figuring out the concepts we learned in class. On the flip side, too much emphasis on a final test can create unnecessary anxiety for other students who don't test well.
    We have known for years that one-size-fits-all approaches aren't effective and disproportionately disparage students who need a teacher's help the most. 
    One thing I know as someone who has been a student for the past sixteen years is that many teachers with a one-size-fits-all approach are well-meaning. Maybe they learned best that way, or have had success with students using this approach in the past, or they are preparing students for a very real challenge (e.g. AP Exams, college work-ethic, GRE). 
    The main issue with this is that generations change, and amongst even a class of students there will be diversity in how students interact with the content. Re-evaluating different pathways to success may mean more work for educators, but it's the most student-focused approach. 
    As a music educator, I look back to my high school experience in orchestra for the messages we learned. While there's much to be interpreted in the overwhelmingly white and male canon, the biggest message I got was that orchestras were elite. Part of this was natural association; I would walk into the Fox Theater and see boomers wearing large jewelry, fur coats, and drinking eighteen-dollar glasses of champagne. A large part though was looking at the students we celebrated in orchestra- chamber kids. 
    The chamber was limited to sixteen students from our sixty-student string program, and every single one had private lessons outside of school. A large majority also had parents who were in the Spokane Symphony or were monetary donors for the symphony. As much as we like to say students can succeed with enough practice, it's clear to me now that the curriculum and competitions we participated in were aimed to show off these students - not to teach everyone else.
    Teachers need to change their mindset about the standards we create for our students. Are they inclusive to different learning abilities, socio-economic status, and cultural backgrounds? Are we teaching a certain way out of interest for our students or out of convenience to ourselves? Only when we think about the purpose behind our teaching (or the mission statement) can we move forward in education.
    

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