After observing numerous articles and films, which focus on education, I have realized there are many challenges schools and educators face. Such challenges can cause a school to struggle to keep students from failing or even dropping out. I believe a reason some students discontinue their education is simply because of boredom. I have seen evidence of this in personal experiences and certain films and articles. In the film, Stand and Deliver, students at Garfield High School are uninterested in the curriculum and the teachers hardly have the motivation to change the students opinion. When a educator uses creative teaching methods it sparks a interest in a student, which we see with Coach Webb in the film Chalk. Such methods can be effective in transforming a portion of the failing student body into an academic success. Not only can this creativity be implemented in teachers but it can be taught to students. Courses like theatre, ancient and modern languages, art appreciation, philosophy and more can be classified as humanities and encourage a student to think creatively. I believe by instructors using original teaching methods and including humanities in the K-12 curriculum, schools will see more participation and improvement in inattentive students.
By allowing teachers to use creative teaching techniques in their classrooms we will see disinterested students show more participation. A great example of this is seen in the film, Stand and Deliver, where Mr. Escalante turns a group of unmotivated students into a more attentive and focused class of students. On his first day of class he is welcomed by a rebellious class who teases and taunts him. He knows that he will need to use a unconventional way of teaching in order to change their opinion on education. For example, he uses apples to teach fractions, which seems odd to the students but the creativity of the lesson has them curious. By the time a student reaches their sophomore and senior year they become bored with repetitive courses and conventional teaching methods. Mr. Escalante is aware that his class of seniors aren't interested in participating and would rather slack off during their senior year. He uses humor and wittiness to catch the students off guard; a characteristic that makes a teacher seem more like a friend than a teacher. An example of Mr. Escalante implementing humor in his teaching is when he creates a comical math problem. "...The total number of girlfriends between them is 20. How many does each gigolo have?" When a teacher uses material that students can relate to and find original they will become curious. Once they realize that a teacher is not going "by the book" they will most likely become more attentive. In the film, Chalk, Coach Webb won't be labeled as a boring teacher and would rather see her students believe they are capable. Her philosophy on teaching is to convince her student's they have the potential to make a difference. "If I make them think they have some sort of potential and they are actually good at the activity, suddenly they start thinking, hey I can do this," explains coach Webb. During the film you can see the activities she includes in her class have a positive outcome on the students; in which they began to take her class more seriously.
In the film, Waiting for "Superman", statistics show students dropping out, math scores failing and a system that is to stubborn to change for the benefit of the students. Throughout the majority of my K-12 years I experienced a narrow minded system that Waiting for "Superman" describes, so I finally began to phase out during my senior year of high school. I blame myself for my lack of motivation, but I would also hold some of the teachers accountable for my unenthusiastic attitude. This sort of teaching grows old, especially when you have been exposed to it over the majority of your K-12 years. The film points out that students who have high performing teachers are learning at a faster rate, "When you see a great teacher, you are seeing a work of art," says Geoffrey Canada. When teachers have the protection of the teachers union they seem to be less motivated to excel in teaching since they are practically invulnerable to being fired under their contracts. I experienced a history teacher who relied on tedious worksheets to make his job easy. He seemed to know very little about the subject and showed little to no enthusiasm. Opposed to my history teacher, my math instructor was very original with his methods of teaching and found ways to make learning interesting. Waiting for Superman points out that teachers like my math teacher can be found in charter schools, where they can be more flexible and have less regulations. When public schools try to be more like charter schools they face problems going against the system. My math instructor was aware that some students would classify the typical educator as boring. He decided to dismiss himself from this classification and display a more unpredictable method of teaching in his classroom. If it wasn't for a few atypical teachers, who inspired my interest, I would have had a harder time graduating.
By including humanities in K-12 education we will give students the opportunity to explore their creative talent. These courses can be classified as performing arts or social sciences, which could give a school a more creative and original environment. In a article written by Keith Gilyard, he talks about a creative arts program; which challenged students to think creatively. During Keith's visit he discovered the kids were fascinated with his career as a English professor and "...more than willing as a group to demonstrate their endeavors to make meaning through poetry, lyrics, oral interpretation, song, drawing, story writing , and dance," says Keith. Even though the class was a success and inspired the interests of art in a group a kids, the program would be discontinued. Another article, which observes a successful Latino history program, explains the preposterous decision to terminate the program. To quote the National Council of Teachers of English, "Ninety-seven percent of students participating in the program graduated from high school, compared to 44 percent nationally, and 70 percent entered college, compared to 24 percent nationally." In a segment on the Daily Show, Lewis Black points out that Robert F. Kennedy community schools spent half a billion dollars to build these modern buildings. Instead of building these exquisite facilities for an absurd amount of money lets build a curriculum that offers such successful programs like creative arts and Mexican American Studies.
I believe by instructors using creative teaching methods and including humanities in the K-12 curriculum, schools will see more participation and improvement in inattentive students. We see evidence of this in the film, Stand and Deliver, where Mr. Escalante uses humor to make the classroom more interesting and appealing to the student's. Similar to Mr. Escalante, Coach Webb has a certain philosophy she goes by to make the students believe they can succeed and make a difference in themselves. Throughout my K-12 years I have personally experienced orthodox teaching methods, which in my opinion are not as effective as a teacher who uses a creative approach to the class. I believe by including more humanities in the K-12 education we will see more kids succeed in education. The National Council of Teachers of English addresses that a Latino History program was graduating ninety-seven percent of students from high school and was later discontinued. Similar to this program, a after-school creative arts class, which had a influence on young kids, had been shut down due to a lack of funding. Lets improve the public education system, which the film, Waiting for "Superman", describes as a broken system. Superintendents need to rearrange funding priorities and look out for the students, not the adults. Successful courses need to be become higher priority and be kept in K-12 education, as well as encouraging teachers to be more creative with their teaching.
Works Cited
Stand and Deliver. Dir. Ramon Menendez. Perf. Edward James Olmos, Estelle Harris, Mark Phelan, Virginia Paris. Warner Bros, 1988. Film.
Chalk. Dir. Mike Akel. Perf. Mike Akel, Angie Alvarez, Graham Davidson, Chris Mass, Michael McAlister. Virgil Films, 2007. Film.
Keith Gilyard. "Children, Arts, and Du Bois." National Council of Teachers of English September 2012: 19-20. Print.
Keith Gilyard. "Arizona Bans Mexican American Studies Program." National Council of Teachers of English September 2012: 21-23. Print.
http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/tue-october-5-2010/back-in-black---education-crisis. The Daily Show with John Stewart. Tuesday October 5, 2010.
Waiting for "Superman". Dir. Davis Guggenhiem. Perf. Geoffrey Canada. Paramount Vantage, 2010. Documentary Film.
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