Monthly Archives: July 2013

Competition

Guest Host: Sue Gilbert

Education Is Competition


I once received a 2-page course evaluation comment from a student (she was a teacher taking my Chinese class). In the treatise, she highlighted several elements she found good, but mostly what I remember is her opposition to the several competition-like activities I included. I would ask students to perform Chinese character writing on the board in front of their peers as a kind of race. I felt I was encouraging students to produce their characters fast and accurate. Most students, it seemed to me, enjoyed it. Or at least they were into it, excited about writing, and enjoying the moment. They would share ideas for how they remembered the characters. Seemed like sound pedagogy.

This student didn’t see these competitions in the same light. She saw only embarrassment – a form of public shaming in the guise of motivation. It’s a perspective that has stuck with me.

When I look for it, competition appears to be a pervasive element of the educational experience. We have formal sports competitions, and academic competitions, award lists, and a ranking grade system that seems to communication who won and who lost. We compete for scholarships and even for seats in a classroom.

Yet, there is a wholesome side to our competitive spirit. The coach who inspires the best in us, the teammates who share pride in our accomplishments and support in our disappointment, and the drive in ourselves to improve. This is the side we talk about with Sue Gilbert, a Kirkwood student in the Graphics Communication program. She shares her story and journey through an honors project on the Brotherhood of Competition.

BIG

Guest Host: Shawn Cornally

Education is BIG

My mind is still spinning after speaking with Shawn Cornally of the Big Ideas Group. In some ways our discussion leaves me feeling sad that I didn’t have much educational choice. But it’s not about me and my learning any more. I can choose to learn in any way I want now. I find many of the big ideas discussed in this podcast exciting: inquiry and problem based learning (actual problems, not odd numbered activities), moving away from grades and toward feedback as a model to encourage learning, choices in educational venue, partnering with local entrepreneurs, competency-based assessment, public input on achievement, the hiphop model of education where we experience all the best parts over and over and over. So, yes Education is BIG. In its enormity, there is room for choice and exploration and much discussion.