Some Suggestions for Improving Education
Prepare more future entrepreneurs and less future employees.
Have older students helping younger students.
Give students more freedom to choose what they learn, when they learn it and how they learn it.
Make schools more democratic. Give students more power, more responsibility..
Make schools more cooperative and less competitive.
Reduce the focus on grades, exams.
Eliminate the divisions based on age. Group people according to their abilities.
Increase the awareness of what is happening inside schools.
Give students more of a voice. Take their ideas and feelings more seriously.
Bring students closer to nature. Give them more contact with nature. Plants, animals, the land, the rivers, etc.
Allow them to keep their natural creativity and encourage creativity rather than uniformity.
Place more importance on the students' feelings.
Reduce the amount of fear in schools. Fear of failing, fear of making mistakes, fear of punishment, fear of disapproval, fear of judgment, fear of not graduating, fear of not getting a job.
Reduce the amount of threats in schools.
Base schools on the positive natural human needs, such as the needs to feel helpful, feel creative, feel in control, feel satisfied, feel proud of oneself.
Make learning more independent and self-directed.
Help develop members of a world community rather than of one country, culture or religious group.
Suggestions for Teaching English
*under construction*
more group work
more independent work
less of the teacher standing in front of the class
more choices, more freedom to chose topics, to choose between
group work and independent work
take them outside and sit in circles
invite native speakers to the class
ask them to invite native speakers
take them to places where native speakers go
have them start conversations with native speakers
make the assingments more relevant to their personal lives
ask their opinions about things like drugs, school rules,
parents' rules, punishment from parents and schools - like
hitting children, not letting someone come into the class if they
are late, school uniforms
ask them to give their ideas on how to learn english, how to
teach it, how to make the classes more interesting, how to
motivate the students
ask them to talk about their feelings, how much they feel
respected by the teachers and why and what makes a good teacher
and what makes a bad teacher
ask them if they would come to school if they weren't forced to
and why or why not
ask them to keep a personal journal in english and spanish. ask
them to write about their feelings. how they feel at home, at
school.
ask them to write about their relationships with their friends
and relatives
teach them the names of their feelings, especially their negative
feelings
ask them to think of reasons for learning english
ask them what they want to do in their lives and how english will
help them personally
ask them how much the want to learn english, from 0 to 10. listen
to what they say.
use what they say to help design the class.
have the better students help the others
don't make them afraid of failing tests or getting bad grades
reduce the number of tests and quizzes
use more cassettes, videos
let them listen to cassttes or videos at their own pace
have more headphones and tape players and cd players
don't make them all listen to the same thing at the same time
let them have more control over the learning process
if they are motivated they will use the resources
have books and magazines in english available
have them bring in magazines in english. borrow them from hotels
for example.
have them write letters or emails to people in other countries.
ask them to send old books, magazines
start an email list of pen pals in other countries - many native
speakers would be happy to help
get teen magazines in English for the teenagers
teach them how to chat on the internet
teach them how to send emails
start a relationship with a school in another country
get them to ask other students questions like "do your
parents hit you?" "is it legal to hit children in your
country?" "is it legal to slap teenagers in the
face?" "how many boyfriends have you had? Have you had
sex yet?" "Do you use birth control?"
How do your parents punish you? Do they threaten you? Do they
pressure you to get good grades? Do you believe in God? Do you
believe Mary was a virgin? Do you think God cares about what kind
of clothes we wear? What do you think happens when you die?
Have you ever thought of killing yourself? Have you ever cut? Do
you know anyone who cuts?
Find sites on the Interet for teenagers, like teenpendiary.com
Have them create their own online diaries
Whisper in their ear to help them pronounce things - I do this and it seems to help. Also, I noticed today (June 8, 2004) that when I couldn't hear the words to the song Where is the Love through the speakers I could hear them later when I had my headphones on. There is a part that says gotta keep my faith alive.... only with the headphones could i hear ... till love is found.