More Swag Than Your Mother

More Swag Than Your Mother: I never understood tests/exams

sheldenthegirl:

moreswagthanyourmother:

I don’t mind them because I’ve always done well on them but I never understood why they existed, moreover why there are multiple ones per class you take. Here’s my take on it.

Why would you develop something that did the following two things
- Create an environment where cramming is actually a…

If a student isn’t understanding the material presented when they are in class, what would make them understand it on their own at home?

In an ideal world, the student would have access to one-on-one tutoring, an active learning community and a significant amount of feedback from the professor during the learning process, but this isn’t the case for most students.

In K-12 settings, students typically have more practice assignments and might get more feedback from their teachers since those types of assignments are typically graded and handed back. But most kids won’t be able to afford private tutoring or have a way to get to before/after school tutoring. 

In college settings, students might have a better chance of having adequate tutoring sessions since many schools provide for them in tuition (and hopefully, by this point, you can get there on your own). But professors rarely give out practice assignments and when they are graded, they are almost never returned.  

Instead of coming up with better ways to assess student success, we should come up with better ways to invoke student success.

There has to be more than professors giving never ending lectures and teachers handing out packets. There has to be more than exams and homework. There has to be real, honesttogod, learning.

You made some excellent points, of course since this isn’t the only issue with the educational system. But I feel like putting more time and effort into the resource of an institution like this is the student. The professors should be more interested in the well being of their students.

I find it daunting that the only processors in my lifetime that honestly gave a damn were the following.

Mrs Mcsquinny - 2nd Grade Elementary

I loved her, I took a picture with only her when I had to move. Absolutely one of the sweetest and definitely the most involved teacher involved with kids at that age.

Mrs McMillan - High School Arts

Such a sweet lady, like a 2nd mother to me. Everyday was amazing in her class, she’s part of why I’m constantly in a good mood. Seeing someone with such happiness and love to give is inspirational. It rubbed off well on her teaching as she was on a much higher level in comparison to the rest of that school. I’m glad she finally retired and we actually keep in touch 3-4 years free I left :)

Mr Lane - High School Marine Bio

What a brilliant man, you’ll never meet a guy as passionate about marine life besides this guy. Extremely amazing professor, and very soft spoken which some students mistook as him being a pushover, but he was anything but and he has nothing but respect from me and anyone who took that class seriously. I ran into him recently and he recognized me even though I didn’t expect him to. He wanted to share photos of an expedition he took in his time off from school haha. Passion at its finest.

And back to the original point, three very good professors stand out remarkably more than the other greater dozens of teachers I’ve had. These people did what I envisioned, but by diminishing the importance of these exams and focusing more on each students individual development and understanding.