Response to "To High School English Teachers (and All Teachers)

“To High School English Teachers (and All Teachers)”

Overall, I was very inspired by this reading.  I really enjoyed what the author, P.L. Thomas shared about teaching English.  The part that struck me the most was his bullet “Resist teaching so that students acquire fixed content and instead foster students as ongoing learners.”  Although it may seem obvious to some that, as teachers, our goal should be to create lifelong learners, the author’s perspective on this was very interesting and made me say “Aha!”  I really enjoyed the example about MLA formatting, as this is something I can directly relate to in my own experience as a student.  Throughout high school and even college, I have had teachers and professors who insist that students should memorize citation rules.  This piece made me realize the issue with these kinds of “fixed content.”  Teachers time would be better spent teaching the importance of WHY we cite and how to find the latest citation information, rather than simply presenting students with a list of rules that must be memorized.   

Before this article, I had never thought about the concept of “fixed content” but it really struck a chord with me once I thought about it more.  I feel that as a student myself I was taught to acquire fixed content rather than be an ongoing learner.  I remember always hoping and wanting to get to current events and read more contemporary literature, but always hearing that studying history and classic novels “are things you just have to know.” Of course, all of that history and the classics have immense value, but they can definitely be taught in a way that incorporates modern and real world issues.  I feel that this approach helps students find purpose in what they’re learning, and understand how the past can be valuable to their present. That understanding is how life long learners are born.

For another class, I read a chapter of a book about strategies for lifelong literacy.  Unfortunately, I’m not able to link it here, but one of the examples it included is particularly relevant to this reading.  It talked about a student teacher, who prepared a unit on irony.  His cooperating teacher challenged him to push beyond the boundaries of the curriculum that was in place, and encouraged him to think about what his students would know HOW to do after the unit.  I think the teacher’s emphasis on learning new skills rather than simply new information, speaks to Thomas’ point about ongoing learning.  English, along with many other content areas, is not a fixed area.  It continuously grows and changes, and students who have been taught in this area, should have the ability to grow and change along with it.