As always, well put. However,
“Maybe you realized it was all madness, but I bet you did it anyway. You didn’t have a choice, right?”
Many students do have a terribly mercenary attitude. But a good number do voluntary study topics with no evident financial incentive.
″...I didn’t need to know what the words meant, it would work anyway.”
That was a stupid thing for them to say. However, a common approach in these circumstances, similar but crucially different is “you don’t need to know what the words mean now, just read them over and over as you gradually develop your understanding—it’s a good way to learn.”
″..classroom time is now spent on preparing for tests...”
Is there a better way of teaching, as proven by high-quality studies? (There may well be, but the question must be asked before dismissing the test-based approach.)
As always, well put. However, “Maybe you realized it was all madness, but I bet you did it anyway. You didn’t have a choice, right?” Many students do have a terribly mercenary attitude. But a good number do voluntary study topics with no evident financial incentive.
″...I didn’t need to know what the words meant, it would work anyway.” That was a stupid thing for them to say. However, a common approach in these circumstances, similar but crucially different is “you don’t need to know what the words mean now, just read them over and over as you gradually develop your understanding—it’s a good way to learn.”
″..classroom time is now spent on preparing for tests...” Is there a better way of teaching, as proven by high-quality studies? (There may well be, but the question must be asked before dismissing the test-based approach.)