Wednesday, October 20, 2010
a Caribbean way of life
After class, I couldn't stop thinking about what Charlene and Lisa had said in class. Lisa had made a comment regarding the way people are brought up in education in the Caribbean. She said that there was no such thing as working with groups. In school, you kept to yourself and did your work on your own. To this, Charlene quickly jumped in to agree with her. After giving it much thought, I have to say that I too, would like to jump on the bandwagon. Having been raised in New York, by very traditional Caribbean people, I have to say that it has been my experience that these people have no concept of what it means to "work in group". Their school experience never provided them with one. I don't want to say that they advocate team work or unity. I want to say that working in groups calls for many other aspects that Caribbean people are not accustomed to, which is why 'group work' does not exist. For instance, collaborative learning opens the door to critique. It something that is not looked upon negatively. In fact, when in groups, students are encouraged to critique and analyze a published piece. This would be considered outlandish for a even a working-class Caribbean person to do. I have to say that this topic could really be a source of interest for me. I think I would like to pursue it in the future.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
This is a very interesting point you bring in Mighty, about the power to critique a published piece. I know I had difficulty myself while in public school to do this because I come from a similar background (Iranian) in which critiquing a piece of writing that has already been published is rather outlandish. In fact, as Charlene and Lisa were discussing how the 'stronger' students may not benefit that much from the group work because they would not be challenged enough, it made me also think of even if the weaker students do find some kind of error or criticism about another student's paper (a stronger student's paper if you will), he/she will not feel entitled to speak of it especially when the stronger student knows that he/she is stronger and attempts to take charge of the group.
ReplyDeleteFor instance, at the classes I co-teach at Hostos, just yesterday we put students in groups for discussing literature and as soon as it started, I noticed that one of the students who is stronger just proclaimed "let's do it this way..." or when answering questions she just went on saying what she felt could be the answer and she wouldn't see it any other way. Meanwhile, the other two students who were working with her did not even dare to speak of their mind in this group even though they usually talk well with each other.
So I guess in this instance, a teacher must really get to know the students first and know how to divide them in groups.
As I mentioned in the classroom discussion last week, I prefer learning from a teacher who knows the material well and knows how to engage and lead students toward an interesting discussion. This is a skill and an art. However, I believe collaborative or group learning is useful as a supplement to the traditional approach, not a replacement. For example, writing a drama scene/dialogue about a theme, or a poem about the characters in the literature discussed could be a useful group activity. But the teacher should monitor the groups to make sure no one is being railroaded or intimidated. However, I think it's okay if a more knowledgeable or confident student makes suggestions in a non controlling way. Personally though, I have trouble working in groups, always did, always will, because my style and pace are different from the other students. I know this from experience. In fact part of my learning process includes my coming up with my own way of learning something. This way, I learn it on a deeper level. I also learn through my mistakes, and if I'm not allowed to do this, I have trouble learning something new. If I am in a group I usually get shut down and all my thoughts get strangled in the process, and thus, I go white in the face.
ReplyDeleteIn addition to what I said in class about peer/group/collaborative learning, I think that my dislike for it is more based on my personality and not the fact that I am unaccustomed to working with others. I will not discount the power of collaborative learning or peer groupings because I have seen it work successfully, especially with younger students,but I think that I PREFER to work alone. When I work alone I am responsible for my grade. If I do excellent work it is a testament of my educational prowess; if I do a poor job, I need to improve. Perhaps my attitude is natural, perhaps it was nurtured, but I am now most comfortable working alone.
ReplyDeleteBut what role does culture play in how students are educated? Working with students from other parts of the world, it is clear to me that culture has a significant impact on a person's attitude toward learning. Asian students for example, have a difficult time speaking up in class. Why? A few of the students with whom I work at the Writing Center have expressed that in their country they do not initiate conversation with teachers. Students only speak if a direct question is asked. Conversely, in America, students are EXPECTED to ask informed questions and speak up in class. This is called CLASS PARTICIPATION! It even counts as part of the grade in many classes. Imagine the struggle of the Asian students who know that they need to speak up yet are held back because of cultural beliefs and practices.
Reading Lisa's post I had to laugh. Imagine getting points for talking in class! I got beaten. The difference is clear: Americans say the squeaky wheel gets the grease, Chinese say the nail that sticks out gets hammered.
ReplyDeleteIn the culture I grew up in, you didn't question the teacher, you only learned what they taught you. If you came in with more information, that you found out on your own, the teacher thought you were trying to "show off".
The Colonial school system was/is a meritocracy. The 'best' got the opportunities that the Colonial masters dished out because they 'merited' development, and it was a small island with limited opportunities. We didn't get graded, we got ranked. There were 32 students in my high school class and after final exams when they totaled our grades from all the subjects we took, you either came first in class, you came last in class or somewhere in between.
The people who owned the island, in my case the English, weren't going to spend funds on educating a population that they were getting rich exploiting. The last thing they wanted was people working together on a common goal. Only the exceptional, the exemplary got the opportunities. The ones that Richard Rodriguez refers to as "scholarship boys" in The Hunger of Memory. The rest of us were like crabs in a barrel. I think that Collaborative Learning is the kind of idea that comes out of a democratic mindset.
After that class discussion, I tried to think of one time when I was a student in the Caribbean that I worked in a group. All I could come up with was Cookery class where we all had different tasks that involved preparing one of the ingredients in a dish.
Here's the thing though, the literacy rate on the island is 98%. So they are doing something right.