Returning back to the classroom yesterday, I spent some time talking with my students about spring break. They were fascinated by the cruise I went on, the jet skis I drove, and the cities I visited. Very few of them could relate personal experiences to the trip I had. As we talked about in our most recent Dallas education podcast, how do we show our students what opportunities exist beyond their communities and how do we get them to experience those opportunities?
Travel has always been an interest of mine. I was fortunate enough to be able to save the money I made from work to travel. I know this is a very different experience than my students will have. Most of them work to be able to contribute to their family, but these trips introduced me to the world. I was able to see what different cultures are like and what opportunities exist in the world. I started to develop a passion for what I wanted to study in college and what I may wanted to do as a career. Most importantly, I saw there were many different ways of living beyond what existed in my community. How do we get our students to be able to see the world? I know they may not be able to travel every summer, but it’s important they see there is something else besides the city they grew up in.
In the education podcast we talked about bringing the world to them through word problems or videos. As important as this is, it’s not the same as seeing a culture first hand. I want my students to set goals for their lives that set them up for success and let them see the world. How do I do this when more than half of them have never left the state of Texas? Each year our students stay in their communities and attend the same local community colleges. I am frustrated watching this as many often leave after the first few semester with loose plans to return. Students need to not only know about more opportunities that exist, but have achievable action plans to reach those opportunities. I often question what makes a larger impact in my student’s trajectory, teaching them how to find the transformation of an equation or helping them find opportunities. The administrators answer here is, you can do both. When they come in my classroom though and it’s not aligned or the rigor isn’t high, my ideas of supporting student’s goals fall to side. I am tired of having conversations with my students where their goals are not realistic, come from TV shows, or are sayings they make up to please someone else. I want them to feel excited and invested in the goals they set, I want them to achieve them. So where do we begin?
In the education podcast we talked about bringing the world to them through word problems or videos. As important as this is, it’s not the same as seeing a culture first hand. I want my students to set goals for their lives that set them up for success and let them see the world. How do I do this when more than half of them have never left the state of Texas? Each year our students stay in their communities and attend the same local community colleges. I am frustrated watching this as many often leave after the first few semester with loose plans to return. Students need to not only know about more opportunities that exist, but have achievable action plans to reach those opportunities. I often question what makes a larger impact in my student’s trajectory, teaching them how to find the transformation of an equation or helping them find opportunities. The administrators answer here is, you can do both. When they come in my classroom though and it’s not aligned or the rigor isn’t high, my ideas of supporting student’s goals fall to side. I am tired of having conversations with my students where their goals are not realistic, come from TV shows, or are sayings they make up to please someone else. I want them to feel excited and invested in the goals they set, I want them to achieve them. So where do we begin?
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