The common sense of a “good student”
The majority of people would have some preconceived notion on what it means to be a “good” student. Presumably, we’ve all experienced more or less twelve years of schooling in which we experienced the expectations of a good student. Kumashiro explains in the chapter “Preparing Teachers for Crisis: A Sample Lesson” his experience with a student who did not fit the commonsense perspective of a good student; did not listen to instructions well, difficulties paying attention and listening quietly, and other behaviours that do not fit the “industrial standard” of proper, obedient students who clearly expressed that they have gain knowledge compared to the point from which they started. Reflection on the commonsense perception of a good student, throughout history that definition usually referred to wealthy, white men and boys. These are the characteristics of students who benefit from these commonsense narratives found in the recent past of education.
To add to the characteristics of people who face oppression at the hands of these outdated ideologies, minoritized cultures, black/indigenous people of colour, LGBTQ 2+, and disabled populations are forced to conform into a system that does not accommodate for diversity. How can there be a set of expectations for “good students” if we know that; learning and development are not linear progressions for all students? Students who attempt to reach unrealistic standards of “good” in school, while being provided insufficient resources are oppressed in how students should learn.
As Kumashiro touched on in the assigned reading, the act of simply being a student is inherently oppressive. Students are often seen as inferior to their teacher, as teachers hold more knowledge and experience. Students also must seek out assistance when faced with a challenging task, requiring the student to accept help and surrender independence over the task. From my personal experience, being a student is just in general uncomfortable. The patience and frustration, along with the effort that does not result in immediate success. When I am working with students and children in teaching new tasks, the skill I value most is empathy. Acknowledging the discomfort they may be feeling, reassuring them that that is a normal experience, and affirming that they are on the path to success, it just wont be immediate.
The commonsense understanding of a good student is very rigid and obedient, but I would like to propose we highlight being a “life-long learner”. Being comfortable being uncomfortable. Model making mistakes and learning from them. Acknowledge the commonsense understanding of the status quo and challenge it.
2 thoughts on “The common sense of a “good student””
I really like how you say at the end the importance of being uncomfortable with education because the commonsense understanding of what education should be really seems like it is designed to make students feel comfortable rather than teaching them about real issues. I also really like how you point out that education itself is oppressive just by the way schools and classrooms are structured. Queer education studies is something I am personally really interested in so I really liked that you mentioned how difficult schooling can be for students who do not fit into the status quo.
Thank you Hannah for being vulnerable in your experience as a student. You will be able to relate nicely with those students of yours that also find the school experience to be something they have a hard time enjoying. As a teacher, having that empathy towards your student will go a long way, making sure they are not dreading being in your class or speaking with you.
Thank you for bringing to light all the different groups of people who may not fit the mould of being a “good student”. There is definitely this idea of the “industrial student” as you said, and those who do not fit that, might be labelled as a poor student. Our system is changing and becoming more acceptable of differences and individualises.