Week 4 – ECS 210 Blog Post

A “good” student is someone who sits quietly in class, does exactly what they are told and completes assignments the exact way the teacher told them to. The problem with this idea of a “good” student is that this is only a representation of a certain type of individual. Not all students are able to sit quietly in a chair for hours at a time. Some children learn differently and need to be moving around and engaged in what they are doing. I think this commonsense idea of a “good” student is harmful for both teachers and students. It harms the students because it makes kids who have trouble sitting still, following directions and listening quietly into the “bad” kids. As soon as you start to label children in this way you separate the “good” from the “bad”. Students are not dumb, they realize when they are considered a good or a bad kid and they know how this affects them. Having these labels in a classroom does nothing good for the students. It puts kids into a box and expects that all children should be able to act the same. The reality is this is not the case. Students have different personalities and different ways of learning that may not be considered proper. By labeling these students and their learning processes as “bad” you run the risk of deterring them in future learning opportunities because they believe themselves to be inherently “bad” and unruly kids who don’t truly belong in schools. It makes me sad to think that these students will begin to think of themselves as “bad” kids and they may begin to believe that they aren’t cut out for school or learning in general. The idea of “good” and “bad” students is an incredibly harmful concept that I would like to try to avoid, as best I can, when I am a teacher

The idea of creating “good” and “bad” students can also be harmful to the teacher. It can make the teacher expect less from the “bad” kids and put them to a lower level of achievement, even if they are really bright kids. It is harmful for the teacher because it will make the class more difficult and more frustrating when a kid in your class isn’t listening or sitting still. Instead of being frustrated however, you could look at why the kid is doing this and if it is because they are unable to sit quietly in a chair for long periods of time. If that is the case perhaps as the teacher you could switch up the activity to make it more hands on and interactive. Perhaps the “bad” student won’t be so bad after all and may even enjoy the interactive activity.

I think the students that are privileged by the definition of “good” student are the students who are shy, smart and not easily distracted. These students will be able to follow the teacher’s directions and won’t distract other kids. This can be especially difficult for extraverted students who enjoy discussing with peers and may not be able to sit quietly to complete an assignment. I think it is important to recognize that the students who may not be considered to be “good” students are just as capable as the students who sit quietly.

The idea of “good” students makes it impossible, or at least more difficult, for students who are loud, with lots of energy to be liked by the teacher. These students are often considered to be problems, even if what they are doing is simply talking to their peers or walking around the class. This preconceived idea of “good” makes it impossible for the “bad” students to change their behavior or to escape this label. They will be labeled as this student for the whole time they are in school.

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