ECS 203 Blog Post #4

We discussed at the beginning of the semester, common sense and the ideas behind it, we also discussed what common-sense means to future educators. For this blog post, we were required to focus on common sense with the question of what it means to be a “good” student. I have been in school for many years, and for me, I’ve always thought of a “good” student as someone who always hands their homework in on time, is never late, someone who is always willing to lend a helping hand to others, and I also think of someone as a “good” student if they respect their teachers and are eager to learn about all subjects, not just one or two specifically. I also believe having common-sense is another qualification of being a “good” student because without common sense they may not believe certain facts or information even though it has been scientifically proven and there is evidence to back it up. Throughout Kumashiro’s article, he stated that child “M” was the opposite of a “good” student because of her behavioral issues, which would affect their entire class at some points. Personally, I think Kumashiro was looking at child “M” from her own perspective of what a “good” child is. Within the article, it says, “I assumed that being a student required behaving and thinking in only certain ways, but also because I felt pressure from schools and society to produce this type of student.” (page 21) Which I think reflects how Kumashiro viewed child “M”, and I genuinely think this is how many people think the “good” student should look like.

I personally think the “good” student is shaped by historical factors because for example people were looked down upon, and even killed for being uneducated or not a “good” student. Within the Painter reading it says, “If not educated, the natural character is changed.” (page 12) Which I think resembles how history has made it so students who aren’t classified as “good” students are judged or even outcasted like some points in history. Being an educated student and a “good” student are two completely different things in my mind, as a future educator I don’t think we can define a “good” student the way history has.