“Good Student”

According to common sense, when we think about what a “good” student looks like we think about someone who pays attention, is a good listener, and someone who does what is being asked from the teacher. A good student would “meet the standards” of what is being assigned to do. Students who are privileged by this definition on what a good student is, are those who may not have a learning or intellectual disability. Or perhaps, students who have a loving home where they’re being properly taken care of and are taught the appropriate manners of what a “good” student would have. Overall, the way children are raised I believe has a major effect on a student in the classroom both behavior and learning wise. Having said that, Kumashiro stated how “the student entered school with prior knowledge from family, the community, the media, and their own life experiences” (24). This just shows how those who may have prior knowledge may do better (or worse) paying attention because it could be something they’re either interested in and could take part in discussion, or perhaps they find no interest in a topic being taught which causes them to misbehave. Lastly historical factors have obviously changed and developed over time, but within the article it states that “religion, science, government, and education” (Painter, 1886, p.7) played an important role for what a “good” student looked like by influencing their education. Furthermore, “the end of education is complete human development” (Painter, 1886, p.2). This represents the way we may still look at the education system in terms of the way children learn. Although people may think every child learns and progresses at the same rate, that’s not at all true. Even though people might think that by the end of their education children will be fully developed, some may develop at a slower rate which needs to be appropriately adapted.