ECS 203 Response #4

At the start of the this class we learned about common sense and the idea behind it and what it meant as a future educator. Then recently focused on this idea attached to what the common sense was of a “good student”. As a student myself, It is easy to remember the attitudes pressed onto students and the small room for error students had growing up. I was a difficult student, with undiagnosed ADHD, and other learning disabilities such as dyscalculia school wasn’t the easiest and I was a “distraction” within my classroom. From grade 1-7 the words “she is a pleasure to have in class, but she needs focus on her work and not distract herself or other students” were plastered across my report cards. It wasn’t until grade eleven and grade twelve that I was diagnosed with learning disabilities and my school experience changed. I learned that I didn’t learn in the ‘common sense’ way of schooling, and needed extra help to fit the standard of a ‘good student’. Reflecting back at this new knowledge of the definition of a ‘good student’ I realized that this is a standard set up by society in their hopes to take the individuality of the student to fit oppressive and harmful stereotypes.

Although fitting that role of a “good student” is still something most students reach for, in my head. Until I realized my disposition and my upbringing that I recognized that this ideal of a ‘good student’ was set up with everything I was privileged to have in life. “I need to ask my parents for help with homework”, I had parents to help me with these things, and my parents had time; this isn’t the case for most students. “I just need to leave the house early to get to class on time” I was able to control my ability to get to class, others do not have this choice. The point being, that our ideal of a “good student” is based around our environment and what we have. This helps ideal helps with upper to middle class students whose parents have this time to help their children. Keeping historical factors in mind, looking at the past with the recent reading this oppressive idea of a “good student” changes from helping upper middle class to upper middle class white students. Other students who were not white or white passing did not even have a chance to fit into that roll of a ‘good student’ immediately based off their heritage, religion or skin colour. This idea carries on from generation to generation, knowledge of the past being used in a society that no longer requires it, or believes in it.