Empowering Education (Shor)

I think all together, Shor was my favorite author to read. I really appreciated her ideals. The point of Shor's mentalities were to develop children for the world rather than have them just memorizing an reciting material. I think that Alex really gave good examples from his high school experience in his blog post. After reading his it really made me think about my high school experience as well. It made me think of how I really wish it was more like the college I went to before RIC. All of our classes at Wheelock were discussion based and included hands on activities and internships. By doing these activities and internships I was able to understand the material being taught better, as well as appreciate exactly how I can apply what I had been learning in my classes to real life. These ethics made me appreciate being in school and getting good grades. If my high school had more of this and explained how I could use what I was learning for actual parts of life, I think I would have put more time and effort into my high school work. I think that the quote that Alex used at the end of his explanation of his high school also really applied to me and how I felt of mine as well. "Education can either develop or stifle their inclination to ask why and learn (12)." Again if it was explained to me, what I was learning in high school, how it would be transferred to my adult life, I would've appreciated learning it more instead of it feeling like a hassle.

Alex's blog really helped guide my thought process and really helped me relate my feelings towards the education system. The quote that Alex included in the end of his blog really summed up what I learned from Shor's writing, "students in empowering classes should be expected to develop skills and knowledge as well as high expectations for themselves, their education, and their future (Shor 16)."

This really made me stop and think of where I am today. If I had pushed harder and questioned my teachers more in high school would it have effected my outlook on the material I was learning at the time? Also, if they did explain to me how it can be applied later in life, and it changed my outlook on what I was learning, would it have set me on a different path I am on today?  It makes me appreciate how a lot of my college classes, especially FNED 346, have been based around discussions. Many times I have come to class with things that have happened and have been unknowingly confused about them, but by bringing them to class, I was able to talk them out with my classmates to better understand them.