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Leadership Topics for Discussion Group 1 – Weekly Writing & Blogs

Response to Mia Citerone

In our group we discussed how Freire refers to students as trash receptacles in schools when they learn new information. He is basically saying that the teachers fill the students with knowledge. Then it is then the student’s jobs to memorize the information and do good on the test. We also discussed how the teachers must teach the students a certain way. This way allows the students to retain the information for shorter amounts of time. In other words, this means that the student will most likely forget a lot of the information that they learned in the previous year. We agreed that teachers should not just skip from topic to topic. Instead we said that they should spend more time on things, so in the long run the students will have a better understanding of the concepts. Overall, this reading allowed us to take a closer look into how some people see the education system that we follow. 

Group Members: Leanne, Mia, Mimi, Ethan, Brandon, Emily, John 

Response to Mia Citerone

In our discussion group today we talked about how Freire thinks students are trash. Basically he says that we only memorize certain information that we need to know for a test or exam. But we might not understand the concept completely and that might cause the students to forget the information in the long run. We talked about how maybe it would be a good idea that teachers go more in depth with what they are teaching and spend more time on it. This is so we don’t have to study and basically teach our selves the information we need to know. Because there Is a reason we have teachers they know the information a lot more than a student and can teach it better. This is why students can get an A in a class but not be that smart on a subject. They can get certain multiple choice testing information right but they might not get the whole concept.

Group: Mimi, Mia, Ethan, Emily, John, Leanne

Response to Ava Hill

In this discussion we talked about memorization and how it is not equivalent to learning and understanding information. We all recalled that in high school after taking a quiz or test we forgot the information. In the conversation it came up that high school is generally the same academic path for everyone and it is usually free; whereas, in college the material that you study is customized to what you want to learn, and you are paying for your education. This can be a motivating factor as to why it makes information more important to understand than memorize. We talked about how high school teachers know certain things are required but pointless so its okay if students only memorize it temporarily. Memorization can help a student in the short run but not in the long run. Certain jobs in the real world require memorization such as nurses for example; however, they must learn and understand how to use them for them to be useful and be permanently memorized.

Ava H, RJ W, TJ F, Kira A, Sam W, Katherine S

Response to Grady

From our discussion we thoroughly discussed that throughout most of the story we could tell that the author was trying to convey that the teacher has mostly all of the power. We stated that the teacher is the adult and has went through lots of schooling to which they are very knowledgeable. On the other hand we believe that the students can educate the teacher. For example the students can educate a teacher about trendy news or young advocates that the teacher might not know about. A learning environment shouldn’t make the student a slave, it should work both ways so that we can prosper and learn together.

Group: Grady, Haley

Response to Dana Roeder

Abbey Johnson, Isabella Desario, Leah Schreffler, Sami Kakar, Dana Roeder, Nick Nolan

The majority of what we discussed was that in our current education system, students are being taught to memorize information, rather than being taught to understand the information presented to them. Many students memorize facts for an exam and then forget the information soon after. People in our group talked about how a classroom can almost become robotic because the class is being presented to them in a very cut and dry way. A common idea that we brought up is that it would be beneficial for students to experience information in a hands on way, rather than reading from a textbook or listening to a lecture and powerpoint. I believe that this lecture format could be most improved in higher education, like high school and college. It is at this stage in a students educational career that they usually decide their career path. If they lose interest, then they might lose the opportunity to follow their passions. A few ways in which a classroom could become more engaging is through hands on demonstrations, guest speakers, and field trips. Ideas like this could help students to understand information, rather than just memorize it for a short time and then forget about it.

Response to Mia Citerone

Group: Mia, Mimi, Leann, Ethan, John, Brandon

In our discussion group, we talked about how Freire compares students to trash cans. From our earliest days of education until the moment we receive our high school diplomas, we, as students, are forced to learn an abundance of academic material that we may never remember. Because teachers solely focus on covering material efficiently and completing chapters and assessments, students have no choice but to know material before a certain deadline. This method of teaching results in students simply memorizing material, rather than actually understanding it. Not only do teachers treat students as trash cans, but often the material they are providing is trash as well. All students have requirements of what classes they need to pass in order to further their education. Because students do not have a voice in what material is necessary to learn, it is common for them to dislike what they are being taught. Forcing students to be interested in subjects in which they are not is an ineffective teaching strategy. If teachers were to provide students with information that they both understand and are interested in, students would no longer feel like trash cans.

Response To Riley

Group: Riley, Jake H, Nick, Tyler

Riley lead an interesting discussion on Friday regarding if students are just robots who follow their teachers and what they say without learning basically. I found her question to be true to a certain extent. I believe the student is a direct representation of the teacher. If the teacher takes the time to know their students and get on a level where they can actually engage the thought and learning process that works for that student, then I feel like they will be successful. However, when the teacher just lectures to the class and follows the schedule to a “T”, then I feel like its more the student trying to keep up by memorizing information and then after a paper or exam, they forget it all. This method may work for some teachers and students but it surely does not apply to most and certainly not me. I feel teachers who know their students and students that know how to engage learning from their teacher’s learning will be a lot more successful and actually retain information. So in total the four of us that met came to the same conclusion and I truly believe it to be so.

Discussion 1

We talked about what the author meant when he said that teachers and students are opposites. Basically saying that the students had no input or choice about what was going on in the classroom. They were to be governed solely by the teacher and do exactly as they said. We believe, in the modern classroom, that this is no longer true. In modern day classrooms there is input and discussions with students to make the class run more smoothly to ensure that everyone can get a grasp of what is being taught and not simply be a bank for knowledge but actually know and understand what is being taught. We agreed that this theory could still apply to older teachers who have taught like that in the past, while younger teachers are more open to opinions from the students and value engagement in what they are teaching. As this theory may have been true when this was published, we can see a clear change in how classrooms are now run in more of a joint effort from the teacher and their students.

Robi, Sarah, Kyle, Gabby, Sabrina, Timothy

Response to Mia Citerone

During our discussion group we talked about how Freire refers to students as trash. Students have to memorize information to do good on the test. They usually don’t actually learn the information and will most likely forget it all after the test. If teachers took more time to teach the material, students would never need to go back and reteach themselves it. Teachers throw information at students like they are trash cans. Freire thinks that teachers aren’t actually teaching the students so they will learn it, he thinks that they are telling students information to see how well it can be memorized. Most students do good on the test they take right after the information is giving. They will forget some or all of the information when it’s time to take the midterm or final. Freire did a very good job at explaining how teachers teach and how most students don’t actually learn.

Group: Mimi, Mia, Ethan, Emily, John, Brandon

Response to Mia Citerone

Group: Mimi, Mia, Ethan, Leann, Emily, John and Brendan

During our discussion we talked about how the education system uses us as trash receptacles when it comes to learning and retaining information. We talked about how we feel like educators just throw useless pieces of knowledge and information at us and expect us to remember all of it for a test. We also talked about how the teachers are told to keep teaching a certain way even if they do not agree with it because that is how knowledge is tested. Yet we all said how we do not retain any of the information and basically have to relearn everything every year especially when it comes to math or useless history facts. We basically are just a product of our teachers and the amount of work they put into teaching us something will reflect on us.Over all our group had a good discussion on what Freire was trying to convey on how teachers refer to us as trash cans when it comes to learning in school. 

Response to Mia Citerone

During the group discussion we talked about how Freire calls his students trash. The students don’t learn they just remember and once the test or assignment is over, so is the knowledge they need. He talks about how teachers don’t care about their students and if a student really wants to succeed they have to really try themselves.  The teachers are motion and lifeless beings. They are there to tell you how to memorize, not how to learn. Every year students forget how to do old material and need a refresher, but that wouldn’t be necessary if the student learned it the first time. Someone in the group discussion made a good point on how students are trash cans and the teachers are just throwing the trash at us hoping it will stick, but that is not always the case.  Freire thoughts on education is that the teachers aren’t really teaching as much as they are just telling students information.
Group: Mimi, Mia, Leann, Emily, John, Brendan

Discussion #1

Isabella DeSario, Abbey Johnson, Sami Kakar, Nick Nolan, Dana Roeder, Leah Schreffler

In our group discussion, we agreed on the idea that students memorize information rather than learning it. Many students that study for a test try to cram all of the information in by memorizing it. A few days later, that information is forgotten because there was no active learning process in retaining the information. Memorization has become a huge part of our education. I agree with Freire, that “Education thus becomes an act of depositing, in which the students are the depositors and the teacher is the depositor.” I think it would be more beneficial to students if teachers let their students experience the lesson rather than just listening. Students just read out of the textbook and memorize instead of understanding and taking in the material. Teachers need to be creative in ways to get the students to learn the material. Guest speakers and field trips are two examples of effective ways to teach students in a real-life learning experience, so that they can see the information applied to real life rather than memorizing a text book alone.

Response to Dana Roeder’s “Paulo Freire Discussion”

During the discussion, we talked about if we agree or disagree with the idea of education becoming an act of depositing and students being the depositories and the teacher is the depositor. Everyone in the group agreed that we believe this is happening in education today. We talked about how teachers should become more hands on with what they teach instead of giving the information to the students and making them memorize instead of comprehending. I believe that this pertains to mostly high school from what I have experienced. Students need to understand the knowledge they are being taught to help better their education instead of listening to information that comes in one ear and goes straight out the other. Having a class where the teacher gives the students readings out of a textbook and no review of what they read about is a waste of time for the students and for the teacher. Education should be about understanding and reviewing information in a class in order to be successful. This topic is important to me because my high school’s education system was very similar to this concept and I believe it has affected my ability to learn. Being taught memorization with no comprehension puts me behind as a student. I agree that teachers teach students in this way and I believe it is a major problem.

Discussion with Dana Roeder, Isabella DeSario, Sami Kakar, Nick Nolan, Abbey Johnson

Response to Dana Roeder’s “Paulo Freire Discussion”

During our meeting we discussed the topic of students being the “depositories” and I believe it depends on the circumstances. Certain types of education and teaching can very easily do well for a student. Many students benefit from hands on teaching and experiences. Doing experiments or just being more involved in a lesson are proven to be much more helpful for those learning. Other types such as lectures or reading out of a textbook may not be as beneficial to pupils in a class. Students sit in a classroom and are told information more often than not and are expected to memorize from a book or notes which not always the best way to learn. The student is left out to dry while the teacher spews information for them to keep. Paulo Freire points out an important fact within this piece that should be understood by teachers and professors around the globe; students cannot be held to an expectation to understand information when it is just thrown at them.

Response to Olivia Vearling’s Discussion

Our discussion started with the statement, “teachers know everything and students know nothing.” I would consider this a common belief in the world today. We all agreed that teachers should make sure that their students are understanding the information and that they aren’t just talking at them. One member of the discussion said, “The whole thing made me think of a suppressed society” where students are being forced to learn by how the teacher is teaching and not in a way that is actually beneficial to the student. We also said, sometimes, teachers might not care if the students are actually retaining the information, and they could just talk at them to get all the information out. I think that this idea “that teachers know everything and students know nothing” has become such a common thought, because you are paying so much money for an education and that must mean that you are learning everything you need to. But, I also believe that everybody learns in different ways and that there can not just be one standard way of teaching.

Laura McGroary

Jeff Biancaniello

Amanda Regan

Seamus Corkery

Cait Mangini

Haley Clark

Sam Livorno

Makayla Medycki

Gwen Jordan

Maura Kelly

Olivia Vearling

David Macmullen

Responce to Makenzie Nedierer

MaKenzie neiderer

Isabella Bedore

Adam Griffin

Jenna Schreiber

Josh Rogers

Luke Jarvis

Emily Foley

Paul Freire puts emphasis on the idea that students only memorize and not actually obtain the information. In our discussion, we went into depth trying to decipher what the education really is about. 

  Throughout our educational careers thus far, we all agreed on one main focus, memorization. In classes, we would just memorize the vocab and remember it for the quiz next week and repeat. There was no actual learning. Standardized tests are so heavily pushed that it creates such an unhealthy learning environment. Not only does our scores represent the school, but as well as the teachers. This makes teachers care less about us understanding and learning the material but just temporarily memorizing it, so the school doesn’t come criticize them. With getting these standardized test scores comes the money. The better the students do, the more money the school gets treating us like objects. This creates such an unhealthy and competitive atmosphere. Almost like Darwinism in the education world, but instead of survival of the fittest, its who can memorize the best. The ones who can, get the best scholarships and pay the most money for top tier schools just to say you went there. Money Is the main focus behind the education system. The more we, as students, memorize, the more money they get. 

Response to Mackenzie Neiderer

Group Members: Emily Foley, Mackenzie Neiderer, Isabella Bedore, Adam Griffin, Jenna Schreiber, Josh Rogers, Luke Jarvis

In our discussion we talked about how we’re taught to memorize information for tests, instead of learning how to apply our knowledge to life. Schools care a lot about their reputation and their image, and about getting money, so they teach us how to memorize information in hopes that we do well on standardized tests and get good grades. In high school, we were told that doing well on the SAT’s were extremely important to be successful in the future, and to show the school’s “good teaching”. Grades were all that we cared about in high school, instead of actually learning. In reality, standardized tests and grades aren’t as important as they used to be, and colleges and companies are looking for more experience rather than at test scores. Some people said that their schools forced them to take higher level/AP courses to make the school look better. We were taught these things, instead of learning about real life experiences and skills, how to teach ourselves, how to be a “learner”. Instead, we’re taught how to memorize information to do well on a test. However, memorization doesn’t always show good teaching/learning; everyone has different methods of learning, and some people aren’t good test takers. We asked the questions “what’s the point” if we are learning just to take a test? Why is school just a competition about “who can memorize the best”? Maybe teachers do this without realizing, since this is what they were taught in school.

response to Sabrina Lindley

Sarah Veneziale, Gabby L, Sabrina, Kyle O, Timothy D, Rabi, Christian G

Paulo Freire portrayed the idea that students are containers, being filled with whatever the teacher chooses to teach them. The teacher knows everything, and the students know nothing. In our discussion today, we disagreed with this statement. We talked about how most teachers we had didn’t treat us as nothing. Most teachers actually allowed themselves to be corrected by the students. However, there are teachers that some had that would not accept being corrected. We also discussed that teachers will benefit if they allow the students to also teach. No one knows everything, so this idea needs to be taught instead of having authoritative figures treating others as if they are nothing. We also discussed how individuals cannot be human if they aren’t taught to be creative and have their own thoughts. The last thing we all agreed on was that this concept is older, because we all have not felt the exact way Freire describes the students should feel. He writes that students feel that they are slaves and never recognize that they can educate the teacher, but this is not something I have experienced.

response to David Heffron

Freire compares students to containers, which can affect them negatively.  Most teachers when teaching just stand up in front of the room and give lectures. Not every student is able to learn like that. Everyone has different ways of learning. So, one student could become a “full container” by the end of the class and others could just be “half way full”. Every teacher should want to help the students learn more and not just stop learning because they are “full”.  Teachers and students should work together to come up with ways to make students learn more. Teachers think that standing in front of the class and talking to them is helpful, when in reality students aren’t learning as much as the teachers think they are. Most students want to keep learning, but it’s hard for them because they eventually become “full”. Although students can become “full” at different times,  they all become “full” at some point and eventually have to empty out. When students “empty out” they forget everything they have already learned. 

  Bella D,  David H, Nick P, Noah H, Maddie B, Jason R 

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