Nurture

I don't often reflect on my upbringing. I feel as if the way I live my life now is so much better that reflecting on my childhood is a meaningless exercise. But for the purpose of today, I will revisit the earlier times of my youth as I place it within the context of Annette Lareau's Unequal Childhoods.


I lived in a small household with my grandparents, aunt, mother, and eventually sister. Because we were a working class family, my upbringing initially resembled what Lareau refers to as "natural growth." I was mostly issued directives, and when I was told to do something, I had no right to question it; I had to trust the authority of my older, wiser family members.


This attitude followed me into the classroom and I never questioned teachers or disputed their directives either.

Along with the idea of natural growth, my parents never really scheduled my free time. I spent most of my time playing outside at home with neighborhood friends instead of participating in structured activities. I did a few recreational things such as swimming lessons and basketball, but the cost of these things was not high.

Yet, a part of my childhood seems to reflect what Lareau refers to as "concerted cultivation" as well. Every Christmas, I woke up to abundance of gifts, and when I asked for something I wanted, I often got what I wanted, although compromises and conditions were often set: e.g. I can have this only once a month or only if I get good grades. I was spoiled for the most part though.

When I look at the IHAD kids, I mainly see concerted cultivation. Their time with Jazz and Danielle is highly structured and organized. All their activities are scheduled, and disobedience has consequences. I imagine their time outside of the program is likely more reflective of natural growth where they are free to run around and be kids. Having a balance between the two seems the most reasonable, but that may not be an option for most families.

Marks

How often, comrades, do we reflect on the methods of pedagogy utilized in our classrooms? Are we really empty vessels being imbued with knowledge by our superior and omniscient instructors? That's what I see, and my academic experience has reflected that.


The whole structure of a typical college classroom reflects the notions of us being passive recipients of knowledge.


Hundreds of pawns sit and passively attain information from an all-knowing lecturer. There is little interaction or stimulation, just rote memorization. Although there is less of this at smaller, liberal arts colleges like UNC Asheville, we still have the dreadful humanities lecture.

I, for one, hate, most traditinal methods of education. It's a well-established notion that different learning styles exist, but why do many educators tend to ignore this? Lectures appeal primarily to auditory learners and illustrate Paulo Freire's notion of the banking method of education. But students with other learning styles get left out and must make an extra effort to succeed in classes. Were I not in a seminar/discussion based major like Literature, I would have struggled all the way through college, because the lecture format just does not work for me.

Similarly, libraries are among the most disgusting places to me, or ours at least. Pallid, overheard lighting, uncomfortable chairs, unberable silence, grim, colorless walls, lack of windows, dreary, overworked students. It all feels like some kind of academic concentration camp. If I weren't a writing center consultant, I probably would never go near the place except to check out a book occasionally. I feel the whole structure of the library reinforces the banker ideology.



With the increase in technology, and to that end, the change in institutional pedagogy to adapt and utilize this technology, universities have begun developing next-generation libraries. One of the most prominent is Grand Valley State University's Mary Idema Pew Library. Take a look:



This seems infinitely more appealing to me -- students collaborating and creating knowledge together instead of mindlessly consuming knowledge in silent contemplation, a much healthier and social approach. No longer will students merely gaze at text for hours in solitude; they will be more encouraged to work together and share knowledge and ideas in a more organic and beneficial way.

Our approach to education merely needs to be reshaped to something more collaborative and interactive. When we students become more involved in the acquisition of knowledge in the classroom,we benefit much more greatly in the long run. If more classes reflected the multi-modal approach HON 479 offers, maybe college classes wouldn't seem like such a bore.