Now that school is out and report cards are in, it’s time to assess the school year. What do adolescents say they wished was different about their classes?
You might be surprised. In talking with them, many complain about classroom disruptions and wasted time. While a rash of cellphone videos of school fights would have us believe students are ducking punches and chairs in class, it’s more mundane disruptions that undermine their learning on a regular basis, according to teens.
In the last few weeks, I’ve talked to several groups of students who outline the same scenario: Teachers don’t intervene when students commandeer classroom discussions or divert them. Repeatedly, students told me they could learn twice as much in half the time if teachers rein in their rambling peers.
The kids described unproductive classrooms where too much time is sacrificed to irrelevant chatter or tangents. A boy sheepishly said he would deliberately derail his Spanish teacher, a recent college grad struggling with classroom management, with meandering comments and “sort of became famous for it.”
To read more, go to the AJC Get Schooled blog.
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