One point from Eisner's article that grabs my attention was taking initiatives. Eisner stated, "It is possible to create a school environment in which the taking initiative becomes an increasingly important expectation as children mature "(p.88) No doubt that taking initiatives is essential, especially in education. As students get older, learning some topics on their own initiative achieves better results than when teachers assign the same topics. This is because people put in more effort and passion into learning when done by choice and out of interests than by force. Take one of my tutoring students as an example; he explained to me that math is not his favorite subject, and he didn't spend much time on it. However, he and his group members spent late nights and weekends on a Python project that won an award for his grade in his school. He loves the subject, and his goal is to study computer science when he gets into university. So, he willing puts far more effort into that area than math.
Another point that makes me stop and think is the reward system. I didn't question much about the reward system because it seems to work fine and is commonly used everywhere in and outside of school. For example, students receive a favorite book as a reward if they read a certain number of books. Companies reward their employees with commissions, year-end bonuses, and promotions if they reach their goal. However, I start to question the reward system's real benefits as I realize that the students who love to read and the employees who are passionate about what they are doing do it more for their passion than the reward.
Last but not least, null curriculum grabbed my attention. Eisner pointed out "what the school does not teach are as important as what they do teach."(p.97) Taking intellectual competence as an example, I hope schools can provide children more intellectual processes or thinking opportunities even though they need time to employ. The redesigned mandated BC provincial curriculum connects to Eister's idea of explicit, implicit, and null curricular by focusing on the core competencies, essential learning, literacy, and numeracy foundations modeled as know, do, and understand for learner-centered and competency-driven deep learning.
Thank you, Megan! This is really thought provoking. I am especially taken by the idea of extrinsic rewards, and on thinking about them beyond the school system. If we de-emphasize these kinds of rewards in people's early lives in school, perhaps they won't need them as much in their adult lives as well!
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