Convincing Students to Love School

Photo CC- By CollegeDegrees360

When thinking about my high school experience, passion definitely isn’t a word that comes to mind but I was a “good” student. By this I mean I had perfect attendance and received straight A’s, but it wasn’t because I enjoyed learning or was interested in the topics I was learning about. Like Kimberly Vincent said in Nine Tenets of Passion-Based Learning, I was conditioned to be an “obedient” student. While this method of schooling “worked” for me, there is way too many students that it does not work for. In order for students to learn, they must enjoy and see relevance in what they are learning. Dropouts aren’t “lazy” or “unmotivated.” They just don’t find the purpose in what they are learning. A commonly asked question by students is, “When will I ever use this again?” Teachers must show the answer to this question in their lessons for students to value their education.

In Passion-Based Learning, Ainissa Ramirez discussed bringing passion back into education. This article discusses the importance of creating an environment where students can enjoy what they are learning. She also recognizes that teachers need to be passionate in order to pass this on to their students. What I loved most about this article was her idea that teachers need to be vulnerable alongside the students. She said, “Everyone is a geek for something; everyone has a passion for something. Make that something learning. Infect your students with passion, and they’ll never be able to contain it.”

This week, we also observed the similarities and differences between going to school and learning. Throughout School vs. Learning, learning is portrayed as something that is fun and exciting, but school seems to be the opposite. Going off of the descriptions in the article, it seems that learning rarely takes place inside of a school. Doesn’t that seem backwards?

Throughout every article I have read on the topic, one thing remains constant. Students have to like going to school in order to learn something, and that begins with the teacher. Passion is not something a teacher can teach his/her students in a lesson but a contagious attitude of excitement that students can catch. Attitudes in the classroom begin with teachers, and if teachers act like they would rather be somewhere else, students will mirror that negativity. I think being an English teacher will give me a great platform to spread positivity and excitement for learning. Reading and writing gives students the opportunity to learn about so many different experiences and viewpoints and to be creative in a plethora of ways. I’m obviously a little biased, but I can’t see how people aren’t excited about English! No matter what subject a teacher teaches, he/she must be so passionate about teaching the content that students can’t help but be excited about learning it.