"What It Means To Be a Good Student" by Kumashiro. (ECS 203 Blog Post 2)

 In "What it Means to be a Good Student" by Kumashiro, according to commonsense, to be a "good" student means to show good behaviour and follow a teacher's classroom expectations. A good student is one mainstream society and schools want them to be. A good student follows all directions given to them without having any trouble doing what they are told. Kumashiro teaches a student who is the opposite of a "good" student. Student M struggled to follow instructions. We learn that M learns differently than a "good" student is "supposed" to.

The students that are privileged by this definition of good student are the ones who follow a teacher's instructions and always are on their best behaviour. These students gain more knowledge at the end of the school year than when they first entered. The students M and N were not privileged because they did not meet the standards society wanted them to be. We learn that some students have more privileges while learning than others. Some students learn differently than others, and when they do not represent a "good" student, they can be mistaken as a "bad" student. Some students are more privileged than others because of their background and growing up learning more about common sense. 

Historical factors shape the "good" student because education has been around as long as humans have been, and to be a "good" student goes back to the history of education. Painter mentions, "the end of education is complete human development" (Painter, pg. 2). It says education helps students grow into their developed selves. Painter states, "Education does not aim to develop a perfect man or women, but to prepare its subjects for their place in the established order of things" (Painter, pg.9). Education has prepared students while they are young for their future, that the mainstream society has suggested. Without schooling, when the child is young, what will they do in the future? The school system and the teachers have evolved over the years to shape students into "good" students. 

Works Cited

Kumashiro. (2010). Against Common Sense, Chapter 2, pp. 19-33. "Preparing Teachers for Crisis: What

     It Means To Be a Student" 

Painter. (1886). A history of Education. Painter (1886). A History of Education

Comments

  1. Baylee AndersonMay 23, 2023 at 12:24 PM

    Hi Morgan!
    I read your blog and the first thing I wanted to mention was my appreciation towards your dedication of putting the word good in quotations -like this- "good". I think it is important to challenge what the word "good" means/ what it should mean, especially when it comes to education.
    Building off of that, you also bring up being a "bad" student. It is very unfortunate that some students feel like they are being "bad" when they are not seen as being "good". I feel like articles like these are important for us educators to read as it gives a different perspective on the impact that words can and do have.
    Thank you for the read!
    Best, Baylee

    ReplyDelete

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