Seminar 15: Presentation Day 5

In listening to Sarena's presentation on active listening, I agree that it is a much better way of teaching than the conventional passive learning that is widespread throughout the school system. I can understand why passive learning may have caught on in the school system and especially in a university setting. It, however, seems to be common knowledge that this type of learning most definitely is not the most effective way of learning.

It has been known for many years that learning occurs best when things are learnt by using different modalities, i.e. write, say, hear, etc. When learning actively, one must use the different learning modalities which will allow for better comprehension of the material. Less rote memory skills need to be utilized as the knowledge becomes ingrained in the student. I once had a very long conversation with a teach who both taught and did extensive research on the Montessori school system. She began too explain to me the way the school worked and the way that the children learn. It appears that in this system, children become very good active learners, which most definitely gives them a great head-start in life. It also is much more tailored to the individual needs of the child, which makes it easier on the child to do better in school and feel no competition with the other children in his/her class. The only significant issue that I can foresee with this style of learning is that these children are wholly unprepared for the style of teaching at most universities. If they do not want to attain advanced degrees than it shouldn't be a problem, but the massive change from all active to all passive learning can be very difficult or even impossible for the individual to succeed. I think that in the future, all schools should strive to invest their time properly and take the time to allow our children to actively learn in the classroom.

I also found Marcia's presentation on neglect and child abuse to be very interesting. Having 6 nieces and nephews, it was hard for me to read and acknowledge how bad some parents are to their children. The prevalence rates were much higher than I expected and I see it as being despicable for a parent to hurt their child. I think that the violence is largely caused by the fact that the parent's parents probably treated them the same way. Education is desperately needed for these parents and the many people of our society to stop violence against children. Kids need to know that there are people that they can talk to in the case that they need help; our school systems may be failing us in this highly significant aspect of growing up.