True Understanding

After struggling to help my students understand how important it is to study material on their own, I find myself resolved to the fact that maybe the importance of independent studying comes as students mature.  After all, I learned how to study, the kind of studying that takes place when you feel like if you look at the material one more time it will make you sick to your stomach and not just reading over your notes five minutes before a test or quiz, my freshman year of college.  Maybe I would have taken things more seriously in high school, but I was dealing with other things- like the death of my mom, grandma, grandpa, and friend- so why did I need to study my notes and read outside of class when I could make a B on my homework and tests without it.  I always wonder if I would have tried harder if Tennessee had implemented a lottery program to help students attend school for free while I was in high school, but even then I graduated with a 3.68, so I'm not sure that would have made a difference in my study habits since I had a decent GPA.

Just when I found myself at a loss for words on what else I could say to the parent that emails me asking how to help their child prepare for my rigorous quizzes, after all, I have given the students new examples every week, a student showed up at my door as the bell rang today.  The student was there so that I could help him study for the vocabulary quiz he had tomorrow.  In the past four weeks I have given this student several strategies, that I have also shared with my classes, and I'm praying that things "click" tomorrow and that he excels on his quiz. 

Personally, I feel like there are so many factors that affect whether students truly understand concepts.  Maybe they don't understand it when a teacher is instructing because they have social things going on in their lives, or they missed one step because they were day-dreaming about stuff going on outside of school that has caused them to not understand something.  Or a student might be faced with issues at home that I can only fathom- like a working single parent home, or a hostile environment- both of which may distract a student from studying or completing their work.  I sometimes wish that the world would go back to the days of the 1950s, when families would gather around the dinner table, and extra curricular activities consisted of a neighborhood game of pick up football every afternoon.

As standards and expectations increase in the classroom, so do the pressures on students to participate in extracurricular activities outside of the classroom to help make them more well-rounded.  But I ask you, who are reading this, what truly is a well-rounded person?  Is it someone who is educated?  Or maybe someone who participates in a lot of activities?  Better yet, maybe it is a student who gives back to their community.  No matter what your definition is of a well-rounded person, I believe that all students should be taught to find answers on their own, and develop the best way for understanding concepts for themselves- only then can students truly understand the life in which they will one day manage and lead.