Ayers:
"Teaching, at its best, is an enterprise that helps human beings reach the
full measure of their humanity" (p. I). Have you thought of teaching in
this manner? React to this claim. How does this way of thinking challenge the
ways in which people tend to think about teaching/teachers?
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ReplyDeleteI have never thought about teaching as a way that "helps human beings reach the full measure of their humanity." That is a pretty strong statement to make. I think Ayers really appreciates teachers and the act of teaching but I'm not quite sure that teaching can help me reach my full humanity. There are other things in life that are much more important such as family that I believe help a person to grow into that person they wish to be at the end of their lifetime. I do believe that this statement that Ayers has made will challenge other people, not in the teaching profession, to value and appreciate teachers more if they really take into consideration the intensity of this statement that Ayers made.
ReplyDeleteWhen I think of teaching and my personal views, I think of educating our country’s youth as a way to help them reach their full potential, and to be the best people they can be. I also envision with my teaching and help, I can foster a love of learning in all my students, help them succeed and boost their self-confidence all at once. I know these seem like lofty and maybe even a little bit cheesy goals for my own classroom, but I truly believe with my help and guidance, my students will be able to accomplish anything they set their minds to.
ReplyDeleteNow, when I read the quote from our text that teaching “at it’s best” is a way to help human beings reach the full potential of their humanity, it does seem to align in a way with my personal views regarding teaching and learning. I just never referred to my goals for my future students as reaching the “full measure of their humanity”. I thought in more practical terms, such as being successfully both academically and socially. At the same time, however, I can also see how it could challenge other ways of thinking concerning teaching.
Especially in our public education system today, the political realm of our country is putting intense pressure on our teachers and students alike to reach the standards they set. Nowhere (as far as I know) in these government-issued standards does “reach the full measure of their humanity” come up as one of the testable values. To those who value standardized testing and other similar ways of evaluating our students’ learning, teaching them about their “humanity” may not seem as important.
Teaching with a level of oneness, kindness, sympathy, and tolerance is setting high expectations. When someone chooses to teach they make the decision to try to improve the value of life and basic welfare of their students. Being able to do that for every student and being a successful teacher is a lovely, yet unattainable goal. When a teacher connects with his/her students and is able to create a self thinking, lifelong learner, he/she is helping to create a channel or outlet for further growth and change. This allows teachers to feel like they are indeed working and achieving their goal. Teachers must possess a strong sense of character, goodness, and above all charity; they are not in the profession for monetary gain. To be referred to as a humanitarian may be a stretch for a lot of teachers, but when one chooses to teach they certainly possess characteristics of humanitarians. Convincing everyone that teachers are self-sacrificing, considerate, generous, and tolerant people is impossible. I don’t believe that all teachers are active in social reform; some follow the rules as given them and don’t try to change things for the better. I have never thought of teaching from this view point, it’s disappointing but I do not believe that all teachers are working towards a future that is ‘fit for all’, as Ayers refers to it. (pg. 9) Since teachers are human they will never come to an agreement of what teaching should be. - Rae Clune
ReplyDeleteWhen I stop for a moment and think about my future as a teacher I don’t think in the same terms as Ayers does in the first section of the book, or so I thought. When describing my goals or ideas to accomplish as a teacher I think about making sure each child develops to be a successful citizen both socially and academically. At first glance I didn’t recognize the correlation between myself and Ayers until I stopped at the work humanity and what he was relaying with the use of this word. When I stopped and really thought about the message I was taking away my views and goals did in fact align with Ayers in that in the ideal world this would in fact be possible. That each child could enter the room on the first day of school with the best they could offer at that time, then I being an ambitious pre-service teacher could teach them everything they needed to know to “reach their full measure of humanity.” After simply thinking about this for a bit longer I realize that not only is that a monumental task it really isn’t possible to do all in one year.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading and our class discussion it is apparent that the ways in which we teach are not the best for fostering a child’s true passions, or even best for us as teachers because we are truly teaching to a test, and inhibiting ourselves as much as our students by doing so. By having the desire to teach our students to reach their full measure of humanity, we soon realize this is not necessarily a “teachable” test question or topic. That being said what are we really doing in a school that is supposed to benefit our children? We are teaching the academic information, but what else are we really working towards for our children’s futures? In what way are we as teachers really teaching our children to reach their full measure of humanity?
My first reaction to this quote was I didn’t think it aligned with my thinking of teaching. But when I break down what I think Ayers is really trying to get at, I think it aligns closely with what I hope to do as an educator. I think a lot of pre-service and new teachers have this goal of “saving the world,” or being able to reach and make a difference in every kid’s life. In reality, we know that the chances of that happening are not very likely. But as educators we can push ourselves, and our students, to a point that doesn’t just focus on the academics of education, but encompasses a wider range of goals to include helping students reach “their full humanity.”
ReplyDeleteI think another aspect to this quote to take into consideration is how someone views or defines humanity- especially when thinking about how this way of thinking could challenge the way people think about teachers or teaching. Taken literally, reaching full humanity can simply be looked at to mean becoming “fully human” (P. 1) and choose to leave it at that. Or some could translate the word humanity into meaning teachers must guide students to reach their full potential as human beings and what that looks like in this world. I personally choose to look at the statement more in the manner of potential and what that could do for humanity.
I liked how Ayers broke this statement down further on page 1 in saying “Education…enables teachers and students alike to become more powerfully and self-consciously alive…”( P.1) I love how he stresses the idea of teachers AND students alike in this quote. It is easy for some teachers to forget that they are involved in the growing and learning process with their students as well and not just as the facilitator. If we really want to use teaching as the initiative to helping people reach the full measure of their humanity, educators must work together with their students to foster the growth not just educationally but as a whole.
Rob here-I cannot say I have thought of teaching in those exact words, but I think that helping people reach their full potential is at least part of the reason we all went into teaching. My decision to become teacher was a result of my rocky academic path, and an opportunity presented to me by a former track coach to become his assistant. His program was built on recruiting the students that were not previously into sports, students who had academic and behavior issues and students who were not particularly athletic. He was a machinist by trade and took no education classes, but had a greater impact on struggling students, helping them to pass and even excel, than all of the teachers in those children’s life prior to them joining the track team. While those teachers many times wrote off students, he was reaching them, and helping them reach their potential. This drove other, more athletic students to come out for the track team, dramatically redrew social lines when shy, formally picked on kids were anchors of relay teams with the captains of the soccer and basketball teams.
ReplyDeleteThe statement “teaching, at its best, is an enterprise that helps human beings reach the full measure of their humanity" challenges traditional stereotyping of teacher in many ways. I will go through a few examples for you;
“Those who can’t do, teach.” Right, because teaching 20 five year olds to read is something all people can do except the teacher, who can’t read. See, the logic does not even add up.
“Teachers get paid too much for the hours they work.” You know, because the students are only there for 7 hours. That’s a 35 hour work week WITH summers off. Papers grade themselves and lessons are delivered to you while you sleep via a lesson fairy that also downloads the information to your brain so you sound like you know what you are talking about.
While having a little fun with this, I know that these and other stereo types exist. It is bothersome to me because, we are the ones that “help human beings reach the full measure of their humanity." I wonder what the motivation is behind the sullying of educators?
Ryan D.- Until recently, I had never really thought about what it meant to help students reach the full potential of their humanity. When I first decided that I wanted to be a teacher a long time ago, I always imagined myself just being a person who taught the curriculum and handled discipline. From reading the first chapter in the book, I’ve been able to think more about what this means to me. For example, Ayer’s describes teaching in this way as simply giving students information that has already been predetermined for them. They are just supposed to take it in all that information like a tape-recorder with no output. This is currently what teaching is like where the student has no say and the teacher is expected to carry out this style of teaching.
ReplyDeleteTeaching to reach a students humanity to me means using the students experiences as a starting point. From there, the teacher and the students can use those experiences to think about the world they live in a critical way. I do not believe that a teacher can help his students reach their humanity if he views himself at being at the top of the food chain in the student-teacher relationship. Ayer’s talks about dehumanization and how that is the opposite of humanization. If the teacher views himself as the authority on power to deny the students experiences, dictate information, and standardize the students behavior, then that teacher is dehumanizing the students
Unfortunately, teaching towards dehumanization is seen as acceptable by some schools. I have been in schools that felt like prisons where the students get a manufactured curriculum, prep constantly, and staff act like drill sergeants to keep students on task.
There are also members of the public who view that as okay and also think teaching should just be about rote reading, writing, and math skills or tiering students by ability.
What all of those have in common is that they reduce school down to things that we can quantify. That’s dehumanizing. Instead of being a human, students are now numbers to be put into a spreadsheet. Ayer’s way of thinking challenges the current view of teaching in society because he believes that teaching is not what is in the curriculum or conditioning obedience. Ayer’s believes that teaching should be humane where the student and teacher learn together.
When I think about my future teaching career, “Teaching, at its best, is an enterprise that helps humans reach the full measure of their humanity” was not exactly my first thought. After I read the introduction and first chapter in our book, I decided that should be our ultimate goal. Without an education, it makes it impossible for people to make something of their life. In this day in time, the school system has become more of a testing center. We are only worried about teaching the students to pass the SOLs because they reflect you, as a teacher. I completely disagree with all the testing like most of the other teachers out there. Our “teachable moments” in the classroom are no longer welcome. We are simply teaching what they will be tested on at the end of the school year.
ReplyDeleteI like where Ayers is going with this statement. Teachers are not appreciated like they should be in my opinion. We are teaching the future leaders of our Country. I take teaching very seriously, but their needs to be changes in our system before Ayers statement can actually be attainable. In my experience in the classroom, we are role models and to many of the students we “know everything”. So, I actually agree with Ayers, “Teaching, at its best, it an enterprise that helps human beings reach the full measure of their humanity”. When I think about teaching, Ayers statement will now probably come to mind first. Where would we all be if there were not any teachers? We have quite a bit of responsibility.
I have say that I did not think I aligned with Ayers idea that teaching “helps human beings reach the full measure of their humanity.” However, as I was reading I realized that I was just not thinking in that particular language. Students come from various backgrounds and it is important that those differences are highlighted and appreciated by the teacher. The job of a teacher is not only to teach a curriculum but encourage students to value themselves and others for what they bring to the classroom.
ReplyDeleteI agree that education can be dehumanizing, and the worst part of it is that is it often accepted. Schools have become test centered rather than student centered. I have been in some schools that seem to drain every ounce of happiness from you the second you walk through the door. All that mattered was drilling in information in order to pass a test. Students were having to regurgitate information and were treated like a statistic. Their only purpose was to do well on a test.
It is my goal as a future teacher to let students know that their own experiences are an important in their growth as person and should never be seen as a hindrance. We can learn so much from our students and it is a disservice to both us and the students to deny them the opportunity to teach us something.
I have never thought that education alone would help us reach our full potential and everything that we would need to be a success in the world, but I do think that it is definitely a good start. Full potential of humanity is not only learning subjects in school and passing through into college and getting job. Full potential involves skills that are learned in real-world as well. For example, working with others, dealing with adversity, overcoming hardships, positive thinking, etc. Now, at first glance, yes, these are things that can be learned in the classroom, however, much of these aspects of life are learned from family and friends and the nature in which you are raised. Families vary drastically, one example being the cliché Yankees and southerners.
ReplyDeleteFor this reason, teachers are expected in lots of cases these days to teach students to be adults in the real world, when in fact, the teacher alone cannot do that, and ultimately does not. Regardless of how much emphasis is placed on the teacher, other outside environments play a role in what measure of humanity is reached in each individual. Teachers can play either a positive or negative role in that outcome and that is why it is important to be the best and do the best that we can on a daily basis in the classroom, and outside the classroom.
When I was reflecting on the many reasons of why I want to teach, I do think that my ideas completely align with Ayers’. I think that I was analyzing smaller ideas of what it means to me to be a teacher, and Ayers statement focuses on the big picture. After reading the chapter, listening to our discussion, and spending some time reflecting on my ideology I see that I somewhat make up the smaller pieces that make up Ayres larger picture.
ReplyDeleteAs teachers we are supposed to foster dreams and aspirations in our students from the very beginning of their educational pathway. Unfortunately due to laws, policies, and testing formats we have moved further away from allowing our students to fully grow and learn about themselves and the world around them. Ayers’ touches on this in his book, saying that schooling has began to dehumanize students. I think that if it were up to most teachers and adults who were in the school building every single day, we would move to a curriculum that allowed students to find out what they are passionate about and run with it.
Like most of my classmates, it is my dream that as a future educator to touch my students lives in the most positive way possible. I hope to help find what my students love on an individual level, and a whole-class level and focus learning around those aspects, not a standardized test.
History in itself should help students reach their humanity. Throughout history there is by far more Yang than Yin or evil than good. Students that learn history should not simply know what happened and when it happened, but they should also reflect on the occurrences to see what the world really is and how they should act in it. Find their own humanity to see what they find to be good and what to be evil. It is just not right to define good and evil based on what society says it is. So I would want to teach my students to reflect on history events to see how important it is to build their own basis of ethics. This way of teaching moves away from the general thought of teaching, because when I was young, I believed that teaching was solely meant for teaching facts and not going past that. But as I ventured throughout high school, I found that there is more to teaching than just facts. One should go deeper to expand the horizons for students to see. Do not just skim the world, scoop from the bottom so that students are not blind to the dirty facts of the world. Getting students to look beyond normality designated by the government is the best thing for any teacher to do, because only teaching the students what the government wants is a sheer weakness to their potential futures.
ReplyDeleteEric says: I must say that I have never thought of teaching in the way that Ayers explains it on page 1. After thinking about it and recalling the teaching strategies that I have learned during my coursework at VCU, I have to agree with Ayers’ statement. Teaching has become too focused on standardized testing scores. Teachers are teaching to pass the test, not to fully develop the students and prepare them to be productive in society. A good teacher will teach their student to pass the tests while developing them to their full potential. I believe that teaching as a whole is looked at as a noble and rewarding craft, but the push to pass these standardized test has taken away from the effectiveness of teaching. It seems that now, teachers are looked at in more of a negative light than positive.
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ReplyDeleteI have thought of teaching in this manner. The first teachers I had, my parents, both viewed teaching in a way that aligns with this Ayers’ quote. I too definitely buy into Ayers’ idea. The teachers who touched my life did so because they treated me as a person not just a student. Those teachers showed me that every student mattered simply because they were humans with their own feelings and ideas. When teachers do not work toward humanization they instead risk dehumanization. Ayers gave several examples of teaching that ignored the humanity of students because the teacher thought what they were doing was in the best interest of the students. I think Ayers’ claim challenges the idea that teachers should assume to know what is best for students as people. Teachers should not treat students like piggy banks to fill with what the teachers deem good knowledge. Instead teachers should help students learn how to think. Teachers should “help” students figure out what “the full measure of their humanity” can be. Teachers should be guides not bankers when it comes to the education of students.
ReplyDeleteI have never thought of teaching as a way to speak to people's humanity. While it may be true that many people learn through their humanity, it is also true that a person's humanity is not linked to their ability to learn. I personally do not agree with Ayers statement. I don't feel that humanity and learning are linked. I believe that teaching is linked more with reaching one's potential for learning and helps people to understand their own humanity but the focus of teaching is more on someone's capacity to learn as opposed to what they learn. It's a way for people to expand their knowledge and to learn about things they would not normally study.
ReplyDeleteWhen I read the quote above, my initial reaction was skeptical. I believe that teaching is a tool that helps people reach their full potential, but I am not sure that it reaches their humanity. I think that the common perception of education and teaching is of two polar opposites. On one end, you have the authoritative view that Ayers speaks of when he mentions just filling students’ heads with facts and then sending them into the world where they will be docile cogs in the societal machine; on the other hand- you have the liberal classroom idea where students are free to form their own knowledge and create a worldview for themselves. It is this second idea that I think we should be striving more for and aligns more with how Ayers believes that “teaching …can help human beings reach the full measure of their humanity”. I think this a lofty statement boils humanity down into something that can be attributed or reached thru one avenue. I think teaching is a way of reaching things but I think that it is also in conjunction many other factors in a person’s life.
ReplyDeleteRachel says: I have thought of teaching as helping students reach their full potential in society but not really as a measure of their humanity. Ayers shows respect and appreciation for teachers and what they do, but I believe other factors play a huge role in people reaching their full measure in humanity. Society, family life, and the person educating themselves with their surroundings also teach “human beings reach the full measure of their humanity.” The statement puts an emphasis on the intensity and pressure of being a teacher, but having the government involved thee students are taught more to what to know to past test and standards not what humanity is. I hope as a teacher I will not teach to the test and only academics but have those teachable moments, and allow students to develop the social skills to reach some measure of humanity; people should be life-long learners and never reach the full measurement of humanity or anything because everything is always changing and they can always learn more.
ReplyDeleteA few years ago, I came to realize that teaching can help people reach their full potential, especially with taught well. Prior to that, I didn't really consider the value of teaching or teachers since I had many experience particularly in grade school that made school seem like a place to simply to acquire knowledge and get grades to pass to the next level or get to my career. I do also believe there are others who may feel the same way I did. In my life, I have been asked in regards to my career choice, whether I would be able to teach at a college level or I could try harder and get a doctorate to teach smarter kids in a university since some believe that teaching in a middle school or high school requires less ability or knowledge. I personally find teaching to be way more than just a career, salary or job designated for those who know less than others or did not make it in another career. But I chose to become a teacher believing as Ayers mentions that all humans should be treated equally and fairly, and we as teachers should model those beliefs in our actions and teachings. I agree with Ayers discussion on the Beloved in the introduction in that teachers have the power to teach with unfreedom and exhibit a form of slavery on students by holding down their minds, or teachers could bring out the ability in students to fully participate in freedom. I believe teachers take an active role in mentoring and shaping a rising generation of individuals to interact with the world to their full potential and develop wisdom for life. For me, science particularly and its way of knowing the world draws out deeper human ability in life.
ReplyDeleteI have always thought the purpose of teaching was to create successful and productive citizens. To me this means making knowledgable people who know how to not only read and write but also think critically. This includes teaching people the skills needed to both join the workforce and elect effective leaders. While teaching people to be "humane" should have probably registered as something teachers do, I never thought of teaching for that purpose. Instead I just thought about modeling good examples of humanity in my classroom and hoping it caught on. After thinking about it, i defiantly realize teaching "humanity" is very much a part of being a teacher.
ReplyDeleteFrom Katherine Forbes
Through going to school, as a part of growing up, we learn more about ourselves. Although I haven’t thought of teaching in the same manner as Ayers, I do agree with him somewhat. But, does anyone reach the full measure of his or her humanity? How is that measured or judged? I believe that education is just one step towards reaching your full potential. Learning never ceases. Teacher cannot force students to strive to reach goals; they can only open their eyes to the possibilities and guide them as best they can. People need the desire to change before they can start working towards something in a meaningful, lasting, and positive way. Teachers must actively choose to help their students along this path as well. To me, reaching one’s full potential is more than becoming a productive member of society and more than gaining knowledge about the world. So. I think Ayers’ view of the purpose of teaching is a loftier aspiration than the rest of society has for education. He challenges the practical goals I think most people have.
ReplyDeleteI see teaching as a vehicle towards entrenching yourself in a community. The school itself becomes a small community where the student must traverse and function through a daily routine. An important aspect of the teacher's profession stems from the responsibility of guiding the student to be an effective member of society. Through what is taught and the small community created, the student is faced with reconciling his own individualism and outside social pressures. The school gives the student a model of what they can be within a society. If what Ayers is saying concerns itself with the notion that the most important aspect of our humanity stems from our ability to communicate and socially interact. then I would have to agree with his statement. Teaching provides the student with a social environment in which their own individual notions of the world is confronted by a larger scope. This will hopefully reflect how I would teach my students because I believe education should be a centered through social engagement. If a student is able to express their knowledge in a controlled environment like a school then they will be better able to handle the pressure of the outside world. So teachers should stress on trying to get the students to engage with the materiel being taught. -- David Vanderford
ReplyDeleteBefore reading Ayer's Introduction and Chapter I, I never thought of education in this light. Based on the points Ayers made, it helped me realize the different teaching styles I can eventually present to students in my future classroom, and that not all students can be taught under a broad, boring, dry, "same ol" curriculum.
ReplyDeleteI think that Ayers really opens up, describing his passion for teaching in this chapter. He makes the reader feel challenged in how to present creativity in the classroom, whether they are a student or a teacher. He hopes that teachers will get students to embrace their flaws, and realize they [the students] have the power to change anything they put their minds to.
I agree with Ryan D. in that "teaching to reach a students humanity..means using the students experiences as a starting point." From that point, teachers and students are able to soar on each others' ideas. I think this will end up being a great read where the students and teachers benefit from observing one another and the world around them. - Brittany Maiden
Valerie Siira:
ReplyDeleteI haven’t really thought before about teaching as “an enterprise that helps human beings reach the full measure of their humanity.” But this seems like a lofty and worthy goal. I think that many experiences can help us reach our full potential, but we spend so much of our young and formative time in school that it seems as though schooling would have a large impact on this. I think teaching and teachers can aid in developing true potential in many realms, including cognitive and social/emotional. It is less important to learn facts than it is to learn how to think and get alone with people and oneself in this world.
This way of thinking definitely challenges the traditional way that people think about teaching. People seem so concerned with test scores that they don’t notice the subtler and often more important aspects of education. School prepares people to be well-adjusted adults that must somehow get along in society. This is often an ignored aspect of education. I think we should be more concerned with helping children develop into competent, critically thinking, and mature and self-assured adults.
Mandy- The major reason I want to be a teacher is to help students reach their full potential. I think whether they realize it or not teacher play a very important role in the development of who a child is going to become. I personally want to teach my students more than just facts. I want to teach them how to work hard and be respectful of others. I partially agree with Ayers statement: "Teaching, at its best, is an enterprise that helps human beings reach the full measure of their humanity." I don’t think what we teach our students will be the only factor that affects who they become as people, but it will definitely have some impact. When you think about this in terms of Ayers statement, it puts a lot of pressure on educators to really do everything they can to be the best possible teacher. It definitely makes what you do in the classroom meaningful.
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ReplyDeleteI will be honest in writing that I have never thought of teaching as a vehicle to reach some predefined measurement of humanity. If someone doesn't teach, then is that person unable to reach their full measurement of humanity? I do understand his point about it though. When we teach, we learn. We learn about other people and how they see the world. The more we teach, the more experiences we gain and hopefully, we get a better and general idea of what humanity means. What motivates me is not humanity nor a better understanding of it....it's all about the KID humanity and understanding them on an individual level.
Ryan Goulet
Teaching, at its best, is an enterprise that helps human beings reach the full measure of their humanity" (p. I). Have you thought of teaching in this manner? React to this claim. How does this way of thinking challenge the ways in which people tend to think about teaching/teachers?
ReplyDeleteI believe that in a way, Ayers is correct with his statement, I do believe that teaching can help us reach the full measure of our humanity. His use of the word "teaching" is the part of the statement that forces me to agree with him. If someone is able to take advantage of teachable moments in daily life- than yes, in those words, Ayers is correct. In this sense, Teaching is done not simply through the classroom, and certinaly not by a single teacher or group of teachers, but through the complete experience of life itself. I believe that one can only reach the full potential of my humanity through the guidance of the family uprising provided, the cultrual and community aspects that one is placed in, the experiences and oportunity one is able to partake in, as well as the teachers that help foster the growth, creativity and exceptionalism that it takes to reach the full measure of our humanity. In that aspect, if you were to consider members of the family, the community, and so forth as teachers, than yes- teaching at its best is an enterprise that helps human beings reach the full measure of their humanity.
However, my true issues with this statement lies in his unwritten words. What does he mean by "teaching"? is he talking about taking advantages of teachable moments? or is he talking about the teaching that a teacher provides in the classroom? If he is talking about the latter, theres too many aspects of life to consider for someone reach the full measure of humanity. I do not consider family members or members of the community as teachers. They play different roles, they are caretakers, providers, and a means of support within daily life. Should they take advantage of teachable moments? certinally, however, i do not consider them teachers- they are parents and neighbors. Additionally, I believe that a major aspect of teaching the full measure of ones humanity is the good decisions that one makes as well as mistakes that a person makes and how they learn to correct, move on, and learn from- and in that case, I do not consider myself a teacher to myself. Teachers are members outside the community reaching in. They provide that outside source that sees potential in a student, challenges them mentally, phyically, and intellectually to foster growth. They have that outside and creative perspective that sees a glimmer of exceptionalism that otherwise may be overlooked by family or members of the community- simply becasue those members of society spend too much time with an individual and may accidentaly overlook those aspects, focusing on other things such as providing a safe home, food, and clothing- or making sure they stay out of the neighbors yard. In short- when i become a teacher, I do not expect myself to make a human being reach the full measure of their humanity, rather help them realize the potential that they have, and foster that growth. I can not provide the full boddied aspect that it takes to make someone reach the full potential of their humanity.
So, if Ayers is making this claim with the belief that teaching on a whole- combining the forces of school, homelife, and community is the enterprise that helps human beings reach the full measure of their humanity- he has a point. However that point isnt very insightful nor inspiring, its a basic assuption to life itself.
Brittany Strimple-I do believe this quote from Ayers to be somewhat accurate. We have all heard stories of students who grew up in rough neighborhoods, did not have many available resources, and had little support from family members but yet they became resilient to this back story and went on to break the cycle and finish out their educational career. I think many of these stories can, in part, be traced back to a teacher or teachers who made such a strong impact on the student that they realized that they are important and are capable of doing and accomplishing what they wish to achieve. I have thought about this idea of “reaching full measure of humanity” before because I think teachers do have the capability of changing a student’s life. When ever you ask someone to recall their favorite teacher, they usually light up and can go on and on about what they did and how it made them feel and even how it has stuck with them and changed their lives. Sadly I think this way of thinking about teachers as enterprises to help people reach this potential is dying out. I think many people believe the teachers job is to stick to the curriculum and make sure everyone passes the standardized tests all while maintaining strict control in the classroom. One of the common phrases when discussing teaching is “teaching to the test”. I think teachers are now not only held to the idea of sticking strictly to the curriculum but also burdened with the pressure of having all students pass the same standardized test. I think this has changed their ways of thinking about the larger picture of “helping human beings reach the full measure of their humanity”. I think we should all be aware of this quote and what it means and realize that we do have the power to become more than a person who simply spits out information to the students, who then spit it back out in a test, then move on to the next one.
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