How's Your Berger?

Introduction and Chapter 1

The big idea of this chapter is…

How quality is more important than quantity. Berger explains how he realized one day while working on a playhouse after school that “there was a spirit, an ethic in the air that day.” It partly included the kids, the teaching, the curriculum, and the community, but most importantly, it was about all of these things at once. How they all worked together to create this culture that was full and rich of encouragement and motivation helped these kids to volunteer, work together, and care deeply about the quality of what they built. Berger adds how the newspaper these days includes articles about the “crisis” in education and how a new quick fix will help things. The only way to help the crisis is to establish a new ethic he explains. “Some schools are good; some are not. Those that are good have an ethic, a culture, which supports and compels students to try and to succeed.” The biggest concern seems to be centered around testing students and ranking them, when we should really be focused on bring out their best quality instead of the quantity of high percentiles on standardized tests.

            When Berger presents the work of his students to other schools across the country, they are in disbelief that a young student could live up to such high standards. The students are not overwhelmed by pressure, they simply know what is expected of them and know that quality is key and they need to do their best, so they do.

A teaching strategy I gained from this chapter that I think I will use is…

A project that incorporates all classes to create something together that can be seen or used by, or even benefit the community. (Berger’s example of building the playhouse)

I like this strategy because…

It integrates the use of a hands-on project where classes and students have to work together for a common goal that will be seen by everyone. They want their parents and their neighbor’s and their brothers and sisters to see what they’ve done and tell them that they’ve done a good job, so they will strive to do their best and give it their all so  they can create something that both they and everyone can be proud of.

A passage that I found especially meaningful was…

“In the classroom or on the building site my passion is the same: If you’re going to do something, I believe, you should do it well. You should sweat over it and make sure it’s strong and accurate and beautiful and you should be proud of it.”

This passage was meaningful to me because…

I think it’s extremely vital that especially at a young age; you should begin working to the best of your known ability. Kids don’t know how well they can do until they are motivated to push themselves and try and create something or complete something that they are proud of. That is why, like Berger explains, we should establish an ethic; a culture in which students feel they are a part of and want to learn and want to pass on knowledge and want to create and build great things.

1. A question I have arising from this chapter is…

That I feel that creating a close community that everyone benefits from and creates motivation and encouragement for students is easier said than done. How can it be ensured that any poor school with poor standards and community can be transformed into one of these model schools? Berger explains how this should be a goal of the nation; to create an ethic or culture in all schools.

Another question I have is that since all student’s work is set at extremely high standards, doesn’t this create high competition in classrooms and in the school? When students are expected to do their best, do they ever believe that their best is not better than a classmates, become discouraged and cause problems to arise?

An experience from my practicum that relates to this chapter is…

The school where I attend my practicum is small and holds eight different grade levels. Everyone in the school knows everyone, and in the morning, all the grades gather in the gym to release some energy in the gymnasium. After they get their fix of running around and playing games, the whole school assembles in lines across the gym to take part in the school wide “morning meeting.” This is where the Pledge is said, birthdays are announced, a new greeting in another language is introduced, and upcoming events in the community are shared. The whole school: students, teachers, and the principal all gather together in order to share all this information with one another. This get together ensures a culture among the school; a sense of safety and community, and even an ethic that the students know and feel that they are part of.