The Poor Scholar's Soliloquy by Stephen M. Corey

SOME QUESTIONS TO REFLECT UPON(Courtesy of my college professor)

1. If you were a teacher observing this boy in the situation and had a chance to read his "soliloquy," what would you say is his main problem?
2. Why do you think teacher's don't like this boy? If you were his teacher, would you like him?
3. Does this boy seem to be mentally slow or deficient?
4. Why do you think this boy's uncle likes to have him work with him?
5. This boys family thinks he should quit school when he turns 15. Do you think he should?
6. This piece was written in 1944. Is the situation the boy describes still typical of American education?

1. I would say this boy's main problem is that he just can't relate to the material. He also seems to have a problem with literacy and memorizing facts.

2.  I think this boy is difficult to teach for some teachers. If I were a teacher I believe I would like him. He seems like a good kid who really tries hard. I would try to get him writing on topics which interest him. He seems very smart despite his obvious struggle with writing. By getting this student writing more often on topics which interested him I believe I could help him improve his writing skills as well as see writing as an important aspect of his life.

3. No. This boy seems to be very intelligent. He seems to have very good navigation skills and can do arithmetic perfectly fine when it comes to calculating depreciation and other business-related math. He also does reasonably well with his writing when it comes to writing for the business as well.  It seems as if he is stronger in a hands-on environment which directly relates to his interest in trucks and running a mechanic business.

4. The boy's uncle seems to like working with him because he seems like a genuinely good kid. He seems eager to learn about the business as well as helping out his community. He seems to be very helpful around the shop as well as a pleasure to be around.


5. No, I do not believe this boy should drop out of school. Even in 1944 a high school education is important. I believe this student is smart, however, he still has a lot to learn. There are business-related skills which his teachers can help him master. This boy can gain a lot of knowledge after school hours and on weekends with his uncle as well as full time after he graduates high school.

6. I believe this story is still typical of many students in the American education system today.

"Learning Styles Don't Exist" Video

Today in class we watched "Learning Styles Don't Exist", a video on the theory that learning styles are bogus. Visual, audio and kinesthetic learning styles are ways which people claim to learn better. The prediction of the learning styles theory is that visual learners will always learn better when they see visual depictions. However, the video states their studies prove this theory wrong. Remembering information comes easier to people in these way because they are meaning based, not factually based.The video states learning is contextual. 90% of people believe the theory on learning styles is true, therefore they may make ambiguous assumptions when situations arise that align with the theory. The video says "good teaching is good teaching" and teachers do not need to adjust their methods to accommodate learning styles.


My first reaction is to disagree with this video. It seems to me that teaching to a variety of learning styles is beneficial to students because it allows them to learn in a various number of way, some of which will tend to make learning easier than others. If 90% of people believe the learning styles theory is true there must be some merit in it. As a student I know how I learn best and some modes of learning simply just don't work for me. How could 90% of the learning population be mistaken into thinking they learn better with some learning styles than others? Additionally, the studies talked about in the video did not seem very extensive. I believe more studies have been done with result supporting learning styles than studies with results opposing them.

--Can learning be both meaning-based and learning style based?-- Would it be possible that overall students learn best in a few specific learning styles, however, if a subject matter was particularly meaningful they would learn well no matter which style the information was presented in?

Why are students not actively involved with the technology that is already in schools?

-Depending on the demographics of the community the school is located in schools may not have access to much technology.
-With technology expanding so fast teachers may not be able to keep up and know how to use this technology to its full potential. With new programs coming out every year it is hard to keep up to date with technology.
-There may also be funding cuts on technology related jobs such as those people who repair or fix technology when it goes down. If only half of the laptops in a laptop cart work it may be difficult to have every students benefit from technology if there isn't enough for each student. 
-While technology can be very useful in getting information it is also very distracting. Teachers may be worried about keeping students on-task and actually benefiting from technology.