I loved the high school essay. It was a critical view of the education system by an educator. We've all heard teachers gripe about class time, funding, and NCLB, but Sizer seems to cover a huge unmentioned critical problem with education. Its impersonal. It doesn't allow growth. Subjects don't coincide, students are never prompted to think, or meditate on issues, and there's so much useless bullshit thrown at you in a day. This contradicts a previous reading we did about fluency and skills, but makes an excellent point and bring to mind serious issues. As a future teacher I feel stuck at a cross roads. Do I say, "fuck the system" and teach alternatively...personally knowing my students, making sure deep lessons and values are learned? Or, do I provide them with the skills they need to get into college and get a job. Do I assign enriching projects that touch on philosophy and values, or do I throw at them the same sort of tests they've been seeing and will continue to see throughout their lives? Progressive or practical. I think every educator would prefer true educating to the traditional force feeding of cut down simplified fact. Sadly there's no infrastructure for progressive education. While alternative schools do exist, the post secondary setup of things disables students from utilizing any sort of unique information. The problem of tradition over invention lies not quarantined in our schools, but encompasses all of society.
I digress. I think my response is taking my own direction, and not really a reflection of the assignment.
Sizer made excellent points and observations. I like how he retold an occurrence that most of us are familiar with, in such an enlightening way. He didn't "tell" us that teachers don't have time, he "showed" us the multitude of daily interruption. He showed us impersonal classrooms, lack of interest, character and values. Sizer's style of using examples really drove home his point.