Project Classroom Makeover Assignment

Project Classroom Makeover Assignment

Through an anecdote, Davidson describes her mother-in-law’s persistent teaching methods: “She insisted that everyone had a unique way of learning [...] Rodney was no one’s fool” (Davidson, 65). Though this passage serves to prove that a good teacher is vital in education, it also emphasizes the differences in individual learning. The student in the anecdote, Rodney, was written off as “slow,” like many other students today, but by using a different method, he could calculate like any other child his age, perhaps even better. Not only does this disprove the standard educational theory of “slow” and “fast” learners, rather arguing that everyone is different, but this anecdote directly contradicts the standardized system itself, boasting that a student normally discarded through the standardized system could succeed in another, more diversified system.

Throughout her essay, Davidson refers to “challenges” that both college students in Duke and elementary school students in Mountain Views faced and how they resulted in innovation and learning. On page 65, Davidson states her mother-in-law “defied anyone to bring her a kid she couldn’t teach,” treating teaching as a challenge to overcome. Much like how students were challenged to create new programs for an iPod, Davidson argues that teachers, like her mother-in-law, should challenge themselves to create new teaching methods for children. This innately ties into Davidson’s vehemence with the current school system by exemplifying a system that encourages both students and teachers to learn and innovate, creating a modern school system for the modern era.