The Brazen-faced “Ms. Debbie Jacobs”

Of course you may be wondering why I named this post “The Brazen-faced Ms Debbie Jacobs” but such is out of complete admiration to actually read a column which directly tells students that they must take responsibility for their own learning. While I, just like her, may not amass total responsibility to them, I do believe that as students mature, they must accept a greater level of responsibility for their educational outcomes, barring any birth defects.
Ms. Debbie Jacobs is one of the few persons whom I have seen within recent times, that could bold facedly make such a statement. In an article published in the Trinidad Guardian on the 29th June 2009 entitled “Reading is the Key” she wrote:

“Brace yourself because I am going to say something that no one wants to hear. Here it is: children—and by extension their parents—are really responsible for children’s education. We like to think that teachers are responsible for educating our children. They are responsible for providing the framework for education. They are responsible for imparting knowledge, but children are really responsible for learning. The best teacher can stand up and teach to his or her heart’s content and if a student does not want to learn, it’s not going to happen.”

She proceeded to explain why she expressed such sentiments in a short but interesting article. The major point she spotlighted was to meet the required level/standard of reading for secondary school students. Some interesting points made in the article were:
1) Many secondary students think that reading is only for English and literature majors.
2) Elementary school students should be reading approximately 1/2 hr every night in order to read books at their level when the reach university.
3) The most important thing children can do over the holidays is read.

Check out the article under "My Hyperlinks" on this page.

What are your views?