I recently read a New York Times article titled A Moo-Moo Here and Better Test Scores Later. This article talked about Harlem Success Academy, an urban New York school that is trying to better educate kindergardeners about rural life. According to this article, these efforts are being made to help students score higher on New York State's english and math standardized tests, which students begin taking in third grade. Apparently, there are many questions on these tests that relate to or are asked in the context of farming, which is something that many urban students are unfamiliar with. By taking fieldtrips to farms and familiarizing them with typical farm life and activities, the students are able to make better connections, ultimately increasing their test scores when they take the tests in third grade and beyond.
Near the end of the article, it talked briefly about how some people feel that these field trips come at the cost of other learning opportunities, and that they are unnecessary. Having talked a lot about opportunity cost in class this year, I thought this was a relevant argument. When I was a freshman, my english class talked a lot about the phrase "experience is education," which I believe to be true. Abagail Johnson, a teacher at Harlem Success Academy, shares this view point. "'[Children] are good at reciting and remembering things,' she said, 'but they can’t make the connection unless you show it to them.'" If this is the case, and experience is education, then experiencing farm life is essential for children to understand it. And if they understand it, they will do better on New York State's standardized testing in the future, which is the goal of the fieldtrips. This may come at the cost of other learning opportunities, but so do all educational fieldtrips. It doesn't sound unnecessary to me.
Do you think that the efforts taken to familiarize these children with farm living is unnecessary? What is the opportunity cost of this experience? Do you agree with the statement "experience is education"?
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Ah I remember that from freshman year! I think you make a really strong connection between the childrens' education and the idea that experience is education. Personally I believe this would be the best method to teach kindergarteners about rural life. It seems like a kindergartener would be much more likely to remember their experience on an actual farm rather than, for example, listen to their teacher read about one. In this case experience is definitely education because that is how the kindergarteners will learn.
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