Dear Chemistry Teacher,
When I first entered into chemistry class, I was pretty excited, until you told us that our first task was to memorize the periodic table and that there would be a quiz on it a few days later. My dreams of exciting experiments and learning interesting information were soon squashed by what the reality of the class was. The class was mainly made up of memorizing information for the next test, and after a few less-than-perfect grades, the perfectionist in me complained to you that learning chemistry was not necessary for my future.
You responded by saying that even if the chemistry was not important, the “skills” you were teaching me in studying and learning would serve me for my future. Three years later, I took a challenging psychology exam, and I utilized the “skills” you gave me. When I received an A on the exam, I silently thanked you for teaching me those “skills.” But now, I would like to take that back.
I am taking my thank you back because I realize now that even though you gave me skills to succeed on future tests, your skills do not help me achieve anything else more meaningful in life. In our day and age, we have the idea that “tests are the best”, and that the “skills” I learned in chemistry class and in many of my other classes in high school would help me in college. I know how to study, memorize quickly and effectively, and, when I receive tricky questions, how to apply previous knowledge to a new question. Because I only learned for the upcoming test, I quickly forgot the information afterwards to make room for new information for the next test. Subsequently, I remember nothing of what I “learned” in chemistry. And, when I came to college, I did not even consider taking a chemistry course. My excitement to learn chemistry was so quickly reversed that I would never again take another course. Maybe if I was not just memorizing formulas and elements for tests and quizzes, it could have been my favorite subject in high school.
Like I said before, there is an overall theme in our society that we should be testing, testing, testing. One could argue that you, my chemistry teacher ,needed to test me to be able to accurately assess how much I have learned. But after receiving a few imperfect grades, I was ready to give up. I told myself that I was not good at the subject and that there was no need to keep trying.
And the truth is that, every day, children are telling themselves that, as well, and not just about one subject — about school in general. Tests tell children who may read a novel everyday that they are “bad at English” because they did not bubble in the correct answer to the question, possibly demotivating them from reading and partaking in English courses later in life.
In certain societies where tests are hardly administered — which is the case in Finland — students do better in school. If we just foster love and excitement of a subject rather than memorizing and test skills, our schools and students would be so different. You tried to justify your constant testing by saying that it is important skills that we need in life, but ultimately where do these skills get us? Sure, they help us get into colleges and grad schools, but ultimately being able to memorize things for a test will not help me with a future job, it will not give me any marketable skills for an internship, and it most certainly will not foster any love for the subject.
Instead of telling our students to memorize facts and cram textbook knowledge we should be allowing them to explore subjects and not just so they can take a test and get an end grade. We should be having students do more and have students test less.
I don’t just wish you had been better. I wish our society was better, too.
Sincerely,
An Old Student
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