Running head: MY BEST AND WORST LEARING EXPERIECES

My Best and Worst Learning Experiences

Rachel Page
Texas A&M University

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My best learning experience came after I graduated from Sam Houston
State University in 2009. The United States was in the middle of a recession
that had been going on for two years and new graduates were finding it hard
to find unemployment. My mother, who is a Special Ed case manager at a
local high school, suggested that I look into getting an alternative
certification to be a high school English teacher. This idea was very
interesting to me because I love English, and teaching children would pose a
new challenge. After a few months of taking basically a crash course on
teaching teenagers and young adults, I was placed to start my first teaching
assignment at a middle school in Houston, TX.
Before I started my student teaching assignment, I was warned by my
peers that this school was synonymous with, low standardized test scores,
fights, gang violence, and low attendance records. This school was branded
Title 1( Title 1 formally known as Chapter 1; is part of the elementary and
secondary education act of 1965 and is the foundation for the federal
commitment to closing the achievement gap between low income and other
students.) The ethnic makeup was 62% African American, 19% Mexican
American or of some Hispanic origin, 10% Anglo Saxon and 9% Asian or
specific islander. I was warned by colleagues and peers that this particular
school was synonymous with low test scores, low attendance, fights and
gang violence. It was safe to say that I had a fairly big challenge on my
hands.

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During my 2nd week as a student teacher, I quickly realized that I was
in over my head and needed a plan. In order to get the most out of this
learning experience, participation was key. I needed to implement Crowthers
four assumptions.

1.) Participation is a good thing.

By getting involved in all of their activities, it allowed me to understand how
to address their learning needs better. For example, if I assigned a chapter
analysis in the book that they were currently reading as a class, I would do a
chapter analysis myself so that I could pin point what could be too difficult,
confusing, or remedial.
2.) Participation equals formal learning.
It was important for the children to discover their learning styles and take
control of their own learning. I learned that people learn differently and, as a
teacher, I must accept this as long as it goes along with the curriculum and is
safe for the student learner.
3.) Learners are abstract, not socialized individuals
I realized that the children were comparing their life experiences to certain
context that we were learning about. For example, when I discussed the
Holocaust, they started pointing out comparisons and commonalities of the

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oppressed children and their own lives Crowther points out, There are other
reasons why certain adults have more access to learning opportunities than
other adults. Where one happens to live, what ones primary language is,
what color, age, or sex one happens to be, what one does for a living all
contribute to the participation pattern in adult education (Baumgartner pg.
76.)
4.) There are barriers to participation, not resistance.
A common theme of lackadaisical views on school work and respecting
authority was prevalent among the children. They needed to understand that
receiving an education was their right, and that they should enjoy and
benefit from their education. Further because this is democratic society, all
individuals have access and opportunity to benefit through education.
I worked with these children for four months while using the practices
above and by the end of my tenure; I had a greater understanding and
respect for low income households and teenagers in general.
My worst learning experience was the time I became an Underwirter
Analyst for an insurance company in Houston. My best friends dad told me
that his company was looking for a new Underwirter Analyst to help out with
their=ir already understaffed and overworked team. This was my first office
job offer after I graduated college, so I was eager to get out in the work force
and do my very best. Knowles says, when people become adults, they
experience, they experience a deep psychological need to be perceived and

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treated by others as being capable of taking responsibility for ourselves. The
adult comes into the an educational activity largely because he is
experiencing some inadequacy in coping with current life problems.
(Knowles,1972, P.36)
On the first day of training, being the eager learner that I am I asked
many questions and took many notes. At the end of the day, I was called into
the instructors office and scolded for asking too many questions and that I
should draw on past experiences to help me with my training. This
assessment brings me to refer to John Deweys views on experience and
learning. John Dewey theorizes in his book, Experience and Education that
children and adults alike learn from experiences. Dewey also says, Judging
whether experiences produce learning can be difficult because every
experience is moving force. Its value can be judged only on the grounds of
what it moves towards and into (Baumgartner pg. 31). This means that the
instructor was wrong to assume that my past learning experiences doing
office work would correlate with my experiences at my new job. She should
have accepted that there are many ways to teach an learner the material.
Chapter 4 explains, Just as there is no single theory that explains all of
human learning, there is no single theory of adult learning. Instead we have
a number of frameworks and model, each of which contributes something to
our understanding of adults as learners (Baumgartner pg. 83)

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Unfortunately, 3 weeks later, I was laid off for not grasping the
concepts that the position required. I had a bad experience with experiential
learning. I think that trust has to be there when an instructor sets up the
parameters of experiential learning. Youre saying to the student, I am now
taking a back seat and you now have to be more active in your own learning.
In order for me to buy into that notion, there needed to trust between the
educator and the learner, and the end product will be worthwhile and of
value to the learner in the end.

References
Lave, E., & Wenger, J. (1991). Situated learning: legitimate peripheral
participation. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/cbo9780511815355.003

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Knowles, M.S. (1975). Self-Directed Learning. A Guide for Learners and
Teachers. Chicago: Follett. Knowles, M.S. (1978). The Adult Learner. Houston,
Tx: Gulf Publishing. (second edition).
Merriam, S. B., Caffarella, R. S., & Baumgartner, L. M. (2007). Learning in
adulthood: A comprehensive guide. (3rd ed). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.