How I plan to teach versus how I was taught

Looking back I see that my grade school education can be broken up into 3 phases.

PHASE 1 (k-2nd) I spent a great deal of time learning about how school is going to work, how to behave in a classroom setting, how to walk down the corridors, and the sheer basics of reading, writing, and math. A large portion of the day is given to teaching life skills. I spend the majority of my day on the rug, or in group learning settings. I do very little independent work.

PHASE 2 (3rd-5th) My time in school is becoming more informational based, I am beginning to "read to learn" as opposed to "learn to read". This is sort of the transition phase between learning how to learn and learning how to gain information. I spend some time in group learning setting and start to spend more and more time doing independent work. By the end of this phase I am expected to be ready for middle school and then high school.

PHASE 3 (6th-12th) The last half of my free education is dedicated to informational based learning. I am now expected to read a text book and come away with a full understanding of the subject so that I may move on to a harder subject. Little to no life skills are taught. I am getting prepared for college, but I am not getting prepared for the vocational world.

Luckily, I was a student who strove for a college education. I believed that was my next step if I was to be able to survive in this world. Now, what would have happened if I had not had the grades for college, or perhaps I despised school and wanted to go out into the job world. Did my education prepare me for that? I believe not.

I see our school systems become more and more curriculum based and it scares me. It scares me because I know that most students will never; one, remember half of what is being taught in school, and two, never need to use this information in the real world. This is where I plan to be different as a teacher.

Life skills needs to be one of a teachers top priorities. We can not simply expect students to learn on their own we can not expect parents to teach their students these skills, and we can not expect them to make good life choices without the knowledge. As Kindergartners we are taught to share, to say please and thank you, and to respect others but I don't see those skills being carried on into the upper grades. My hope is to incorporate daily living skills, social skills, and general life skills into my classroom. I believe that if these things are taught, we will not only turn out great learners but also caring and thoughtful individuals.