Education plays a principal role in all fields of social life. Whether one will be able to secure a reputable job, acquire wealth or gain some enviable social status depends on how educated they are (Alfie 1). As a matter of fact, educated people are held in high regard by the society. There is something about education, which brings an aspect of respect and some fear among the unlearned lot. A person that is not learned will not feel secure competing with the learned individual. The literate, as the learned people are known as and the illiterate are two different social classes. The way a learned person is expected to do things is unlike the style in which an unlearned individual will do such things. The difference between robbery and white collar crime is a matter of being learned or unlearned. Then goes the question: what makes a person be described as learned? Does a spoon-fed student become classified as less learned than the fully participative student? This paper endeavors to explain why spoon feeding is a better approach to basic education.
Spoon feeding in schools is an approach of teaching, where the teachers play a dominant role, with the students taking a passive role. The students, in this approach, just sit and take notes. One central characteristic of this approach is the fact that the lecturers do not endeavor to explain things in much detail (Alfie 1b). They go straight to the points that they deem necessary for the good performance of the children. In high school and the elementary levels of education, the scope of education is limited to the extent that the teacher can determine that which should be expected in the final examinations. In other countries, where the final examinations are administered by some particular national body, the teachers, after careful and experienced study of the trend of examinations can predict with considerable accuracy, the questions to be expected in the final examinations. This way, the teacher avoids going into details that are not necessary in the examination context.
One significant merit of spoon feeding students is that it enhances the reputation of the school. Typically, a spoon-fed student is likely to perform better than a student that has been taught under the participative approach. This is mainly because the spoon-fed student is equipped with relevance unlike the student that undergoes the comprehensive training and detailed instruction. This is because the student that has been spoon-fed can readily access the relevant points (Harmon and Toni 26). On the contrary, the student that has undergone the participative approach has a bulk of class notes to study. This means that the learner may not be in an ideal position to understand the required points and relevant information. As a result, the school that spoon-feeds its students achieves better results compared to school with the ordinary approach. This way, the school with a spoon-feeding approach becomes more reputable in society than the one that employs many detailed approaches.
Another advantage of the spoon-feeding approach is the fact that it gives students the chance to pursue better careers. Achieving good grades in high school and basic levels enables students to access such opportunities as the chances to join college and universities so as to pursue their desired careers at Bachelors Level. Additionally, spoon feeding gives students the capacity to meet the required standards. The students are in a position to cover that which is outlined in the academic curriculum. They do not have to go into studies that are outside the stipulated syllabus as only the subjects and topics in the syllabus are used in the definition of educational standards (Harmon and Toni 49). Typically, the school curriculum is punctuated by projects, research paper, analytical problems and examination questions. Spoon-fed approach focuses on such things only. This is the definition of relevance.
The definition of a well-educated individual is concerned with such things as the academic qualifications achieved by the person. Whatever they went through and covered so as to be awarded the academic qualification remains irrelevant. For instance, it is implied that all degree holders are learned people. No one is concerned about how the individuals attained the degree certificate (Siti & Abu 6). In other words, spoon feeding is a shorter route to academic excellence. Just like the participative-approach students, the spoon-fed individuals achieve university degrees. The essence, therefore, is that, with spoon feeding, one does not have to struggle much. They get their academic qualifications almost effortlessly. The spoon feeding approach is preferred by many students. It is characteristic of every young person to have a negative attitude towards the struggle to understand some complicated mathematical concept. As such, they like to let the expert teacher do it. In spoon feeding, this is perfectly achieved. The students let the teacher do the instruction.
The fact that this approach lets the teacher play a central role in class works positively for the teacher’s ego. The teacher feels respected as the only person who is knowledgeable around the class environment. Such realization boosts the teacher’s morale to have the students enlightened. A motivated teacher is more likely to perform better than a demoralized one (Alfie 1). This is because the motivated teacher possesses a sense of self worth. Self esteem is a state of developing a sense of self-importance. An esteemed teacher will likely endeavor to deliver the best as they feel much appreciated. Additionally, looking at spoon-feeding from the viewpoint of the teacher, it is a good way of instructing a large number of people at the same time.
A lecturer can involve many students in one class. This way, time is saved as they class is not split into various groups that will require various teaching sessions (Siti & Abu 2). The teachers do not have to go through the terrible agony of having to prepare the schemes of work every now and again. Once the schemes of work have been prepared for a certain year, they can be used for the subsequent years effectively. This means that instead of having to prepare new lesson plans for every term or semester, a teacher can use one all through as long as the necessary updates are included every time they come up. This saves time and resources needed for fresh plans every time the teacher wishes to teach a class of students.
Despite the above arguments for the spoon-feeding method of teaching, there are quite a number of counterarguments over the same. The first and foremost is that even if the students complete their studies successfully, they do not meet the competence standards required at the workplace (Thomas 2). This is simply because they do not possess the detailed information on the concepts covered in class. In response to this counterargument, the proponents of the spoon-feeding method have argued that the workplace nowadays embraces what is referred to as on-the-job training. With such an approach, the details that one has acquired in class are irrelevant since all people are subjected to the same training procedures. Besides, the practical situation at the work place cannot be compared to the theoretical class environment. As such getting to the workplace is the most valuable thing. Once there, training will streamline all recruits and employees into one system of doing things.
The second counterargument is that the approach promotes laxity among the learners. This is because the children play a passive role. They do not participate in the class environment. As such, they are likely to develop lazy tendencies as part of their conduct. This counterargument is rather weak as psychologists explain laziness as being an integral part of the behavior of an individual. The experts in psychology explain that laziness can easily be unlearned since it is a temporal condition and depends on the situation (Alfie 1b). Additionally, the objective of taking a child to school is not to make them industrious, but rather to make them achieve good grades and pursue better careers. In straightforward words, a student that performs well, whether lazy or not, is deemed to have achieved their goal.
In conclusion, it is quite clear that, from the foregoing, spoon feeding is a beneficial approach to both the students and the teachers. The approach is simple to both parties and saves time and resources. Arguably, spoon feeding is one of the most powerful ways of eliminating the inconsistencies in school teaching schedules. This is because, as discussed above, the teacher can handle a big number of students all at once. The approach plays a key role in defining appropriate education systems and procedures. The approach embraces relevance and hence, requires a shorter preparation period. Many students are in favor of this approach as it does not make them strain.
Works cited
Alfie Kohn. What Does It Mean To Be Well-Educated? Principal Leadership, 2003. Print
Alfie Kohn. Poor Teaching for Poor Children. In The Name Of Reform. Education Week, 2011. Print
Harmon, Deborah A, and Toni S. Jones. Elementary Education: A Reference Handbook. Santa Barbara, Calif. [U.A.: ABC-Clio, 2005. Print
Siti Akmar & Abu Samah. Does Spoon-feeding Impede Independent Learning? Canadian Social Science 5.3 2009 print
Thomas L. Friedman. It's A Flat World, After All. New York Times. 2005. Print
