Reflection on the article "Room to Learn" by Michie

Reflection on Greg Michie’s Article “Room to Learn”

“if you’d get outta the way so we could see what you are doing, it might help” proclaimed by Santiago, a kid who always sat in the seat furthest from Michie.

In his article “Room to Learn” Michie presented a strong narrative story of his experience as a teacher, and the challenges posed by the teaching profession especially to urban learners. However, there are important points that the author related in the article that is worthy of our attention.
Firstly, the author related that students have no confidence in the sincerity of their teachers to begin with, and therefore, students show little interest or no interest in the learning process. This mistrust is not limited to the gates of the schools or the classrooms, but it has to do with the existing differences in the society whether it is the race, economic, or neighborhood as Michie pointed out “what I found, at least on first impression, was more separation and racial mistrust than I remembered in the “backward” South”. Students bring this package to the classroom, and the innocent teacher who may be truly trying to teach kids cannot tackle on his own unless society takes the initiative and finds long lasting solutions.
Secondly, the author pinpointed that students of color or students from poor and underserved families have the ability and the intelligent to learn even the hardest concepts given the right circumstances. If michie’s wild eighth graders can successfully play Supreme Court and put the school on trial, then no one can tell us they can not prepare for the basic standard test to graduate from high school. The education that is worthy of pursuing is the one that provides meaning and reason that incites motivation and interest. If we as educators can prove to students that we have something that can make difference in their lives, and then we are the right people for the profession otherwise we better move out of the student’s way so they can get room to learn as presented by michie.