Goal #3 for The 30 Goals Challenge 2012 is to ask a learner about their own learning. I talked to two of my students, both honest and love learning. Their separate answers are marked with bullets. Or should I say, pearls–the pacifist’s name for bullets, and these are pearls of wisdom from my sweet students!

What do you think makes a good teacher?

• I think a teacher should be excited to learn. The teacher should have exciting ideas, and have fun games that don’t bore the students to death.
• Some one who is good at answering questions and makes class fun.

What are some ways that you like to learn?

• I like to learn with visual examples. I also like when we use laptops and iPads. Technology makes learning fun!
• With genius hour, and when the teacher’s teaching it to us, not going on line and learning it on our own and teaching our selves.

What kinds of things do you like to read?

• Facebook updates, Hunting magazines, Racing magazines, Zero (the book)
• I like to read action, adventure, and romance.  And futuristic and fiction.

What things get on your nerves at school?

• When a teacher moves on to other things, even though students don’t understand what they just taught. Or when teachers do boring activities.
• How little time we have between classes.

How do you feel about grading?

• Grading’s good, but I don’t like when teachers don’t let you do extra credit.
• I like to have a lot of grades cause that way we can bring them up easily.  But I don’t like assignments.

Do you have suggestions for improving the grading system?

• Allow extra credit, and let students grade themselves. If the grade that they gave themselves wasn’t accurate to their work, then talk to them about it.
• Grade more on how we behave in class instead of assignments and tests.

What kinds of materials do you like to use to learn?

• Picture books and the Internet.
• I like to be taught by a teacher and take notes more then reading from a novel or using a textbook.  I also like pictures.

What do you like about school?

• Being with friends and having fun teachers.
• I like hanging out with my friends.  That’s one of reasons I really like the lounge because we can all just hang out in a group.

What do you dislike about school?

• When teachers don’t help you understand things that confuse you.
• I don’t like the 3 minutes between classes because I think we need more time in order to go to the bathroom and get drinks.

How would you run a school if you could decide?

• Have lots of technology, and make it fun. Have fun activities, and make them interact with teaching.
• I would have the class rooms set up more like the lounge instead of desks.  I would make it comfortable and so that we can have our own laptops.