The Adobe Sessions – Episode 2

This is the second episode of The Adobe Sessions, LeadLocal’s podcast that explores what it means to learn and lead. In this episode, three students share their perspective on school leadership. This is the second chapter in a series exploring the BIG question: What is school leadership? 

 

It’s never too late to listen! Check out Episode 1 or move on to Episode 3.

In their own words…

Since we can’t play every clip from every interview, we want to give you a chance to get to know our guests a little more. Here’s a little introduction in their own words!

Madeleine Garn

My name is Madeleine Garn. I live in Tucson, AZ and attend Borton magnet school. I love cats, and spend my spare time reading about them.

I have been inspired to learn when my math teacher taught my class about the fibonacci sequence. It fascinated me, and later on I watched a documentary on it.

I think one of the biggest problems in schools today is the kids getting what they need from lessons. Some kids might be falling behind, or maybe some might be ahead of what is being taught. This could make some students bored and some students unable to complete work.

Izzy Hernandez

I’m Izzy Hernandez, and I’m a senior at Cholla High. I love to try new recipes because I love being able to cook for friends and family. I play chess in my free time, because I love how competitive and fun chess is. I like to be involved in my community so I volunteer regularly. In the fall I’ll be attending college in Missouri to study science and math.

I have been inspired to learn when I started IB Math. It’s a hard math course offered at my school and is one of the few at my school where you really learn. What I mean is it’s different from a regular math course where you learn the material and it’s a bunch of formulas and your test is based on memorization. That’s great, but it’s not true learning.IB Math is the first math class where I have needed to STUDY before a test.

Before, I didn’t have a need, and it was an easy A. From this, I learned new studying skills and how to not only retain the information but use it to deconstruct a problem or construct one and solve it. It really opened my eyes and showed me how little regular classes offer students. It inspired me to want to use what I only just learned in the classroom.

Oh man, there’s a handful of problems I see in everyday school, but maybe the main one is that there needs to be a common ground between students and teachers, especially as students get older during high school.
Students are growing up and maturing, so I don’t think it’s helpful to still have 17-18-year-olds in little desks when in the next year they will be out in the real world. I feel teachers should be able to have respect for students. In certain situations, students want to rebel because they don’t feel heard or it feels like every adult is yelling at them and telling them what to do. Sometimes it seems like the adults don’t want to offer guidance or better the situation.There needs to be at least some connection established between teachers and students.

Cole Lanning

I’m a junior at Tucson High. I’m constantly searching for ways to update the nonprofit donation channel and how to best utilize new technology to bring down administration costs to make nonprofits more effective. Right now I’m in the process of launching a business with this goal, and with that of helping nonprofits have better control of their online presence. I’m also talking to for-profit businesses and helping them integrate products with donations to nonprofits without losing profits.

What really makes me want to learn is when I see real world applications, especially when they are relevant to my personal interests. For instance, a recent example would be an assignment in math where we had to make an argument for a tuition price of a hypothetical camp. There were many different variables to consider such as risk, scholarships, set costs etc. What might have been just rational functions became something that was extremely interesting, and I put a lot of effort into making sure I fully understood what I was learning. This to me was awesome as I could see how I could apply this in my life later on.
I think that the biggest challenge in education right now is teaching and helping kids that don’t want to learn. Yes, the argument can be made that everyone chooses their own path in life and we shouldn’t force someone to learn if they don’t want to. But at the same time, the kids that aren’t taking their education seriously are losing many opportunities in their life and that sucks!
To solve this there are many questions we need to ask first, like is our current education system truly the end all determinant for someone’s success in life and how do we weigh success? I think the case can be made for both sides of these questions. What I do think is necessary is a program that helps kids discover who they are and fine tune their goals in life, so they can best use the resources around them to move forward.
I have taken a few classes in high school and have found myself really interested in a subject I never thought I would have a deep affinity with. I think a lot of kids miss this opportunity to try new things and because of this they are detached from their schooling and fall behind.

We hope you have as much fun listening as we do creating The Adobe Sessions!

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