Saturday 15 March 2014

Sara Oswald - A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Future



Summary

            The book A Funny Thing Happened on the way to the Future – Twists and Turns and Lessons Learned written by Michael J. Fox is a narrative of the major events in Fox’s life and the lessons he learned from them, despite dropping out of high school.  This book is targeted towards recent graduates and people who are beginning a new phase of education in life.  Fox begins by discussing his own experiences in traditional education, specifically high school, and his lack of success that lead to his eventual drop out.  As we know, Michael J. Fox is a wildly successful actor; however his career did not begin this way. 

Lessons outside of education:

            When people think of learning, they oftentimes think of a traditional classroom setting in which people learn directly from a teacher or from textbooks.  Fox offers an alternative view towards education in discussing typical school lessons he learned outside of a school setting.  He said that he feared he had missed out on the essential lessons in high school, but came to realize that he actually covered many of the major high school topics throughout his acting career.  He describes learning about economics and “supply and demand” when he was living in Los Angeles as a starving actor unable to manage his money and obtain a steady job.  He then proceeds to discuss learning about comparative literature through reading books and comparing them to movies.  Other examples of learning outside the classroom setting were discussed in terms of gaining knowledge of physics in his role in Back to the Future; discussing political science themes during each election year; and finally learning about the geography of the world through his constant travels as a result of his acting career.  This portion of the book looks towards offering students and young adults the opportunity to learn from their mistakes while also learning about the world around them.  Fox offers the strategy of learning from the world, rather than learning from a textbook.  It is important to note however that Fox is in no way discrediting traditional education, as he eventually went back and completed his high school education.  He believes that teachers are going to be present no matter where you are in terms of your education; whether it is structured or unstructured education, you will have some sort of teacher role model involved in your story.  He believes that school and education are two of the most beneficial and life changing aspects of a person’s life, but he is simply discussing his own learning experiences outside of a classroom setting.

Meeting Standards and Qualifications – Where Do They Get You?

            As discussed, Michael J. Fox dropped out of high school, did not pursue any form of post-secondary education, and has become an extremely success actor despite his lack of traditional education.  The book discusses how education oftentimes expects people to fill undefined standards simply to pass onto their next phase of education.  He recommends teachers both inside and outside of the school setting to set clear guidelines of what they want students to achieve, otherwise students are simply floating in limbo trying to get through this phase of education.  By having clear goals and objectives to strive to, people are more motivated to succeed, especially if they know that these objectives will take them to places they want to go.  Students need to be aware of the standards they are reaching for and the benefits they will receive if reaching for them in order to become successful.  Making education meaningful for students, not just routine behaviour is important in promoting learning in the traditional school setting.  Fox also touches on how in today’s society, the qualifications that people require to obtain a “decent” job are increasing greatly – an undergraduate degree is simply not enough anymore to get to a place in which to become successful.  Fox disagrees with this notion of more degrees leading to greater success because he came to realize that people can achieve success when they are in the places they want to succeed.  In simpler terms, it’s not just the qualifications that make people successful; it’s being in environments that are tailored towards specific successes.  For example, a person who wants to become an actor, like Fox, finds his/herself living in Los Angeles, following their dream and learning along the way.  By tailoring educational experiences towards a specific goal and placing students directly in opportunities that lead to future success will be extremely beneficial. 

            The book concludes with general life lessons that people can learn from Fox, such as the fact that teachers are always going to be the major mentors in life, regardless if it is in a traditional setting or not.  He also discusses how education should prepare students for the challenges that lie ahead, and that teachers who believe in their students and provide students with different opportunities throughout life will be the most influential people surrounding them.  The book concludes with addressing the fact that everyone passes through an education, whether structured and unstructured, and that education is never complete, but teachers will always be an important part of people’s life stories.

Critique

            Throughout this course we have discussed many themes which I have seen to be very prominent within Michael J. Fox’s narrative book discussing his personal educational path.  The notion of alternative educational practices and learning beyond the classroom are two themes that encompass much of what Fox was saying in his book.  I agree with much of what he said on these topics as I think that learning should not be contained within the classroom, and that learning from the environment and the world around us can be one of the most influential experiences in life.  In class we have discussed providing students with the opportunity to learn outside of classroom walls and to learn from their mistakes in order to become independent members of society – this is reflected in Fox’s book as he narrates much of his learning experiences coming from gaining knowledge from unsuccessful attempts at success.  Teachers can incorporate alternative educational practices such as outdoor education and play into their lessons in order to provide students with different forums in which to learn.   

            A major critique I have of this book is that it is placing a large emphasis away from traditional educational practices.  Yes, there are students who are not going to succeed in traditional schooling, and there are many people that become extremely successful who do not have a high school degree, let alone a university degree.  As a teacher, I obviously value traditional education, however I agree that education should be tailored towards student’s individual success, not just teaching towards the curriculum and achieving these outcomes.  I think that in order to help all students achieve success, even those who typically do not thrive in a classroom setting, we as teachers must create more opportunities that bring students outside of classroom walls and show them how they can learn from their experiences and the world around them.  I also believe that we must teach to the whole student, not just the academic side of the student.  As Fox states, education should prepare students for the opportunities and challenges that lie ahead, and by doing this we as teachers will prepare students to become lifelong learners and to be able to read and learn from their environments.  Traditional schooling must involve more of these types of lessons that focus on teaching the whole student, not just focusing on teaching the academic side of a person.  A quote that resonated greatly with me in the book was that of teaching students to “analyze a situation, figure out what was important, and determine what could be abstracted away” (Fox, pg. 28).  To me, this is one of the major outcomes that I believe education should provide students.  Having the ability to address situations, identify important information and act appropriately is a lifelong skill that students should all leave high school knowing. 

            I chose this book not because it provides new teachers with an abundance of resources and strategies to use when entering into their teaching career, but because it offers a different view of education.  Fox’s narrative provides teachers with the inside look into the mind of someone who did not enjoy and succeed in a typical classroom setting and offers advice as to how promote alternative education throughout student’s lives.  To conclude, I leave my fellow teachers and future colleagues with the idea that it is not our role as teachers to tell students what to do and how to do, but simply to offer them advice and the knowledge they need to make their own informed decisions in life.  Whether or not these decisions lead to success, students will learn from their experiences and continue to grow in their own individual way.  Michael J. Fox said it perfectly in stating that

My goal is just to enjoy myself, learn something, and gain an appreciation for the amazing complexity of this planet and the people who live on it.  Wherever I go, I bring myself.  And so far, it’s always been a round trip.  (pg. 60)

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