Tuesday, February 26, 2008

Mike Hasley needs our help...

Hi,

For those students who I might have met last week during my observations, I just wanted to thank you for letting me ask you questions and allowing me to respond with you during the live blogging. You’re all doing some great stuff in your English classes. I wanted to ask you a question because it comes up a lot these days, and the question is, “What does ‘the real world’ mean to you?”

So if you could go to the link below and respond to the question directly on my blog, it would be very helpful. I’m also asking students at my school in Virginia to see if students from different states have the same perspective.

http://henricowarriors.org/hasley/?p=421

Again, thank you,

Mike Hasley

Instructional Technology Resource Teacher

22 comments:

chelseas said...

To me, the "real world" means a true sense of reality. I think that people should step outside to get this true sense of reality. Also, I don't think that there is a perfect world at all because everyone has a different idea of what a perfect world looks like. If it were a perfect world, we probably wouldn't have much variability at all. There are many different things that contribute to a perfect or an imperfect world. Many of the problems that we are faced with today are some examples.

morganw said...

I posted this on Mr. Hasley's blog too, but I wanted to post it here as well:

The 'real world' is always changing. That is because the real world, to me, is the variety of perspectives that we encounter in our lives. The real world is made up of all the people, places, events, and stories of those people, places, and events in our world today. As people's experiences and perspectives change, so does the real world.

When teachers are asked to prepare you for the real world that you will experience in college or the work place, what they need to be doing is opening your mind to the world around you and the variety of view points, on practically everything, that its people have. Teachers need to expose their students to a variety of subjects and encourage them to find connections between all of the subjects they study. Finding connections helps people to understand different perspectives.

I do think that my school is helping to prepare me for the 'real world'. Nothing can prepare someone fully for the differences they will encounter in the real world, but the teachers and staff at my school are getting a pretty good start on it.

hannahl said...

To me, the real world is something very general and full of questions with few answers. I think that reality is purely animalistic and everything else is fluff. To truly find reality and define it for one's self, you have to look back to nature and observe the human nature and its tendencies. Humans have created an entire world off of unrealistic falsehoods, in movies, TV shows, and even books. We are constantly searching for something that is not the real world, becuase we cannot face the harsh reality of it, that people die and criminals run free and children starve. We want to shield ourselves from it. Through education, I think teachers have a duty to get their students back to reality by making then see the falsehoods that they are bombarded with every minute of every day. Teachers must put a mirror up to the world and make them their students look in it and really see what is there and what they have to do to make the 'real world' somewhere worth actually experiencing, somewhere that nobody would choose to escape from.

maddief said...

I think that the "real world" refers to facts. Like Hannah, I think that a lot of life is based on the opinions of people. The "real world" deals with the truth. For example, the truth is that people are starving all over the world. In our fantasies though, and based on the type of lifestyles we live, we tend to believe that everyone is well fed and nourished. This is simply what we want to think, not the truth. People tend to escape into their minds because the "real world" is often harsh and difficult to deal with.

DawnielleN said...

(I don't know if I should post on both, but Morgan did!)

The real world, as I know it will be the point in my life when my parents are no longer providing for me financially, when I need to maintain a steady job not because I want to but because I have to, and when I will simply make the job or not make the job.

When you are in the "real world", slacking off can mean not making the rent, or not having heat in your home. The real world is also the place where things become black and white: you continue work or you are fired, you make a job or you don’t, you are happy or you are not.

The real world though, doesn't mean terrible stress and miserable work, the consequences and the need for success just increase.
My teachers have pushed the concept of the "real world" on me since I was in first grade. Teachers were always threatening me of how the next grade would be the "real world" and how the rules would be harder and harder. Now, in high school teachers are always trying to get their students to understand that the real world is now just around the corner. According to them, our high school careers are what will shape the out come of our futures. According to them, our high school careers will shape our “real world”.

Unknown said...

My teachers and parents have always told me that the "real world" is where you will be when you have to deal will lifes "real" problems and a job. So for me the real world is when I will be off on my own fighting the tides of society. It will be absolute reality, with no one to be next to me for every step I take. There will be more independance and I will be able to discover more things! The real world has not yet come to me, in my opinion.

melissaz said...

I for some reason could not post my comment on Mr. Hasley's page so here it is.

I think when teachers and adults talk about the real world; they mean the world we will enter after college. They mean the world not sheltered by our parents, a world where you truly have to "fend for yourself". I have to say that I think as students we are already in a real world. The real world is full of challenges we have to face, the true questions we have to answer, the people we have to collaborate with. And all of these factors already make up our lives today. It's not like when we are out of school we will automatically enter a whole new, "real" world. Our challenges will change, it is just another stage. In High School we already have to over-come challenges, we have already had to decide our own opinions and make our own answers, and we already have to successfully collaborate with people every day. Granted, these obsticles are not quite to the extent of our future, but we are already living out the real world. And though-out life, as said in one of our Fishbowls, we are always preparing for the next phase in our lives. Now we just need to focus on the next step.

I think that a schools main job is to prepare kids for making thier own paths and ideas to create a strong future. But, people can not create new ideas without the foundation and knowledge of the past. That's what school is to do, lay the foundation giving the background knowledge so that in the future we can make a change. At least this is what I feel is the ultimate purpose for our education system.

Anonymous said...

Okay, I'm slightly terrified that my comment didn't post on his blog so I will put it here too.


To me, the real world is the connections and relationships that people use and form on a local or global scale. I think the real world is how we relate to the rest of humanity, whether it is work, family, or just general decency. I don't really think that the real world even starts after you graduate from school. You are in the real world from the day you are born, you just learn how to be better at incorporating yourself in it. I think teachers need to focus more on teaching us "life-skills" than pointless facts that no one remembers anyways. For the most part, I think my school is doing a good job at that but nobody is perfect.

alexf said...

Yepp, mine wouldn't post either...

To me, the real world is a place where different people, events, places, and beliefs come together. It is where you must work hard to keep your head above water. It involves careers, people, relationships, education, and knowledge. It is a place where you just have to survive and try as hard as you can. The real world isn’t all bad though…it also includes happiness.

Honestly, I think that our school/teachers are sort of preparing us for the real world, but to some extent. For example, I think that they prepare us for the real world when they force us to try as best we can and make us think for ourselves. I don’ think they are preparing us correctly in the sense that I don’t think a student has ever NOT heard a teacher say, “I’m trying to prepare you for ______ (college, the real world, high school, your career…)” I don’t think this is good because they say it so much that it just becomes a habit to hear and we think nothing of it. It just seems a little repetitive, and therefore has no impact on our thinking.

Unknown said...

For some reason it wouldn't let me post on Mr. Hasley's blog, so here is my answer right here:

The 'real world' is a hard term to define. But, in my own words, I think that the real world is the reality of situations. You can dream of this happening,or hope that this will happen, but you have to face reality or the 'real world.' The 'real world' can also be scary to many children. The real world can be demanding, and time consuming. The real world is where you are on your own. This is where everyone releases you and lets you do your own thing. Whether you succeed or not is based on skill. That is what I think that the 'real world' means.

NickB said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
NickB said...

I don't know if my comment posted on Mr. Hasley's blog, so here's my responce:
Well, I think that the "real world" that schools are responsible for preparing us as students for the world we will experience after graduation. I am not arguing that today’s education system is or is not fulfilling that responsibility; I’m just defining its purpose. This "real world" is constantly changing and swaying between ideals, and many of those variables affect everyday life. As for school, I think that teachers are doing a great job of teaching their constant subjects, but are not putting enough emphasis on change. After all, the world doesn't stand still for anyone.

ashleyf said...

The way I see it, the 'real world' is the things in life that are we are not sheltered from and that are not filtered out. When someone is in the real world, they are no longer under the surveillance of other people. They are free to make thier own choices. The real world can be seen as when you move out of your parents house and they no longer provide for you. That's where you are sheltered. It can also be seen as where you know the truth. Where the school, parents, teachers, anyone can't filter subjects out because thier too prominent in life. Some things you can't learn about in school because it's too touchy of a subject and people don't want to deal with in in the household or class room. Sorry I can't be more explanatory, but truth is what I think when I think 'real world'

amandah said...

When you think really think of the real world you can't find the answer to what it really is. The definition of the real world is going to be different for everyone because everyone sees things in different ways so their reality will be different from someone elses. My real world "definition" would have to be a "place" where you are an individual and you make your own choices and you aren't babied through things. There are no "cliques" and no one cares how popular you are. Everyone works to solve problems and complete tasks to keep their rent and bills payed and to maintain a living. like hannahl said things aren't like the movies.

maddisonm said...

The real word to me is that world once you decide what to do with your life. It is that time to make decisions and live life according to you and only you. It is that sense of freedom, it is the work place, and it is deciding what you want your life to look like. The real word is when you have worked so hard to get to the place you are at, and then it is that time to move forward, and do what you want to do. Decide what collage to go to, decide what profession you wish to take, decide who to marry, where to live. The real word is not just one defined answer; it will differ from person to person. Each person will have different hopes and dreams, making the definition of the real word change and vary. While one person may think the real word starts by graduating from med school, another person may think the real word will open up by graduating from high school. The real word is the word in which your life starts to really live and you are out there on your own. Where you make choices on where you want to take your life, and you move forward to the end results.

lesliel said...

(for some reason I can't see that I said this on that blog, because it says that I already said it, even though I can't see it...)



When I think of "the real world" I think of a place in my future when I will not have anyone looking after me, or helping me with my mistakes. I also think of being indepenent and not expecting the "world" to give me slack because I might of "had things going on in my life." For me, the word independence has a lot to do with the "real world" and that I will be expected to think outside of my own life, care about others, and behave in a mature way.

jordanh said...

I think that the real world is a place where one has to be self sufficient. Once one has to make his own money, then I think that he has entered the real world. I think that my high school is doing a good job in preparing me for the future. I think that high school is a time to become an adult, and AHS is helping me do that.

alexd said...

I don't think I really know what the real world is yet. Maybe I have caught a glipse of it, but without being out in this world on my own, I don't think there is any way to know what the real world is yet. When it comes that time though, I think it will be exciting but very different than what I am used to.

MollyS said...

I think that teens just see the real world as the world outside of where they are at the time. When I really think about it, we are always in the real world, but we just like to think that the way we are living isn't how it will always be. However, when we do refer to the real world would have to say that we are referring to life after our training, life after school.

ZachH said...

to me the real world means the work place. When people say that "that's how it is in the real world," i immediately think that "that's how it is when you have a job." To me it means all the aspects of having a job including communication and meeting deadlines. I think school is always trying to prepare us for the real world and what it will be like when we have a job.

aaronw said...

I believe that the real world is a place to make a living, pursue your passion/hobby, and to be, like jordan said, self-sufficent. thats basically my idea.

kristenw said...

so mr. haysley's blog wouldn't let me post a comment and I don't know what a URI is so I'm going to put mine here untill I can figure it out.

the "real world" to me means a whole bunch of things and obviously it means different things to different people but for me it means what life will be like when I control what I do and my parents aren't making any desisions for me and I make my own money and everything like that. This is what comes to mind because people always say our education is preparing us for the "real world" so I think of how I'll be using what I learn in school in my future "real world".