Guest Post: Dr. Maya Rockeymoore: My Learning Story
September 8, 2009 by blackgirlgrown
Filed under education, women you should know
Dr. Maya Rockeymoore, President and CEO of Global Policy Solutions. Working with the Forum for Education and Democracy’s Rethink Learning Now campaign, Dr. Rockeymoore shares her “learning story.” This campaign is designed to get people engaged in education reform by sharing their “learning stories.” They are seeking to collect stories from across the United States for the purpose of exploring and uplifting the elements of effective learning environments. Ultimately, the Forum seeks to link these elements to supportive policy changes in Washington, D.C.
Dr. Maya Rockeymoore: My Learning Story
I was in the third grade sitting near the front of the bright, cheery classroom. Intermittently, throughout the day, I would glance over my shoulder at the big, beautiful glittery stars that hung on the back wall of the room. I wanted one of those stars badly and by darned I was determined to get one. Unfortunately, only the students who learned their complete multiplication tables (and recited them before the entire class) were able to get a star.
Week by week, I watched the number of available stars decline as other students who were quicker to demonstrate their proficiency took the stars home. Desperate to get one of the last two remaining stars, I recall practicing feverishly at home and asking my parents to drill me as if I were standing in front of the classroom. The proudest day of my third grade experience was standing in front of the classroom reciting my complete multiplication tables and receiving the last glittery star as my reward.
Ironically, I do not remember my third grade teacher. I only remember the learning environment she constructed that incentivized me and others to work hard to reach the desired goal. This learning environment encouraged student participation, challenged us to perform, identified specific learning goals, and created an incentive structure to spur learning. It was a learning environment that encouraged me to reach for the stars…literally.
To share your story:
- Take a few minutes to reflect on and then write about a powerful personal experience in a learning community. It could be a club, a church group, a school experience, a course, a support group, etc. The only criteria are that it was a positive experience and real learning occurred.
- Once you’ve finished, look back at your story and decide for yourself which general attributes emerged and were most resonant. If, for example, your experience was dependent on the support of others, you might choose to tag it “supportive.” If it was a challenging experience, you might also label it “challenging.” There is no limit to the number of attributes you choose to tag — so choose all that apply, and list these at the bottom of your story. The purpose of this step is to allow a visitor to the site to see a visual “tag cloud” of the attributes that appear most often across the stories.
