After reading 36 Children by Robert Kohl my knowledge of schools has grown tremendously. I have always gone to private, catholic school all my life so reading this book was a big eye opener. There was things I read that I never thought could possibly happen in a school, I was amazed at the students and Mr. Kohls way of dealing with them. It is clear to me why Mr. Kohl wrote this book, I feel his life was changes tremendously because of his teaching experiences. The major difference between my past schooling experiences and 36 Children is that my school consisted of middle class whites. Mr. Kohls school was the total opposite. This is a big difference, because races play a major role in peoples lives. Your race determines your culture and your culture is who you are. I recently visited the school my mother teaches at. Her school is in poverty stricken area similar to the one in 36 Children. The students there are mainly Hispanic and their primary language is Spanish. My mother was telling me that these children are so different because of there culture. When they need to be punished there parents will physically abuse them, this is their way of living. I think that this is the reason why they have learning and social problems. I saw a resemblance when I was reading 36 Children, the vibe I got from the children seemed similar. Kohl had a unique way of dealing with his students, one that worked for both him and them. His technique of teaching reflects John Mayhers, mainly because he used an uncommon sense way of teaching. Mr. Kohl allowed his students to be in control, allowed them to learn what they wanted to learn. This was Mayhers theory, the fact that children learn best when they are interested in the material. Mr. Kohl allowed his students to write, although this was not good for them when the state exam was given, they benefited from it greatly. From my experiences I agree with the uncommon sense approach to teaching, I was more a...
