According to common sense a “good” student is one who sits and listens quietly during class, not one who cannot sit still or is considered a ‘handful.’ The students who are capable of sitting still and quietly listening are the ones who are privileged in this definition of a “good” student. Student’s who do not conform to typical classroom settings struggle and viewed as restless and disruptive. According to Kumashiro, this causes issues because, as he explained in his article, students start to feel at fault and try to ‘fix’ themselves. They blame themselves for not conforming when, in reality, it is not their fault that they do not meet society’s expectations of a “good” student. Kumashiro continues on to stay that the “very ways we think about learning can be oppressive” (22). Students who are not considered a “good” student according to common sense are blamed and identified as a ‘handful’ which can have negative effects on these students. The “good” students are shaped by historical factors because, according to Painter’s article, education is just memorizing information in rooms that are uncomfortable (12). The goal is not to meet each student’s needs, it is to force traditional ideas and customs on students (Painter 11). Those who do not fit the mold of a “good” student are blamed for being different rather than having the education system change itself so a “good” student can be considered more than one who can sit quietly for long periods of time.
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Laci's Blog 
Hi Laci! I enjoyed your blog post, it appears you had a deep understanding of the reading and answered the questions well! One small critique I had is that it became a bit wordy. For example I found you said “good” student multiple times. Although it is the purpose of the response, it became a bit repetitive to read. A variation of how the topic was referred to would be a great suggestion for that change. Other than that a well written response!
Thanks for sharing!
Kim
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Thank you for pointing out how many times I used the word “good” I will keep that in mind.
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Hi Laci,
Great post! It is crazy to see that the idea of a “good” student hasn’t shifted a whole lot from historical education until now. We definitely have come a long way in progressing towards more inclusive education however, there is still a lot of work to be done. It is very important for us as pre-service teachers to try to shift away from this product curriculum view that all students learn the same. We need to be able to adapt, and be flexible in the unpredictabilities in our students. I enjoyed reading all of the connections you made with Kumashiro’s reading and the history of education.
Brianna
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I agree that we must shift away from the product curriculum view in order for the students to get the best education like they deserve.
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