Common Sense???

In my ECS 210 class we were given an article to read and we were asked to respond to the following question about the article: 'How does Kumashiro define ‘common sense?’ Why is it so important to pay attention to the ‘common sense?' Kumashiro, in a way, defines 'common sense' as a particular way of doing something or a particular meaning to something. Kumashiro, the writer of the article, gives an example that he experienced with common sense in his classroom: “Some students would show me completed homework from the next section in the book that I had not yet assigned, asking me to please follow the sequence and do what we were ‘supposed’ to be doing.”

I feel that it is important, especially as a future educator, to pay attention to the 'common sense' because a lot of schools have different daily routines that the students are used to and follow every day and their teachers also have certain teaching styles that the students are used to. Not all teachers are the same in this way and almost every single teacher has their own teaching style. Once students become used to a certain way of teaching they don't look at any other teaching style as 'normal.' This can be problematic to some teachers in multiple different ways, one being that teachers may have to change their teaching styles constantly in order to accommodate to their students' needs. A lot of students may not be able to adapt to change easily, especially when it comes to being taught. It is important to be aware of 'common sense' and to know that just because you have a way of doing something, that it is NOT the ONLY way of doing it.