Sister Rosalie's Teaching Philosophy
What She Thought of the Youth She Taught
"Youngsters seldom let you down. ... I find the more responsibility I throw on young people, the more they want to do." This line is evidence of Sister Rosalie's opinion of young people: that the best way to teach them about the most important things in life - especially responsibility - is to make them responsible for important tasks.
In her time, and to a large extent even today, the "standard" practice of education entails giving students a series of essays, quizzes, and tests to gauge their understanding. While this method of teaching is satisfactory, Sister Rosalie's goals for her students involved helping them excel at what they do rather than simply settling for barebones satisfaction. Instead of tests and quizzes, instead of A's, B's, C's, D's, and F's, Sister Rosalie had her students actively produce programs for TV and Radio. While she taught the first generation of students, from thereafter the older students would teach the younger how to operate the equipment and produce the programs. In other words, students were learning how to help themselves, and achieving this by performing the responsibilities assigned to them. These skills that the students developed with the guidance of Sister Rosalie would lead to excellency and leadership.
As an extension of her experience in the TV & Radio Workshops, Sister Rosalie realized that TV would become the greatest educational tool of her time. Despite the backlash from many in the teaching profession, she knew that the advantages of this new age of technology would reap more benefits than detriments if treated correctly and with the respect it deserved.
Excerpts from Television in the Elementary School
(Speech Delivered at Fordham University during a conference in 1962)
"Educators weren't the first to detect the possibilities in television for education... First it was the parents ... and then the children .... and then the elementary teachers. God bless them; we need them!"
"I shall not forget the first time I heard a fourth grade teacher say in her follow-up of a telelesson; 'Take time, now.' Imagine having time to take time to think. We were born too soon."
What a contrast to the teacher of a few years back. The children ran in from recess because of a hail storm. One little girl cuddled up to the teacher and said, 'Look, God's frigidaire got broked.' To this, the teacher said, 'Is broken, Jane...' Talk about freezing. But it gives me great pleasure to announce that five yeras later that teacher is using talking down. She has learned!"
"... To all you secondary and college teachers and administrators:
You had better watch out; you will soon be invaded by elementary school graduates who have seen a man flying in orbit and whose teachers are not willing to be bound to earth by traditions with a capital T. The children of today belong to the space age ... and so does that ten year old ETV."
