By Allan Alach
Another week, with the end of year approaching fast. New Zealand and
Australian primary teachers are in the ‘gritting teeth and hanging on to the
end” stages of their school year, with a well earned break looming. Because of
this coming break, this is the last education readings posting for 2012. Things
will kick off again towards the end of January. Wouldn’t it be lovely for 2013
to see the end of GERM so that we can focus on what really matters - the
children!
I welcome suggested articles, so if you come across a gem, email it
to me at allan.alach@ihug.co.nz.
This week’s homework!
How
Bad Can It Get?
The ultimate in ‘paint by numbers’
education.
“Perhaps the greatest evil of high stakes standardized
testing is that it takes our eyes away from the children and focuses them
instead on the tests themselves. Children become sources of data. Learning
becomes something that is cut, sliced, packaged and weighed.
Until we rid ourselves of this
impediment to education and find valid, humane, child centred forms of
assessment, testing will continue to STOP our children from learning.”
The
Common Core Kool-Aid
Ultimate aim of common core standards (aka
national standards) is to prove how poorly schools are doing and therefore
justify reform. Sounds plausible to me.
Nine
questions about ’21st Century curriculum’
Another gem from Marion Brady.
Schools
Ditch The Classroom To Put Play Back In Education
There is still hope - this is from USA. More
evidence for politicians to ignore.
“At
the PlayMaker school, don’t be surprised to find kids in a workshop or playing
a game, just not in front of a chalkboard. It’s part of a new movement that is
attempting to make education more fun--and work better.”
Teachers' pay rises pegged to performance
England today,
down under tomorrow?
In a similar
vein..
Seven
Myths of Performance Management
A+
Schools Infuse Arts and Other 'Essentials'
Self explanatory!
Cathy
Wylie outlines new wave of change for New Zealand Schools!
Here’s Bruce Hammonds’ review of Cathy
Wylie’s book that analyses the so-called “Tomorrow’s Schools’ neo-liberal
schooling system that was instituted in 1990. While there were ‘plusses’ from
this, Cathy suggests that there were more ‘minuses’ and that revisions are
needed. While NZ focussed, there’s plenty here for overseas readers.
1 comment:
I think the educational systems in New Zealand and the U.S. share some of the same problems.
Post a Comment