By Allan Alach
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| Enjoy France Allan |
Here’s
this week’s mixture of
articles. Expect the next issue when it arrives, as I’m off to France at the end of the week.
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!
A Close Look At Close Reading
“David
Coleman and other proponents of close reading clearly don’t have respect for students or the learning process. Common Core’s emphasis on deep analysis of text and close reading is an inappropriate and misguided
approach to reading instruction that will discourage and dispirit many
students.”
Why the World of Public Education Has Never Been Worse, and Why I'm
Excited To Be a Teacher Anyway
Another Peter Greene blog, written about the USA
but with obvious relevance all over.
The Brave New World of Twenty-First Century Learning (A Retort)
“A
central tenet of twenty-first century education is the child-centred approach – which
boils down to placing the needs, interests and personal background of our
students above the syllabus. The problem with trying to 'measure' memorization
skills (by looking at test results, for example) is that it seeks to measure an
outcome that is not the top priority in 21st century teaching (marks / grades /
results), using a methodology that is outdated (tests / exams / memorization
tasks). It's a bit like estimating the age of the earth: now that we have
better methods, we can use better means of measurement in order to gain better
evidence and arrive at better results.”
The Struggles and Realities of Student-Driven Learning and BYOD
New Zealand Labour Party - take note.
“The
reality is that while some teachers have found powerful ways to use mobile
devices —
both those owned by students and those purchased by the
school —
teachers at schools in very low-income areas are often
battling a persistent student culture of disengagement. Many students have
learning gaps that make it hard for them to stay interested in grade level
materials and little desire to be in school at all.”
To Close the Achievement Gap, We Need to Close the Teaching Gap
US educator Linda Darling-Hammond - another one
to add to your follow list.
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| Linda Darling Hammond |
“Countries
where teachers believe their profession is valued show higher levels of student
achievement. Nations that value teaching invest more in high-quality
professional learning -- paying the full freight for initial preparation and
ongoing professional development, so that teachers can continually become more
capable. To recruit and retain top talent and enable teachers to help all
children learn, we must make teaching an attractive profession that advances in
knowledge and skill, like medicine and engineering.”
Why so many kids can’t sit still in school
today
“Angela
Hanscom, a pediatric occupational therapist and the founder of TimberNook, a
nature-based development program designed to foster creativity and independent
play outdoors in New England, suggests yet another reason more children are
being diagnosed with ADHD, whether or not they really have it: the amount of
time kids are forced to sit while they are in school.”
“In
order for children to learn, they need to be able to pay attention. In order to
pay attention, we need to let them move.”
This week’s contributions from
This week’s collection from Bruce all come from his
oldies but goodies file. Bruce has been writing on New Zealand educational
issues for many years and was one of my main inspirations in my school
principal days.
On Knowing - Jerome Bruner
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| Jerome Bruner |
He comments “Love Jerome Bruner – best quote ‘teaching is the canny
art of intellectual temptation.’
“Schools are special communities
where students are challenged 'leap into new and unimagined realms of
experience' so as to 'open new perspectives’.
Einstein, Darwin, da Vinci &
Mozart et all - lessons from the Masters. Based on the book 'Mastery' by Robert
Greene.
“As
teachers we need to focus on what it is that individual students are interested
in. It was an interest in nature that drove Darwin, an obsession with observing
that drove Leonardo da Vinci and an interest in magnetic force as a five year
old that drove Einstein – Darwin , Einstein and da Vinci became
obsessed with the search and the process of creating.”
The End of Education: Russell
Hvolbek — February 06,
2012
“I argue
that as we absorb the socio-economic values of our age, an age ruled by
business, we have drifted away from what we in the educational community should
be doing: teaching students to think, to see, to read, and to write. Education
as a dwelling in the human experience of reality is ending. As with the Roman
Empire, it is ending with a whimper, not a bang. The root of the problem is
that we have absorbed the socio-economic and intellectual values of our age, an
age ruled by business and science.”
L.I.S.P. New Zealand's lost
research!
This innovation in Science teaching
was superb and it was a real tragedy that it was lost in the rush to standards
based instruction.
“Learners must actively construct,
or generate, meaning for themselves from their own experiences. No one can do
it for them. Knowledge is constructed from within. Learners must take a major
responsibility for his/her own learning behaviour. Without some appreciation of
the learners existing framework of ideas successful teaching becomes
difficult.”
Sharing the wisdom of creative
teachers - the agenda for the future.
Very relevant, given current New
Zealand government education policies, that mirror GERM policies from the USA
and UK.
“Learning
from other teachers, both within and between schools, is the most powerful form
of professional development. Every teacher respects and appreciates the reality
that any such advice is based in contrast to many current
advisers who , more often than not , give advice about things they have never put
into practice. That school leadership has not taken advantage of expertise
between schools has meant that wisdom and an opportunity for teacher leadership
has been lost.”
1 comment:
Thank you for the information expressed here ‘Why so many kids can’t sit still in school today’ . It really reflects what I am thinking a lot right now. Can you imagine I have decided to write dissertation on this topic, and services that help with dissertation appeared helpful to organize everything. So now I have changed the ways I worked for many years. And I allow my children to move all the time during the lessons. First it seemed like a disaster, but now I am happy that I tried.
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