By Allan Alach
I welcome suggested articles, so if you come
across a gem, email it to me at allanalach@inspire.net.nz
This week’s homework!
Sir Ken Robinson: ‘Creative’ with the truth?
This article by Donald Clark may rattle a few
cages out there:
“It
is difficult to go to any educational conference without being assaulted by the
accusation that ‘Creativity’ has been sacrificed on the altar of traditional education and
schooling. Robinson’s main thrust is that
all children are born ‘creative’ and that school knocks it out of them. I'm not so sure.”
A World at Risk: An Imperative for a Paradigm Shift to Cultivate
21st Century Learners
A lengthy and detailed article by Yong Zhao but
don’t let that put you
off reading it - this is very good.
“America
is not the only nation that has “been
committing an act of unthinking, unilateral educational disarmament” in
the world. Over the past few decades, many Western democratic and
developed
nations have engaged in such suicidal educational reforms. Led by the same
mistaken assumptions that gave birth to A Nation at Risk, Australia, the United
Kingdom, New Zealand and others have made or are about to make similar changes
in their education systems. These changes, just like the changes the U.S. has
made, are simply trying to do the wrong thing more right. They are putting the
world at risk.”
Why the conventional wisdom on schooling is all wrong
A very good article by Marion Brady.
“Educators
can solve this problem, but there’s no point in their
even trying as long as the rich and/or powerful are on their stumps peddling
the myth that what ails America’s schools are
educators clinging to the status quo and kids with insufficient grit to do what
they’re told to do.”
Telling Time with a Broken Clock
“What
if standardized test scores aren’t telling us what we
think they are telling us? What if the scores are illusions that are giving us
false confidence? What if our reliance on standardized testing to judge our
schools is like relying on a broken clock for time?”
What If Education Reform Got It All Wrong in the First Place?
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| Wrong reform |
“That’s the conclusion of a growing number of researchers who argue that
30 years of test scores have not measured a decline in public schools, but are
rather a metric of the country’s child poverty and
the broadening divide of income inequality.”
The Importance of Art in Child Development
A topic close to Bruce’s heart…
‘When
kids are encouraged to express themselves and take risks in creating art, they
develop a sense of innovation that will be important in their adult lives. “The
kind of people society needs to make it move forward are thinking, inventive
people who seek new ways and improvements, not people who can only follow
directions,”
says Kohl. “Art is a way
to encourage the process and the experience of thinking and making things
better!”’
Robots as teachers?
Standards Based Education is Bad Education Theory
This is a must read article.
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| Say no to standardization |
originates in a deep rooted innate and evil desire in humans to control other humans. If we do not fight this tendency, we are doomed to live in an authoritarian society where political elites ensure subservience by controlling education standards enforced by standardized testing.”
This week’s contributions from Bruce Hammonds:
Pivot Point: At the Crossroads of STEM, STEAM
and Arts Integration
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Bruce’s
comment: A move from STEM to STEAM a
positive shift towards integration. A way of teaching that creative NZ teachers
used –
and hopeful still do . Maybe the
key to unlock the all too often unrealised potential of Modern Learning
Environments (MLEs)?
“In addition, there has been a movement over
the last few years to change STEM to STEAM -- adding the arts to the mix -- as
a way of further integrating creativity and artistic skills and processes
across content areas. But there is also the arts integration approach to
education, which teaches the selected content in and through the arts. With so
many choices for integrated learning, it can paralyze us with fear of taking
the next step.”
Leonardo da Vinci: Scientist; Inventor;
Artist.
4 Tips to Transform Your Learning Space
Bruce’s
comment: Some good ideas for transforming libraries.
“Recently, I wrote about the transformation of
libraries from archives of resources to active learning commons that encourage
exploration, creation, and collaboration. However, in that post, I profiled a
number of locations that made significant financial investments in their
redesign. Million-dollar learning spaces are often not a reality for most
schools. However, that is no reason to abandon the concept of transformation.”
Don't Become a Teacher, Advises Award-Winner
Nancie Atwell
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| 'Don't become a teacher' |
“An influential language arts teacher who
recently won a $1 million international teaching prize has some surprising
advice for young people considering joining the profession: Don’t.”
Why America’s obsession with STEM education is dangerous
Bruce’s
comment: So much for this STEM education agenda
‘
A broad general education helps foster
critical thinking and creativity. Exposure to a variety of fields produces
synergy and cross fertilization. Yes, science and technology are crucial
components of this education, but so are English and philosophy. When unveiling
a new edition of the iPad, Steve Jobs explained that “it’s in Apple’s DNA that technology alone is not enough — that it’s technology married with liberal arts,
married with the humanities, that yields us the result that makes our hearts
sing.”’
 |
| read what they have to say!! |
From Bruce’s “goldie oldie” file:
Educational change and leadership -
bottom up!
Bruce’s comment: The
principal’s role in creating conditions for teacher creativity rather than
conformity.
“Like the class teacher the principal’s role is to ensure such gifts are affirmed and shared with other
t
eachers. The principal’s role is to create
the conditions for the expertise of teachers to be shared and to develop an
overarching vision and agreed teaching beliefs for all to hold themselves
accountable. A with a creative class teacher the principal’s job is to ensure all teachers do not move away from what they have
agreed to –
that is unless new ideas are developed that need to be
included. “
 |
| Yours or everyones? |
What do good learners do?
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Bruce’s comment:
What do good learners do ( and this includes principals and teachers). Some
attributes of good learners from a book ‘Teaching as a
Subversive Activity’ in the 60s. Are your students
realising such powerful learning habits?
“Good learners seem to know what is relevant to their survival and
what is not. They are apt to resent being told that something is 'good for them
to know’, unless, of course, their 'crap
detector' advises them it is good to know – in which
case, they resent being told anyway.”
An idea whose time has come; schools and
teachers working together
Bruce’s comment: The government is proposing an expensive
scheme to ‘super’ principals and teachers to work
with other schools. A bit ironic because the original intention of Tomorrow's
School was to compete not collaborate . The idea of empowering teachers to
share ideas has long been part of educational thinking. The link below has a
few suggestions and an idea suggested just before the introduction of self-
managing schools.
Bruce’s comment: The government is proposing an expensive
scheme to ‘super’ principals and teachers to work
with other schools. A bit ironic because the original intention of Tomorrow's
School was to compete not collaborate . The idea of empowering teachers to
share ideas has long been part of educational thinking. The link below has a
few suggestions and an idea suggested just before the introduction of self-
managing schools.
“As the focus is increasingly on student learning then developing the
capacity of teachers as leaders is an imperative. Teacher creativity, not
imposed standardisation, is central. Teacher creativity needs to be celebrated,
recognised and shared. Principals who can share leadership with their teachers
and then with other schools will be seen as the real future leaders.”
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