Education Readings
By Allan Alach
I welcome suggested articles, so if you come
across a gem, email it to me at allanalach@inspire.net.nz
Seymour Papert – Logo, Lego and constructionism - RIP
Education lost one of its greatest people this
week, with the death of Seymour Papert. His book “Mindstorms’ should be in
every teacher’s library.
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| Seymour Papert |
Donald Clark:
‘Seymour Papert was a constructionist (not to be confused with
constructivist), who worked with Jean Piaget and built on his theories to
redefine how education could function on a constructionist basis. The Logo
programming language was a tool he wrote to support this approach to learning
and he was been a stern critic of traditional schooling.’
Papert - in his own words
Steve Wheeler’s tribute:
‘He was a stern critic of instructional and didactic forms of
education, and was a champion of student centred learning, active
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| Papert sharing ideas |
Daily Papert: Words and wisdom of Dr Seymour Papert
Over the years Will Richardson and Gary Stager
have compiled a comprehensive site honouring the work of Papert and that
provides access to a long list of his quotes and writings. It is well worth exploring!
One Mother's Story: How Overemphasis on Standardized Tests Caused
Her 9-Year-Old to Try to Hang Himself
This story by Marion Brady speaks for itself.
“…I received a note from my son's teacher telling me he’d failed the
FCAT [Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test] by one point. The note said he’d
have to take a reading class over the summer and retest…We weren’t alarmed
as he only had to score one more point to be promoted…’
Milton Friedman's Vision
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| For the rich only! |
If you’re wondering where the current education
ideology started, that led towards tragic stories like the one above, this will
answer your questions.
‘Friedman's vision certainly has guided lots
of folks in the past decade-plus, but he has also been proven wrong about
pretty much everything. A choice system isn't cheaper, isn't better, and hasn't
provided anything except profits for many of the privatizers. But at least he
was absolutely clear about the goal-- turn public education into a private
business, one way or another, and let folks make a bundle doing it.’
How to Bring ‘More Beautiful’ Questions Back to School
Everything starts with a great question… Einstein
as a teenager wondered what it would be like to ride on a beam of light – 10
years or so later, he came up with the Theory of Relativity. He maintained he
was just passionately curious – an ideal mindset to foster in children.
‘Curiosity is baked into the human experience. Between the ages of 2
and 5, kids ask on average 40,000 questions, said Warren Berger, author of “A More Beautiful Question,” at the Innovative
Learning Conference hosted at the Nueva School. Young kids encounter something
new, learn a little bit about it, get curious and then continue to add on a
little more information with each new discovery. Warren says that’s where
curiosity happens, in the gap between learning something and being exposed to
something new.’
Students published their book “Reflections”
This article about an e-book published by
students in Texas and Vietnam isn’t strictly an education reading but then
again it’s a very worthy cause.
‘This book is their labor of love. We facilitators have left their
ideas, expression, and discoveries their own. The stories, the joy and sadness,
the humor, the wonder, and the learning are their voices–a true Teenage
Manifesto of the 21st century. We have learned much from them and hope you
will, as well.’
Contributed by Bruce Hammonds:
The 1 Lesson That Will Sharpen Your Emotional Intelligence
Emotional Intelligence
– the difference between empathy and sympathy.
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| To walk in someones shoes |
‘Although most of us consider empathy a valuable and basic human
trait, it often goes missing in day-to-day life. Just think of the major
disconnect between many managers and their teams. Or how it's so easy to hurt
those whom we love, simply because we can't see things from their perspective.’
Ken Robinson: 'You don't want a caste system for creativity’
‘Schools’ drive for conformity is at odds with the rapidly changing
world, where being flexible, curious and creative are more important qualities
than ever. Engendering these qualities in future generations matters to adland
and the wider creative industries because they rely on a steady stream of
diverse thinkers who can creatively solve business problems. Robinson’s talk,
delivered with his quiet wit and charm, made waves. A decade on, it is still
the most popular TED talk of all time, last week surpassing 40 million views.
Combined with his later talks, he has racked up almost 60 million views without
any paid media spend.’
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| School leader agree with Sir Ken but few put his ideas into action!!! |
Schools ride new wave in writing
Teachers use games and new tech tools to produce
powerful prose.
‘“If you want kids to write about something challenging, you really
need to put them in a position to discuss it first in an active, open-ended
sort of way, because then they have something to write about,” Roberts says. It
introduces them to the language they might use and the ideas they need to be
able to manipulate to write with sophistication, Roberts adds.When students
understand that the purpose of writing is to share ideas, they perform better
than do students who are asked to write just for the sake of writing.’
From Bruce’s ‘goldie oldies’ file:
A little bit of deja vu
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| Henry Pluckrose |
‘It is all too easy to think what currently passes for new ideas are
really new - just another version of ideas often lost when top down 'experts'
ignore the reality of true learning.’
Does your classroom have the 'wow' factor?
‘The first sign of ‘wow’ is the overall first impression the room
gives you. The feeling you get is that you are indeed in special place. There
is a feeling of positive relationships between teacher and learners and often
parents are to be seen quietly helping students. Other students seem to be
working without supervision. A quick look around the walls, covered with
students creativity gives an impression that this is a room dedicated to the
students themselves.’
The killing of creativity by the technocrats.
The killing of creativity by technocrats like
John Hattie
‘Be careful when using the latest jargon: 'learning intentions',
'success criteria', 'WALTS', 'modelling' and'guided practice' or you will be
leading your students to conformist learning and, in the process, limiting
their innate individuality and creativity. As an antidote, at least, ensure
that students appreciate the need for individual creativity and value their
'voice' in what they present.’
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| Teachers should assist with a light hand! |
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