Education Readings
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| Thinking out of the box |
By Allan Alach
I welcome suggested articles, so if you come
across a gem, email it to me at allanalach@inspire.net.nz
So who says competition in the classroom is inevitable?
Thanks to Phil Cullen for this link about what
appears to be an excellent book.
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| Phil Cullen |
‘In this extract from her new book Beautiful
Failures, the Guardian’s Lucy Clark tackles the culture of contests and
rankings at school, arguing that for children – indeed all of us – it is
unnecessary and damaging.’
‘In personally questioning the role of competition in education I
have lost count of the number of people who have said to me, yes, but life is
competitive and school is just a training ground for the sort of competition
our kids will face as adults in the real world.
Is that what school should be? A warm-up for the main game? A
simulation of grown-up life, where we wake up in the morning, put on our armour
and go out to compete in a dog-eat-dog world?’
Teaching is among the 'top three most stressed occupations’
I doubt that this is news to teachers, and it’s
getting worse.
“Of all the occupations I’ve studied, and that’s about 80, teachers
are in the top three most stressed occupations,” he said. “The hours are long
and antisocial, the workload is heavy and there is change for change’s sake
from various governments.”
The Ticking Clock of Teacher Burnout
‘Initially, I believed that Finland was an outlier with the amount
of time it offers teachers to plan, assess, and collaborate on a daily basis.
But, later, I’d discover that this kind of arrangement is fairly typical among
countries that excel on international standardized assessments, such as the
PISA. Take Singapore, for example.’
Technology reform full of good ideas, poorly executed
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| Find the off switch |
Politicians, seduced by computers and online
instruction, could do well to read this.
‘And perhaps the most disappointing finding is that technology seems
of little help in bridging the skills divide between advantaged and
disadvantaged students. Put simply, ensuring that every child attains a
baseline level of proficiency in mathematics seems to do more to create equal
opportunities in a digital world than subsidising access to high-tech devices
and services.’
Teaching With Your Mouth Shut
‘The alternative to teaching through telling is what Finkel calls “teaching
with your mouth shut.” In this model, teachers step back and become silent
observers, rather than putting on a
The importance of creativity and shaking things up
‘So, circling back to the classroom, are we giving our pupils the
chance to practice the skills required to become part of this creative class
and reap the economic and personal rewards that come with it? My experience is
that, on average, we are still preparing children and young adults for jobs
based on outdated processes, subservience and narrow, short term thinking. To
be fair, it is still the perfect system for anyone looking to become a
university academic.’
Contributed by Bruce Hammonds:
Quality learning: William Glasser - 'Schools without Failure' ; and
Jerome Bruner - solving 'learning blocks’.
Bruce’s latest article:
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| Jerome Bruner |
‘A number of years ago many schools implemented the ideas of Dr
William Glasser. Glasser had written a number of books all with a focus
on achieving quality work for all students without teachers using coercion.
Glasser's belief is that, with the appropriate conditions, all students can do
quality work but, it would be fair to say, many teachers find this hard to
believe.’
Why Education, Not Punishment, Is The Solution To Reducing Crime
A brilliant and touching TED talk illustrating
how poverty is linked to prison rates.
How Can Schools Prioritize For The Best Ways Kids Learn?
‘The education world is full of incremental change — the slow process
of individuals learning about new strategies and approaches, trying them out,
improving on their skills, and hopefully sharing their learning with colleagues
to continue growth. While that process is necessary and good, if the changes to
education are all in the service of doing the same thing better, they may be
missing the point. The world has changed since education became compulsory and
the current moment necessitates an education system that isn’t just better, but
different.’
From Bruce’s ‘goldie oldies’ file:
Developing a democratic curriculum.
‘Relating back to the ideas of John Dewey
James Beane believes that if people are to live democratic lives they
must have the opportunity to learn what that way of life means. His ideas are
based on the ability of students to participate in their own education.
Democratic schools share a child centred approach but their larger goal is to
change the undemocratic conditions of school themselves and in turn to
reach out to the wider community.’
Pride through personal excellence
‘It seems these days teachers rush through tasks to ‘deliver’ or ‘cover’
the curriculum. The idea of doing things well has been lost in this rush yet we
all know that pride of achievement comes from
succeeding so well at a task we
even surprise ourselves. As a result students produce little of real substance.
Teachers are too busy proving what they have done to focus on the more
important need to see each student does the very best work they can. All the
criteria and feedback formative assessment means little if the teachers have no
idea of excellence.’
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| A symbol of excellence |
Experience and Education -John Dewey 1938
‘Such a lot of the ideas expressed today have their genesis in the
ideas of John Dewey.That Dewey's ideas have yet to be fully realised says
something for the power of conservatism in education. 'Experience in Education'
is Dewey's most concise statement of his ideas written after criticism his
theories received. In this book Dewey argues that neither 'traditional ' nor
'progressive ' ideas are adequate and he outlines a deeper point of view
building on the best of both. The following are ideas he expresses in his
book.’
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