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| Time for teachers to add their voices to the debate |
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
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| Yesterdays Schools |
Chris Hipkins, the new Minister of Education, has announced that there is to be a review of the New Zealand education Tomorrows Schools (1986) system. Not before time.
How
Children Learn Bravery in an Age of Overprotection
Peter Gray:
‘I
doubt if there has ever been any human culture, anywhere, at any time, that
Reasons
Today’s Kids Are Bored At School, Feel Entitled, Have Little Patience & Few
Real Friends
‘I
completely agree with this teacher’s message that our children are getting worse and worse in many
aspects. I hear the same consistent message from every teacher I meet. Clearly,
throughout my time as an Occupational Therapist, I have seen and continue to
see a decline in kids’ social, emotional, and academic functioning, as well as
a sharp increase in learning disabilities and other diagnoses.’
My
Pedagogic Creed (1897)
by John Dewey
‘I
believe that much of present education fails because it neglects this
fundamental principle of the school as a form of community life. It conceives
the school as a place where certain information is to be given, where certain
lessons are to be learned, or where certain habits are to be formed. The value
of these is conceived as lying largely in the remote future; the child must do
these things for the sake of something else he is to do; they are mere
preparation. As a result they do not become a part of the life experience of
the child and so are not truly educative.'
'It's
given the children a love of wildlife': the schools letting nature in
‘But
the children have been taking an active interest in the wildlife at their
school for a while. Since creating a garden in an unused corner of their field
more than two years ago, the pupils have attracted a variety of birds. They’ve
planted wildflower seeds, created a vegetable plot, made bird nests, and
learned about biodiversity. The school has a wicker bird hide and has bought
binoculars to encourage bird spotting all year round.'
To
foster a love of art in children, we must teach it at primary school
If we want children to value art, we must give them access to it
early on in life. Here’s how primary schools can make space for creativity.
‘Robust
art curricula should cover a range of artists, styles, genres, websites, books
and galleries. Look to design lessons that build on prior learning, can be
connected to a wider context (historical or geographical, for example) and
provide opportunities to further develop visual literacy. Teachers can be
encouraged to help children to think critically about images by asking open and
closed questions, and giving them sentence starters as a way to talk about art.
For example, “I like the way the artist has ... ” or “In this artwork I can see
... ”’
Contributed by Bruce Hammonds:
Great Pedagogy Trumps Ideology
‘Political ideologies may have indirect impacts on schools
by the social and economic policies they enact and the impacts these have on
learners’ lives, but the pedagogical approaches of teachers have so much more
of an influence in schools. Teachers and schools have always looked at the
constraints placed upon us by governments and then continued to design curriculum
and learning in the best way they see fit.’
The Real Agenda of “So-Called” Education Reform
‘What if I told you that the hidden agenda of those controlling
public education policy has actually been to crush innovation, make children
more obedient, force teachers to “dull & dumb down” their instruction, and
do whatever else is needed in order to snuff out young people’s natural
creativity, curiosity, independence, freedom of thinking and love of learning?’
The Pedagogy Of John Dewey: A Summary
‘John Dewey is one of the giants in the history of
educational theory, and it’s difficult to isolate one of his specific theories
to discuss here. He was influential in so many areas of educational reform,
that to choose one theme would do him a disservice, so I will highlight several
of the areas in which he was ahead of his time.’
How should we group students in primary maths classrooms?
‘Grouping students in maths classrooms based
on their ability or prior attainment is a notion that is increasingly being
challenged by research . When
we have engaged in so-called ‘ability grouping’ practices for so long, why
should we think about changing? And what would the change involve? These
are big questions that are concerning many teachers at the moment, spurred
by a nagging concern that traditional ability grouping may be missing the
mark for a large group of students, along with wider conversations
about equity issues in our school system.’
On the Edge of Chaos: Where Creativity Flourishes
‘If it’s true, in Sir Ken Robinson’s words, that “Creativity
is not an option, it’s an absolute necessity,” then it’s that much more
imperative to find ways to bring creativity to learning.But first, we have to
understand what conditions foster true creativity. One definition that
scientists have agreed upon for creativity is the ability to create something
that’s both novel as compared to what came before, and has value. “It’s this
intersection of novelty and value, a combination of those two features that’s
particularly important,”’
From Bruce’s ‘goldie
oldies’ file:
The forgotten genesis of progressive early education
‘My own experience has taught me that all the best idea
have come from those who teach the very young children rather than with those
working at the 'higher' levels but this seems to have been
forgotten. As children move up through the school system their experiences,
their sense of agency and voice are replaced by subject requirements and
teacher intentions. At the secondary little has changed in hundred years.’
Seymour Papert : The obsolete 'Three Rs' - blocking real
change in education
All this Victorian emphasis on the ‘three Rs’ according
to people like Professor Seymour Papert, a highly respected MIT expert in
learning and computers, ‘expresses the most obstinate block to change in
education’.’ The role of the basics’, he writes, ‘is never discussed; it is
considered obvious’. As a result other important educational developments are
being ignored.
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