Some quotes to think about before beginning the school year.

Something to think about before you return to school

Short quotes I've collected using the screensaver facility on my smart phone I think they are worth a quick read - they may confirm ( or challenge ) your teaching philosophy.  Obviously I've chosen quotes that  reflect my own view. Unfortunately I didn't think to note the authors or source of the quotes. The Modern Learners site is a great source of quotes.



About current assessment

There are those that seem to think that knowledge is no longer important as it can be accessed through the internet but I, for one, don't agree.

Many current ideas have a long history. For me John Dewey is as relevant as ever and possibly the best book on children learning as a community of scientists and learners is Elwyn Richardson's In the Early World first published in the 60s and recently republished by the NZCER

Now is the time to see the schools role as one of identifying and nurturing student talent 

Time to see identifying and nurturing of student talent as the number one role of the school

Giving the students' voice and choice

What happens to students' innate curiosity - their desire to make sense of their world?

An excellent quote from Modern Learners. The teachers' role is to create the conditions for students to do their own learning. As Jerome Bruner says  the teachers' role is 'the canny art of intellectual temptation'

How might we  provoke learning?

Promoting and provoking curious minds.

The inquiry model - it's not 'rocket science'

When teachers push kids too far, when it makes no sense to the learners, they learn to dislike what is being taught.

Learning from traditional Maori culture.

Traditional Maori approach to learning

Time to leave pre-determined formulaic  teaching of the past decades - time to implement the spirit of the 2007 New Zealand Curriculum and , as it says, to ensure all students are ' active seekers, users and creators of their own knowledge'. 

Great teaching according to Seymour Papert

Learning out of school   (WEIRD Western education)

An inquiry class without explicit literacy and numeracy teaching. Yes!