Today the word pedagogy describes the art and science of teaching.
I like it's Latin origin: children, to lead.
It puts an inescapable responsibility on the parent (like me) and on the teachers to lead
as in:
not talk down to;
not talk at;
to be an active practitioner of what is taught (otherwise, why teach it?).
Is it really honoring a child's intelligence if you merely see yourself as someone who enters data- like a computer programmer entering code? Is this the true essence of teaching? Are children mere automatons?
My feeling is that teachers can only show you to something-- can demonstrate it in some way by good example, but that the onus was always on the student to actually do the learning: first by thinking and contemplating, and then by doing it. This would never need to be forced anymore than you'd force the rosebuds in your garden to bloom by peeling them back like a banana!
The basis of one-size-fits-all compulsory education is not about this soulful kind of legitimate, genuine honor-filled learning because it doesn't respect children's uniqueness and individuality. Instead it brusquely categorizes and force-fits them into predetermined slots.
Wednesday, February 20, 2013
Thursday, February 14, 2013
Wednesday, February 13, 2013
Revealing Quotes on the origins of the schooling system
"The children who know how to think for themselves, spoil the harmony of the collective society that is coming, where everyone would be interdependent.
Independent self-reliant people would be a counterproductive anachronism in the collective society of the future where people will be defined by their associations."
— John Dewey, 1896, educational philosopher, proponent of modern public schools.
*in·de·pen·dent
*from thefreeonlinedictionary.com
** from vocabulary.com
*in·de·pen·dent
adj.
1. Not governed by a foreign power; self-governing.
2. Free from the influence, guidance, or control of another or others; self-reliant: an independent mind.
3. Not determined or influenced by someone or something else; not contingent: a decision independent of the outcome of the study.
**Interdependent comes from the Latin word inter meaning "among, between," and dependere which means "to hang from, be dependent on." When two people are interdependent, they have a sense of dependency between them. Married couples are often interdependent. They rely on one another — whether for income or child care or love — to get by.
*from thefreeonlinedictionary.com
** from vocabulary.com
Friday, February 8, 2013
Seth Godin on School
"Grades are an illusion...
passion and insight are reality."
"Persistence in the face of a skeptical authority figure is priceless."
"Fitting in is a short term strategy that gets you nowhere; standing out is a long-term strategy that takes guts and produces results."
Tuesday, February 5, 2013
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)