Posts in Category Philosophy of Education
The Adult-Free School?
No doubt you've seen the intriguing story making its way around the Internet today about the Ethiopian kids who hacked the free laptops they were given in less than six months - and without any adult instruction.
Don't get me wrong -- it's a great story, and it's illustrative of the extent to which we underestimate the abilities of young people. But we're missing the point if we think the moral is that adults just need to disappear in order for young people to optimally learn and grow.
Some of what adults do needs to disappear -- overly structuring what and how we learn, worrying more about what gets poured in instead of what gets pulled out, and thinking that content knowledge is the...
Posted on Nov 01, 2012 - 05:32 AM by Sam Chaltain
The Future of Learning
Posted on Oct 25, 2012 - 01:17 PM by Beth Sanders
A Public School Teacher and Student Discuss Democratic Education
It wasn't the first time a left-brained colleague had come to me with such a request. Stacy, the pragmatic and exceptional science teacher from the 7th grade hall, sent me a Facebook message, "If you don't mind, I may refer my little sister, Anna, to you…She is considering education, but is losing faith in our current...
Posted on Jun 20, 2012 - 08:20 PM by Leigh Pourciau
A conference that will matter after it is over
Justo Méndez Arámburu has had a very clear message about IDEC 2012 over the last two months.
“The most important day of IDEC 2012 is April 1st.”
That date is remarkable because it is the day after the conference is over.
In total, the conference will bring together over 750 young people, educators, community leaders, organizers, academics, and advocates from around the world and across Puerto Rico. But, the most profound accomplishment of conference organizers has happened even before the conference begins. Unlike so many other conferences, IDEC 2012 has been organized to have maximum impact in the lives of young people and communities in Puerto Rico after the international...
Posted on Mar 22, 2012 - 06:58 AM by Scott Nine
Real Education is Relevant
Real Education is Relevant And Relevance Is All About the Context
If we are going to talk about school reform designed to create meaningful education, we need to look at education within the context of the individual, her community, history, and the planet. And hopefully with as much sophistication as each context demands.
Today’s education reform narrative is filled with buzz words that are meant to capture the majority of perceived issues we need to address in schools. Most are about making today’s learners competitive in tomorrow’s job market. None does this better than “21st century skills.” I actually have little issue with “21st century skills.” It’s the common context and...
Posted on Nov 04, 2011 - 06:07 AM by Adam Burk
Real Education is Relevant
In high school, I maintained consistently horrible grades in math. It was mainly Algebra that killed my GPA. I just didn't get it you know? But gosh... I wanted to. I wanted to understand all those letters and symbols so bad. I've always had trouble learning something if I didn't understand the practicality and usefulness of it though. So in my Algebra class... the one I took three years in a row in high school... I asked more than one teacher, on more than one occasion,"How is Algebra useful in a real world situation?"
"Why do the rules of Algebra work the way they do?"
"How do we know that this stuff is really true anyway? How is the truth of Algebra confirmed in the world and not on...
Posted on Nov 03, 2011 - 01:39 PM by Shawn Strader
A list of incredible humans who know what real education looks like
Late last week, I was in a conversation with Sheryl Petty where she graciously encouraged me to look at just how much IDEA and my own thinking is impacted by other humans who have put their ideas and love into words.
In support of #blog4idec and today's theme of "Human", I thought I'd try to brainstorm off the cuff (no help from Google) the names of the people whose writing has profoundly shaped my thinking about what real education looks like at the most human level.
Feel free to add your own incredible humans in the comments box.
And yes, I am inviting several moments of, "how could I forget ________, and _____________, and __________ . . ."
Here's my list of incredible humans:
...Posted on Nov 01, 2011 - 08:59 AM by Scott Nine
Teach for Humanity
This is a story about experience. Strangely enough, experience has the power to both sever and prompt connection. There are threads of my story—my experience—that are particular to me as a black child, a black woman, and an African immigrant. On the other hand, there are fibers in my story that are universal, and linked to my and your human self. I imagine that you will find things in my story that will surprise you, resonate with you, frustrate, and perhaps even anger you. I hope that all of the above will happen. When you arrive at the end of my story, I hope that you will be wrestling with your own experiences, struggling to understand how they have shaped you as a particular...
Posted on Oct 31, 2011 - 03:15 PM by Esther Ohito
I Learned to Believe in Me
This article is featured in the September 2011 issue of the Phi Delta Kappan.What are the attributes and habits of “great” learners? What do their learning lives look like, and what beliefs do they hold about themselves that they might share with the rest of us? How can learners build personal, individual resilience when they're in academic programs that sometimes seem intent on focusing on their failures, highlighting what they're not good at, or making judgments based on previous unsuccessful performances? What if no interventions are available to them, or the available interventions are ineffective or off the mark?
For 10 years, I've been listening to people tell their learning...
Posted on Aug 31, 2011 - 08:23 AM by Kirsten Olson
What Back to School is Like for An Unschooler
For unschoolers like us, there is no back to school. There is continual learning, all of the time. We don't buy a bunch of supplies (unless we find something incredible on sale, like my new $4 planner), we don't buy school clothes (we tend to get messy in whatever we wear, to be honest with you), and we definitely don't need Kindermats or other special, expensive items. I always have to laugh at the people who tell me that homeschooling must be expensive; most of what we do is free, save for special classes like taekwondo, which kids in school do, too.I've been finding myself in rather hostile territory--or, perhaps, I am just hostile. All of these parents are posting pictures of their...
Posted on Aug 21, 2011 - 05:07 PM by Sara Schmidt
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