Much like in week 13, I appreciate the way Ken Robinson speaks about education. Even as someone who isn't empathetic at all, I understand his logic behind wanting to educate students as individuals by allowing them to pursue their own interests and explore subjects through their own unique lenses. Throughout the semester I have been faced with my own advantages as someone that is undeniably favored by the public school system and standardized tests, but in order to level the playing field I believe my advantage shouldn't have been so egregious.
I still want to know how we get the US government to believe in its students and teachers and change the education system. People have been pushing for this type of change for decades now, encouraging a move to a more fluid curriculum that allows learners to jump between disciplines, so I have a hard time believing that by speaking out against compartmentalized learning I will do anything, but it doesn't hurt to try.
Thursday, January 2, 2020
W14P2: Organic Intelligence
Human intelligence is remarkably organic, and exists as a fluid, evolving nature completely unsuited to the rigid specifics of the American education system. As time progresses, there grows a greater emphasis within high schools, middle schools, and even elementary schools, on standardized testing as the pinnacle of achievement. It is inevitable that students prepare for university, seeing as to that degrees have become so common they are practically useless, but it is still inconsiderate for all of a student's education to revolve around minute specifics necessary for a test and irrelevant in the grand scheme of life.
If America wants to idealize its public school systems, it must completely rebuild them from the ground up. School should be malleable and suit itself to the needs of each individual student with the goal of preparing them academically for their future, even if that future isn't 4 years at a selective university. Teachers must listen to their students, and understand what makes them tick, what they want to learn. Students learn best when they want to, and schools should be reformed to develop passions within each child that will lead them to maximize their own potential.
If America wants to idealize its public school systems, it must completely rebuild them from the ground up. School should be malleable and suit itself to the needs of each individual student with the goal of preparing them academically for their future, even if that future isn't 4 years at a selective university. Teachers must listen to their students, and understand what makes them tick, what they want to learn. Students learn best when they want to, and schools should be reformed to develop passions within each child that will lead them to maximize their own potential.
W14P1: Organic Intelligence
Notes from a TED talk by Ken Robinson "Bring on the learning revolution!"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kFMZrEABdw4
Fundamentally, humans make very poor use of their talents.
Education dislocates a great deal of people from their natural talents.
"The dogmas of the quiet past are inadequate to the stormy present. The occasion is piled high with difficulty, and we must rise with the occasion" -Abraham Lincoln
The pinnacle for modern education is going to college, but not everyone needs to go to college, and not everyone needs to go to college at 18.
Human communities depend upon a diversity of talent, not a single conception of talent.
"College begins in kindergarten". It does not. Kindergarten begins in kindergarten.
Education systems are built on the same principles as fast food, everything is standardized which impoverishes the learners.
Human flourishing is not a mechanical process but rather an organic process. You cannot predict the future of an individual rather you must allow their passions and intelligences to grow naturally.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kFMZrEABdw4
Fundamentally, humans make very poor use of their talents.
Education dislocates a great deal of people from their natural talents.
"The dogmas of the quiet past are inadequate to the stormy present. The occasion is piled high with difficulty, and we must rise with the occasion" -Abraham Lincoln
The pinnacle for modern education is going to college, but not everyone needs to go to college, and not everyone needs to go to college at 18.
Human communities depend upon a diversity of talent, not a single conception of talent.
"College begins in kindergarten". It does not. Kindergarten begins in kindergarten.
Education systems are built on the same principles as fast food, everything is standardized which impoverishes the learners.
Human flourishing is not a mechanical process but rather an organic process. You cannot predict the future of an individual rather you must allow their passions and intelligences to grow naturally.
W13P3: Successful Schools
Sir Ken Robinson did a wonderful job of confirming and expanding upon a lot of the ideas I've already documented throughout the semester. Both TED talks were well written and broadened my focus by expanding the ideas to the context of the entire world.
How do we convince the US government to invest in education though? It is not easy to say the least.
How do we convince the US government to invest in education though? It is not easy to say the least.
W13P2: Successful Schools
The key distinction that elevates public school systems like that of Finland, which consistently produce high scores and innovative learners, is the willingness to adapt curriculum to the needs of the student. It is inaccurate to assume that all students should focus on key subjects like math and english in order to be successful in life, but this notion is exacerbated by the emphasis on standardized testing.
Finland too, focuses some energy on preparing students for tests. It differs however, in the way it treats its teachers, which as a result changes the way students learn. In well performing countries, as opposed to America, teachers are valuable, held to a high regard, and provided ample resources. In exchange, these teachers do not just recite information to be absorbed by students capable of absorbing. The best teachers are invested in the way their students learn, and responsible for deciding how to best facilitate students developing unique perspectives and solving problems using logic as opposed to memorization. When school systems like Finland's put trust and resources into the hands of their educators, these educators are able to meld curriculum to the needs of their students as individuals, which ultimately, produces results.
Finland too, focuses some energy on preparing students for tests. It differs however, in the way it treats its teachers, which as a result changes the way students learn. In well performing countries, as opposed to America, teachers are valuable, held to a high regard, and provided ample resources. In exchange, these teachers do not just recite information to be absorbed by students capable of absorbing. The best teachers are invested in the way their students learn, and responsible for deciding how to best facilitate students developing unique perspectives and solving problems using logic as opposed to memorization. When school systems like Finland's put trust and resources into the hands of their educators, these educators are able to meld curriculum to the needs of their students as individuals, which ultimately, produces results.
W13P1: Successful Schools
Notes from Sir Ken Robinson's Ted talk "Do schools kill creativity?"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iG9CE55wbtY
It is unreasonable to try to educate a generation to be prepared for a future we know nothing about.
All children are creatively talented, until they are stifled by the school system.
Kids are willing to take a chance, and are prepared to be wrong. Adults become frightened of failure, and take no risks, losing their originality, and then forcing children into systems that encourage behaving like an adult.
Hierarchy of subjects prioritizes math & language, undermining the arts. This is a global problem.
The education system is designed to prioritize university acceptance, as designed by universities.
As degrees become more common, through academic inflation they become almost useless.
Intelligence is dynamic and interactive, not compartmentalized. Original ideas come about through interactions between drastically different ideas.
Intelligence is also unique to each person, and it is the job of schools to identify how best children can succeed, as opposed to forcing children into academic boxes.
"Adopt a new conception of human ecology. One in which we start to reconstitute our conception of human capacity. Our education has mined our minds in the way that we strip mine the earth for a particular commodity."
Educate a child's whole being. Teach a child to be able to make something of the future, regardless of if it changes.
Notes from Sir Ken Robinson's Ted Talk "How to escape education's death valley"
Human life flourishes on
-human beings are naturally different and diverse, current curriculum is based on uniformity. Judging kids based upon what they can accomplish within a very narrow spectrum of what is academically valuable. Leads many children not built for this style of learning to be diagnosed with ADHD or ADD. Kids prosper best with a broad curriculum that accepts various interests.
-curiosity is what drives children naturally to learn. Curiosity is the "engine" of achievement. No school is better than its teachers. Teachers should be inherently creative, not merely deliverers of information. The role of a teacher is to facilitate learning, not to prepare for standardized tests. These tests have a place, but they should be diagnostic.
-Human life is inherently creative. People create their lives by imaging alternative scenarios and bringing them to fruition. Finland tests better than any other country because they do not orbit their entire school system around standardized testing. There is no drop out rate because schools are obligated to care for all students and ensure success for them as people. Teaching is individualized, and it is the responsibility of the school to curate the way information is presented according to each student's curiosity, creativity and learning process. Finland also attributes a remarkably high status to teachers based upon the belief that you can't create a great education system without investing time, and professional development into creating great teachers. Also in Finland, there is no mandatory curriculum, rather educators are trusted to fulfill their duty of teaching students what they need to know. This allows for freedom to curate information and meld projects and tests to what is relevant to the students, all while considering the standards placed by the global community of learners.
W12P3: Shortcomings of Current Curriculum
Although I didn't take many notes referencing interdisciplinary elementary education this week, this article did allude to the importance of beginning inclusive curriculum early on in a student's education which warranted my thoughts and opinions from last week's posts. I was excited for this article to further develop ideas about incorporating this type of curriculum from what I learned last week.
In the last few weeks I would love to find some form of timeline for how to restructure current curriculum, or look into organizations that have already started putting ideas like STEAM into practice.
In the last few weeks I would love to find some form of timeline for how to restructure current curriculum, or look into organizations that have already started putting ideas like STEAM into practice.
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