This is an excellent piece. It is troubling when pondering where education is headed to, particularly in light of the shit storm in the USA. As a graduate, I was made to feel that I was indeed in the driver's seat and that as I became more experienced I would have a deeper toolkit from which to pick strategies and plan from the curriculum according to need. I agree that the current trend is leaning more towards false security rather than developing and nurturing those skills. I believe my experience of over 30 years is evidence based, and will try to adhere to that position. Thanks for the insight, Tom!
Incredible piece - insightful and thought-provoking. The quote from Sold a Story made me reflect on the impact of teaching mandates on the diversity of people who are educationally successful. If we adopt a more monolithic approach that tends to work for one sort of learner, but not others, we create a society where whole swaths of potential talent and impact are filtered out. Somewhat ironically, teaching agency might be a powerful, positive force for empowering children who are being left behind.
You've nailed it with this: "Somewhat ironically, teaching agency might be a powerful, positive force for empowering children who are being left behind."
There are children that are "left behind" with explicit instruction that are often forgotten in favour of averages. But this is (I assume) the same with all singular approaches. It complicates things once we begin to really think deeply about what we're trying to achieve through education and the kinds of things that might be "holding it back" (however we define this).
I mean - if they want total control why not just sign every class over to watching Khan Academy and then have the teacher walk around and help them implement the exercises? It sounds like they are forgetting the variety of children and young people out there - and the variety of creative approaches from the teacher. It's not just instilling facts - but an adult modelling curiosity, responsibility, and relationships in the courteous but firm way they teach. It's socialisation as much as education - and the stricter the iron rod of the State becomes in the classroom - the less human and humane that classroom will be.
Very well said Max. Forgetting or ignoring the diversity? Education is as you say so much more than the content. It shapes the way we see the world, our place in it, and what can be done to change it. Thinking about the kind of world we want can be an important starting point to considering how we should do teaching, which may in actual fact be “ineffective” but invaluable for “good” education.
This is an excellent piece. It is troubling when pondering where education is headed to, particularly in light of the shit storm in the USA. As a graduate, I was made to feel that I was indeed in the driver's seat and that as I became more experienced I would have a deeper toolkit from which to pick strategies and plan from the curriculum according to need. I agree that the current trend is leaning more towards false security rather than developing and nurturing those skills. I believe my experience of over 30 years is evidence based, and will try to adhere to that position. Thanks for the insight, Tom!
Great to hear your story and thank you for the encouragement (I spent a lot of time agonising on how to articulate all this)!
Sounds like you're doing so great work.
Hopefully this is an encouragement to you to keep asking the right questions and unsettling the "right" way to do things.
Incredible piece - insightful and thought-provoking. The quote from Sold a Story made me reflect on the impact of teaching mandates on the diversity of people who are educationally successful. If we adopt a more monolithic approach that tends to work for one sort of learner, but not others, we create a society where whole swaths of potential talent and impact are filtered out. Somewhat ironically, teaching agency might be a powerful, positive force for empowering children who are being left behind.
Thank you for the kind words Ben!
You've nailed it with this: "Somewhat ironically, teaching agency might be a powerful, positive force for empowering children who are being left behind."
There are children that are "left behind" with explicit instruction that are often forgotten in favour of averages. But this is (I assume) the same with all singular approaches. It complicates things once we begin to really think deeply about what we're trying to achieve through education and the kinds of things that might be "holding it back" (however we define this).
I mean - if they want total control why not just sign every class over to watching Khan Academy and then have the teacher walk around and help them implement the exercises? It sounds like they are forgetting the variety of children and young people out there - and the variety of creative approaches from the teacher. It's not just instilling facts - but an adult modelling curiosity, responsibility, and relationships in the courteous but firm way they teach. It's socialisation as much as education - and the stricter the iron rod of the State becomes in the classroom - the less human and humane that classroom will be.
Very well said Max. Forgetting or ignoring the diversity? Education is as you say so much more than the content. It shapes the way we see the world, our place in it, and what can be done to change it. Thinking about the kind of world we want can be an important starting point to considering how we should do teaching, which may in actual fact be “ineffective” but invaluable for “good” education.