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Alex
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Participatory Education
August 1, 2003 - 10:45 AM
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The problem in the education system is it is completely one-way. You listen to a teacher, absorb their info, and regurgitate it on an exam or paper. This isn't deep learning, its not inspiring, and it simply hasn't worked. Yet it is the norm and people are incredibly reluctant to change it.
The idea of experiential education is slowly entering the discussion. The learner learns better when what is learned relates directly to his or her own experience. This doesn't simply mean asking for questions at the end, but a participatory approach in a needs assessment, setting objectives, planning the activity, and reflection/evaluation. This last next is crucial as the learning cycle is an ongoing process. (This action-reflection model is also called "praxis" .
The non-formal context, where there is a facilitator of discussion not a lecturer, can engage listless students. Having students lead a class or be involved in what they are going to learn is one technique. Adapting the learning method to the student rather than vice versa is another. Small group work, changing the context of a classroom, having energizers between long sessions, all are ways to improve the process. One size fits all simply doens't work in education, yet it is the norm.
We value product, not process. The only thing that matters is an "objective" mark at the end on knowledge you probably won't retain. Marks are a terrible measure of the learning process, yet are offered as the only alternative.
"We can use 20% of what we hear, 40% of what we see and hear and 80% of what we discover ourselves!"
More on the Adult Education Model at
http://www.augustana.ca/rdx/eng/anthology/adultedmodel.doc
And read Paolo Freire's Pedagogy of the Oppressed. Some info on him at http://www.infed.org/thinkers/et-freir.htm
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Simon Moss
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Re: Participatory Education
August 2, 2003 - 08:24 AM
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edited from an msn conversation about this post
The best thing we could do is provide knowledge in a context that is relevant to the real world ... try and link school to reality, make it seem like more than just rote learning.
Knowledge has no use in itself, it is only going to be useful if schools can get their kids to see its relevance. For example; learn a bit about Africa, identify a major issue, find out what people is doing about it, and then offer their opinion on the matter.
I think the distinction between research and action is appalling in schools ... you learn stuff .. not to do anything about it, but just to learn it ... how pointless
it's like learning to drive, but not being given a licence
What do you guys think?
Mossy
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Gerald Derome
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What is the goal of todays education systems?
August 2, 2003 - 11:25 AM
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To turn out workers for the way the country and business are conducted. To ensure the cycles of operation continue uninterupted and always in a blind foward motion regardless of any negative consequences.
The bulk of the context and the way it is taught ensures the survival of those who control the teachings.
Those in power.
The self business, country and religions of old and today.
They are the tools of the economic wars more then anything else. Fot the most part, heartless, narrow minded and destinationless. Definitly not_global!
Why do we go to school? To outdo others on a personnal, local and country scale.
Builders of warriers and soldiers of the economic wars.
i/not_neo
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Vivek
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Re: What is the goal of todays education systems?
August 2, 2003 - 12:12 PM
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Originally posted by not_neo
To turn out workers for the way the country and business are conducted. To ensure the cycles of operation continue uninterupted and always in a blind foward motion regardless of any negative consequences.
The bulk of the context and the way it is taught ensures the survival of those who control the teachings.
Those in power.
The self business, country and religions of old and today.
They are the tools of the economic wars more then anything else.
I agree with what you have said here... but then I believe that it is so for the good of humanity as a whole.
The fact that we humans dominate the planet today, is because for the most part we have remained as one, all of us think alike... and act alike. If we have a disagreement, we also have the ability to reach a consensus and move forward. It is these basic qualities that education has put in us.
I believe that education has to be one-way till high school. We should be taught to think on our own and find whats going wrong at college, or through other forms of higher education.
Now... one might argue that a vast majority of the populace, aren't lucky enough to have college or University education. But thats precisely the point, why a person should be taught how to think for himself in college alone. For they way our present social structure is built, if everyone were taught to think on their own... we as humans would cease to dominate this planet!
All men are not born equal... this might sound really harsh in a democratic society, but it is the fundamental truth of our survival. Each one of us, has a task at hand, and not all of our tasks are equally crucial!!!
The fact that we realize that our present education system is inadequate, simply goes to prove that our current system works.
With our growing needs, our education policies need to be revised... but still upto a certain stage, education simply has to be one-way. We have to respect this threshold, else we have to come up with a new social structure, that can support everyone to think on their own!
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Simon Moss
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Re: Participatory Education
August 4, 2003 - 07:00 AM
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Vivek,
You have a point, and in fact, I think you are right in noting that we are not equal as it stands. But as Gerald comments below, it is not birth that creates as unequal, it is society that divides according to wealth, race, relgion, appearance intelligence and hundreds of otehr human constructs.
But coming from the same perspective, with an 'ignorant' populace (those who cannot think for themselves), the country/society runs the risk of being seized and used for other purposes. We don't have to look too far back in history to see this; Stalin's Russia, Hitler's Germany (and the larger concept of the Vaterland), plus many more historical examples. When the population at large is left as a tool of the powerful, more often than not, tragedy ensues ... and I for one would prefer the instability of people having opinions over the Gulags and Concentration camps that characterised regimes of the 20th century.
Mossy
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Gerald Derome
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"All men are not born equal.."?
August 4, 2003 - 11:21 AM
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I do not agree.
Once we come out, wealth, blood line, quality of health care and pollutions all contribute to how we may become different.
We are all born equal. Opportunities from that moment on is influenced by ones many enviroments. Natural and man made.
Hmans will not, cannot cease to dominate the planet unless others more powerful from, afar or close space, would come down.
As long as the people are kept uninformed and uneducated about the real truths about us by those leaders of the now pillars of power, religions, governments and business and what they insist on teaching the people, the world will keep on fighting and warring for no reason.
The planet needs a one global truthful education for all of its people.
The present systems promote division. Divide and conquer. Those in charge have a great time knowing and utilizing this for their little good time here.
"No one person or persons time is worth more then any other, regardless of the task!"
i/not_neo
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Gerald Derome
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Re: Participatory Education
August 5, 2003 - 03:24 AM
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Why wait?
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Vivek
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Clarifying my point further!
August 5, 2003 - 11:40 AM
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When I said "All men are not born equal!"... I didn't neccesarily mean that some of us are more superior to others, what I meant was all of us are different, and each one of us unique in certain aspects. And this difference will remain even if we have a similar upbringing etc. It is this difference that enriches humanity... and unless we learn to respect this difference, we cannot progress as a whole!
The society in turn however has to treat all its members equally... but this doesn't make all of us the same. For a given problem... we will get hundred solutions from hundred different people, but our past experience helps us in deciding which is the best possible solution to the problem at hand. When this knowledge is imparted to all hundred people, we shall then have fewer and more accurate solutions, this in turn would enable us to make quicker decisions, and progress at a faster rate.
Education in my opinion, brings about equality among the masses... it conditions us to be one with rest of our immediate society... and for that purpose it is essential.
Further I believe that "divide and conquer" was adopted by our leaders of the past, because there was no efficient means of communication between varied populations. We had several myths, and many more misunderstandings regarding each other... and this perhaps caused a lot of fear in the minds of people! So... for governance, and momentary peace... it was necessary to divide and rule!!!
But today... when we have the Internet and other advanced technologies that have broken all previous barriers of communication, and the world has now become a global village... very soon the time would be right for a unified global education system. But we need to wait a bit for that to become a reality.
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