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Adam Fletcher
Joined: Sep 13, 2001
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Far-Out Education
May 29, 2002 - 12:26 PM
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What's the most far-out, bizarre thought you have about education and schools today? What idea is in YOUR head about how teachers should teach, about what, how, and why students should learn, and what do YOU think schools should be like?
I'd love to hear from you! Please, tell!
http://freechild.org
Resources for Social Change with Young People
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Theo Rosenfeld
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Re: Far-Out Education
June 4, 2002 - 08:02 AM
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My 'far-out' thoughts about education are numerous and lengthy, but i will spare you all the full-on tirade this could become.
If I could change any one apsect of schools it would be emphasizing oxygen availability and blood circulation. In other words, good ventilation and frequent occasion for moving/stretching. Our brains can not learn without enough oxygen.
After the O2 is flowing I would look at
a) a stimulating environment - more colours, changing art exhibits, music, etc and
b) de-emphasize sugar and caffeine availability and include a lot of health information about stimulant drugs and foods and the range of effects they have on attention span and memory (what schools is not infused with coffee, tea, caffeinated soda, chocolate, sugar, Ritalin, nicotine, etc.).
I stop before getting into educational philosophy, curriculum, teacher-student interactions, etc, etc...
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Raymond M. Kristiansen
Joined: Mar 1, 2002
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:)
June 5, 2002 - 12:08 PM
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Michael Oakeshott has some very interesting points about education in his book "The Voice of Liberal Learning". Hmm as I do not have the book here, and I cannot paraphrase it from my head, I will post about that later on.
Another favorite author on education of mine is Alfred North Whitehead, who speaks, among other things, about the Danger of "inert ideas". He says basically two things:
1. Teach few subjects.
2. The subject you teach, teach them Well.
I would love to give you some quotes from him.. will have to wait =)
Further, there is a fellow of the psychology faculty at my old University by the name of Arild Raaheim. I have tried searching for some of his writings online on the topic of examinations at University, without any luck..
As for myself.. Hmm..
I must give One more reference. "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance by Robert M. Pirsig. In there is some excellent writings about the teacher/student relationship.
I think that the learning process has to be driven by an urge to know. Not an urge to finish the schoolyear/get the degree/something similar. It's that simple, and it is not very bizarre at all. If I find some more bizarre ideas I will let you know.
Will be posting more later on 
best,
Raymond / dltq
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Adam Fletcher
Joined: Sep 13, 2001
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Schools must change.
June 10, 2002 - 09:17 AM
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Originally posted by theothatoad
...I stop before getting into educational philosophy, curriculum, teacher-student interactions, etc, etc...
But this is the part I want to hear!!! Tell me what you think about educational philosophy, curricula, students, teachers, anyone surrounding education today!
I want to engage a global discussion about teaching and learning and schools today, especially in relation to their larger role in society.
Is anyone out there concerned our schools today? As students, I believe its our job to challenge schools to become better places. As community members, its our obligation to demand schools teach WHAT and HOW we want them to. But mostly, as participants in democracy, it is essential for us to cause change.
Dialogue can inspire and inform change.
Let's talk about schools, and ALL the issues included in that.
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Jessica Rose
Joined: Jun 18, 2002
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Re: Far-Out Education
June 24, 2002 - 04:19 AM
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It's sad that this is such a bizarre and far-out thought.
I think that teachers should make students WANT to learn. There were only a couple teachers I had this year who actually inspired me and got me to look forward to their classes. I love learning, I hate school. That doesn't seem right.
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Livia
Joined: Jun 21, 2002
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Teaching
July 2, 2002 - 03:55 AM
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Here's something I wrote before about what my ideal curriculum would involve for a philosophy class...but before I copy & paste that, I'd say that the ideal class centers around the teacher & his/her willingness to make the class enjoyable. It depends at what level of education as well. For high school, I personally like more independent-based classrooms, mimicking college/university curriculum. I like initiating my own projects & undertaking those. For ex. for my politics class there was NO textbook or tests, only multiple assignments that were very open-ended, so that you could pursue your own interests. For my research paper, for example there were some guidelines (it had to be a current local issue) & I chose the privatization of Hydro & health care and interviewed profs and people involved, it was very enjoyable. We also had to design an ideal political system, and got into political philosophy & current global problems..one student even incorporated Nash's Game Theory (mentioned in 'A Beautiful Mind') and how that involves human nature & social interaction..and this is only high school! If you challenge & inspire students they can certainly go far. Our first assignment, actually, was to read Chomsky, not a textbook. But that will differ with grade level & such...anyhoo, here is how I would structure my ideal philosophy class (this was an assignment for my english class so I'm just copying & pasting here..)
_______________________________
Philosophy is an amazing subject because it encourages students to perpetually question and allows one to reach beyond the set educational framework. If I could design the philosophy curriculum, I would structure to be very flexible. By saying that, I mean the student will be able to pick his/her own ISU subject, and for many assignments be able to choose his/her own preferred subjects. In class, the students would sit in a circle instead of in the traditional set-up, so that all classroom participants feel equal. The teacher should also encourage individual learning. Furthermore, the class would have speakers come in to discuss current social, individual (and possibly even political) ideologies. There would also be many field trips, maybe even an out-of-state voyage to a different province or country (Europe or Asia preferred). As well, there would be educational CD ROMs and interactive videos set up where the student could learn about ancient Greece and walk in the shoes of Socrates, Plato or Aristotle (their choice). The teacher may even set up a video-conference with a philosophy teacher in Japan at the same time as one in Italy (like on the news where two reporters are shown on two different TV screens) and the class may also interact and debate. The main emphasis for this subject would be that the individual reaches beyond the classroom. This is difficult for some students to do, because they may not know many sources, so the teacher could also suggest some personal acquaintances. I believe that this approach would be beneficial for any subject because learning through experience is the best type of learning. You can learn things quicker and remember concepts better than from textbook learning. As well, in regards to assignments, written ones should be handed in on time to the teacher at school. Even living in the so-called digital era, it is not fair for one student to e-mail an assignment after school at 4:00 p.m. while another student gave it in at school to the teacher at 8:00 a.m. Concerning evaluation, the prime considerations should be:
1. Effort (did the student go beyond what was expected?)
2. Originality & Creativity (in presentation & ideas) and
3. Communication (how well did the student express his/her own ideas both in the report & presentation?)
This, I feel, would make an amazing class!
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Houshi Allami
Joined: Apr 25, 2002
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Re: Far-Out Education
July 2, 2002 - 12:49 PM
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Have you ever seen Great Teacher Onizuka?
It's a japanese tv show about a teacher who..........get this......actually CARES bout his students and such and goes thru so much trouble for them just to make them happy
anyway its simply awesome and i wish all teachers where like that period.
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