There's a lot to think about here.. sadly any sort of experimentation seems unlikely.
snip
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This is at least part of the reason so little creative experimentation occurs in U.S. high schools, the researchers believe. Teachers feel hamstrung by an “ecosystem of constraint”: externally imposed curricular requirements, standardized testing benchmarks, and metrics that colleges use in admissions processes. These external forces are extremely normative, explains Fine; teaching well within that context, as within any context, requires skill, mentorship, and practice.
“Every teacher we talked to, to a person,” she says, “expressed a desire to have their classroom be a place where powerful learning was happening, regardless of what kind of kids they were teaching. They all wanted it.” The challenge, she says, is that often “the system responds to perceived threats by asserting more control, rather than allowing for a natural release that empowers kids to make more choices and to take ownership of their education.”
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a tip of the hat to Steven
The focus on testing to standards - even when it "succeeds", it fails. The learning it mandates only lasts a few years at most. There is no mastery. We retain and nurture what matters to us.
the failure of the education system
Teaching critical thinking should be central - but this (via The New York Times)
no wonder we get Trumped.
08:50 in education, General Commentary, Religion | Permalink | Comments (0)