By
Allan Alach
Join this rapidly
growing Facebook group of teachers saying enough is enough!
I welcome suggested articles,
so if you come across a gem, email it to me at allan.alach@ihug.co.nz.
This
week’s homework!
The Time of the Corporatization of
our Public Schools in the Form of Charter Schools Has Come and Gone (via
Bruce Hammonds)
‘Charter schools are
not the magic bullet and in fact distract from the real issues of poverty and
the need for “wrap around” support for students in need.’
What is SUCCESS?
Robert Fried on Seymour Sarason
 |
| Great book by Robert Fried |
This
article by Bruce Hammonds, from way back in 2006 when the light of the
developing New Zealand Curriculum document was beginning to illuminate primary
school education (in comparison to the educational dark ages that we are
presently enduring) looks at Seymour Sarason’s book ‘The Predictable Failure of
School Reform.’ Published in 1993, this book proves that our politicians are
learning failures.
Eight Ways Of Looking At
Intelligence (via Tony Gurr)
‘… eight ways of looking at
intelligence—eight perspectives provided by the science of learning. A few
words, first, about that term: The science of learning is a relatively new
discipline born of an agglomeration of fields: cognitive science, psychology,
philosophy, neuroscience. Its project is to apply the methods of science to
human endeavors—teaching and learning—that have for centuries been mostly
treated as an art. As with anything to do with our idiosyncratic and
unpredictable species, there is still a lot of art involved in teaching and
learning. But the science of learning can offer some surprising and useful
perspectives on how we educate young people and how we guide our own learning.
And so: Eight Ways Of Looking At Intelligence.’
Hyperbole about Online Learning is
Not Supported by Research (via Save Our Schools Australia)
One
of the corporate dreams is that education can be provided via online tuition,
thus cutting out the middlemen (teachers) and also to increase their profit
streams. The usual players (Murdoch, Pearson Group, McGraw Hill, for example)
are already working on this in the USA and most likely in Australia and New
Zealand - have NZ schools wondered why there has been so much emphasis on
ensuring all schools have access to ultra fast broadband? Just a thought….
A Response to Mitra Part 1:
Education and Employability
A Response to Mitra Part 2:
Classroom Pedagogy (both via Tony Gurr)
Sugata
Mitra has received many accolades for his research with children and learning
with computers. Without doubt he has made some extremely vital discoveries,
but, as with all new developments, it also pays to look at the other side of
the equation, so that we do not follow trends (learning styles for example!)
Skepticism is healthy… even if these articles reference John Hattie…...
The Hardest Job
Everyone Thinks They Can Do
‘Maybe that’s why
teachers get so little respect. It’s hard to respect a skill that is so hard to
quantify. So, maybe you just have to take our word for it. The next time you
walk into a classroom, and you see the teacher calmly presiding over a room full
of kids, all actively engaged in the lesson, realize that it’s not because the
job is easy. It’s because we make it look easy. And because we work our asses
off to make it look easy. And, yes, we make it fun, too.’
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