Important:
This article came at an important moment in time. We are currently thinking about the level of value human beings hold in the United States given their complexion, ethnicity, or socio-economical status. This article reminds us all of the greater picture which is the historical invention of "schools." Scholars were a gathering of individuals who chose to meet to learn about the life within and around them. How we have changed our ideals?!
I work for a school that is dualistic in nature (like many of other philanthropic organizations in the 21st century). We came from a place of servitude and found ourselves wanting more. And in doing so, we've entered the systematic approach of what to do. This article highlights the shortcomings of "methodology." I live in an extremely method-thinking and method-approaching place. I feel the strains of it even more as an art educator. I can see the thirst for knowledge in children. I can see the desire for more and even a desire to learn. I also see where schools, teachers and community aren't able to provide even though we lay in abundance. Its very weird. What is it? Politics? Why can't we radically be there for our communities? What if we dared to be?
Academic scores would plummet. We would face the reality that there's a lot about human nature that we don't know and cannot assist. We would be forced to look at the entire model and way of living and question it.
Thoughts:
The article talks about the amount of money and energy is spent on curriculum. I agree that curriculum is extremely important in guiding our students through societal educational goals while personalizing the experience; but there is more to it! The article points out the basic importance of feeling and being seen by your educators. Feeling supported and cared for are too important to not think strategically about.
The history of education and school structure is so valuable!
"The problem is that the standard lesson is almost useless for teach- ing major concepts and engaging students in problem solving, reflec- tion, creative expression, cooperative interaction, or intellectual dis- cernment. " I love the special attention to the definition of quality education.
"The system is strained, but largely because it knows only one way to do things: to add courses and routinized services. Students are fed, but the rationale for feeding them is not that loving people compas- sionately feed hungry children but, rather, that “hungry children can- not learn.” - Bold statement. I'd go a step further and discuss the implications of funding.
Quotes:
"Only seven percent say that they would go to teachers for advice!"
"On a given day, most students in any class have watched murder, assault, love-making, war-making, and/or competitive sports on tele- vision the previous night."
"“They don’t care!” (Comer, 1988). They feel alien- ated from their schoolwork, separated from the adults who try to teach them, and adrift in a world perceived as baffling and hostile. At the same time, most teachers work very hard and express deep concern for their students. In an important sense, teachers do care, but they are unable to make the connections that would complete caring relations with their students."
"Teachers were urged to state exactly what stu- dents would do, under what conditions, and to what standard. " - this transition of what students are supposed to intellectually at the degree of academics, but I am taught to teach to the actual physical behavior as well."
"To think—to identify problems, define them, solve them, generalize from them—requires freedom from narrow constraints. It is a different sort of learning entirely, and wise teachers know this."
"Feminist theologian Mary Daly (1973) has called the pursuit “methodolatry,” the worship of method."
"And some educational theorists argue that teachers should not be regarded as interchangeable “instructional treatments.” Who the teacher is, who the students are, what they are trying to accom- plish separately and together all matter in designing instruction."
"A main message of this book is that there is no such method. People are not reducible to methods except, perhaps, in their work with objects. This form of reduction is called automation, and it simply does not apply to interpersonal activities."
"As this exploration proceeds, I will ask whether it is helpful to restrict the functions of institutions to one main task."
"He insisted that students must be involved in the con- struction of objectives for their own learning; that they must seek and formulate problems, not simply solve ready-made problems; that they should work together in schools as they would later in most workplac- es; and that there is an organic relation between what is learned and personal experience (Dewey, 1916, 1938)."
"To make real changes in education and escape the dull tick-tock of pendulum swings, we have to set aside the deadly notion that the schools’ first priority should be intellectual development. Further, we must abandon the odd notion that any insti- tution—family, school, church, business—has one and only one stable, main goal that precludes the establishment and pursuit of other goals."
"The system is strained, but largely because it knows only one way to do things: to add courses and routinized services. Students are fed, but the rationale for feeding them is not that loving people compas- sionately feed hungry children but, rather, that “hungry children can- not learn.”
"We must take public responsibility for raising healthy, competent, and happy children. I will argue that the school must play a major role in this task, and I will argue further that the school cannot achieve its academic goals without providing caring and continuity for students."
Questions:
"What does it mean to care? How is care manifested and fo- cused in human life? Can we make caring the center of our educational efforts?" - Can I accomplish these needs alone? How do I create the shaping of focus?
How can I play my role part better? How can I be available more?
Application:
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