Until we re-think and rework the curriculum devised by the Committee of Ten in 1893 , education "reform"—standards and accountability, raising the bar, imposing rigor and so on—will produce little but political noise, student hoop-jumping, educator burnout, ever-escalating costs, and increasing societal inability to meet the demands of an unknown future.A must read for everyone concerned with education, especially this bit.
Successful human functioning requires (a) ready access to the whole of one's knowledge via memory, (b) skill in identifying what one knows that’s applicable to the situation at hand, (c) an understanding of the systemic relationships between specific things one knows, and (d) the ability to predict or anticipate the consequences of the interactions of those things.Consider the impact on society and politics if we started teaching to this standard in kindergarten. It would vastly expand the Reality-Based Community.
There are some profound thoughts in this, with a coherent plan of action that it appears can be implemented at the teacher level, at least to some extent, without the need to seek out approval. It's certainly applicable to charter schools, and I shall be suggesting that the Washoe County School District take a serious look at applying it.
The full-blown idea, plus supporting archives is at Marion Brady's site, complete with the expected PowerPoint presentations.
tag: education reform, Clash of Cultures, physics, math, biology, science, learning, teaching, theory of evolution
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