Hi
everyone - it could be that we discuss education again today - or not -
it could be that topical issues fill the time for us.
However - here is a key quote from the article I mentioned last week.
"Education is on the
wrong track largely because of “solutions” that have isolated
teachers and students from one another and from sensible ways of
spending their time."
I
have written the following without referring to the article. It could
be that, next week, we unpick some of the ideas - in a way that is
analytical rather than competitive.
Cheers
Elaine
-------
The
key idea in the article is that education is being treated like the
deck chairs on the Titanic - successive political and educational
hierarchies juggle ideas, adapt things, seek popular support, and upset
the ways children are raised. But the whole system is failing, a
disaster. One of the tools that maintains this is the need to judge and
compare learners, teachers, schools, countries.
This
ongoing judgemental system maintains the status quo where the children
of those with privilege maintain their social AND/OR economic AND/OR
cultural privilege - and arguably, gendered privilege (certainly in
mathematics). Their kids are fitted to the kinds of education where
competition is the key to development - their kids play in the top
teams, go to top schools, beat others in written examinations, and are
taught skills of self-confident dominance. And in the case of
mathematics, the curriculum itself is biased so that the majority leave
study at a point where they lose interest and label themselves as being
"no good at it".
The
article supports the idea that education, as it currently exists,
maintains and drives inequality. Teachers and children struggle to find
ways to foster learning. The article suggests we should figure out
what works well - and do more of it - let's let the kaiako figure it out
- and kaiako includes whanau who are at the heart of supporting
learning. (Kaiako, as I understand it, refers to teachers and learners
working together, not separated - and the fact that we all constantly
learn from each other.)
My
belief is that if we ever have an effective education system, there
will be no comparison based on assessment of learning. Assessment in
its current form will be viewed much as slavery is now. (And, yes,
slavery still exists but it is recognised as being grossly wrong.)
Successive
waves of educators have shifted the goal posts - I was deeply involved
in the era where "girls in mathematics" and "women can do anything"
enabled different ideas about maths education to emerge - and they are
having an effect - for privileged girls who come from powerful
backgrounds and/or who have gifted insightful teachers.
But - the fact is that as soon as the underprivileged begin to catch up with the majority, the system changes the goal posts.
This
is the end of my rant for now. I might re-read the article ... Let’s
declare education and disaster and get on with our lives –
Frank Smith – from Phi
delta Kappa in the 1990s.
