I know my posts are long-winded. This post
seeks to break the streak. A quote from one of the last chapters in the book:
“…it was as if they had been taught, in two
different lessons, how to use a hammer and how to use a screwdriver. Told to
hammer, they could hammer. Told to put in a screw, they could use a
screwdriver. But told to build a shelf, they’d be paralyzed even though it was
just a combination of concepts they should have learned.”
Here, he outlines yet another issue that I
have also noticed in schooling: a lack of cohesiveness between information and
application. He outlines some pretty great ways to approach this, so read this
book!
This book ends on a pretty inspirational
note. I recommend it to everyone who is at all interested in the field of
education. Below, I have attached the web address of one of his videos…this one
describes how to add and subtract fractions. Also, I have attached a preview
for a documentary that this book reminded me of. It’s called “Waiting for
Superman,” and it also touches base on some of the concepts described in this book.
Namely, it forces people to become curious about the nature of education, and why
we teach the way we do. If you want the full documentary, just ask me and I’ll
bring it on a jump drive. Enjoy!
Rich, I have also heard a similar analogy, that our schooling system is like teaching kids all the rules of basketball but without ever letting them play--and then pretending we have taught them basketball. So often, students don't actually DO science or authentic writing (for authentic audiences and purposes, not just for the teacher), for example--they just learn ABOUT these things. That video was interesting--not radical in its approach, but certainly focused on why this makes SENSE rather than on rules, as math is often taught. Thanks!
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