Education professors have damaged
generations of K-12 teachers and administrators at the Minneapolis Public
Schools and in locally centralized school districts throughout the United
States with notions rooted in the need to survive at
universities wherein other professors know so much more.
Consider these terms from the education professor’s
lexicon, followed by my own comments:
Accessing Skills
This refers to the use of websites and
other forms of cyber-technology, along with traditional encyclopedias,
dictionaries, and other forms of print to gain information needed at a certain
time for a particular purpose.
At their own pace
The term of reference asserts that a child
best learns at her or his own pace, rather than according to the dictates of a
teacher or in the context of learning targets to be met by an entire group of
students at the same time.
Authentic Assessment
This form of assessment is of the
portfolio, project, demonstration type, allowing a student to show what she or
he knows about a topic typically selected by the student herself or
himself; this form of assessment is
counterpoised to measurement of student skill acquisition via multiple choice
and other formats for providing definite answers in taking standardized tests.
Break the Mold Schools
This is a term much in vogue from the 1980s
forward, referring to schools inaugurated by parents, teachers, and community
members who endeavored to utilize methods that could produce higher rates of
learning or more satisfying learning opportunities for students; the advent of charter schools in the early
1990s became a widely prevalent version of “break the mold” schools.
Child-Centered Schooling
This is a term first made popular by Harold
Rugg in his 1928 book, The Child-Centered
School; “child-centered schooling” focuses on the interests and perceived needs of
the individual child, in contrast to traditional instruction, which transmits
set bodies of knowledge to students.
Competition
“Progressive” educators have since the
1920s argued against pitting students against each other in attempting to
achieve top grades and high scores on test.
Constructivism
Proponents of this view assert that
education should begin with the life experience of each individual child, so
that all information is either sought by the student as an extension of
personal experience or carefully introduced by the classroom facilitator so as
to build on what the child already knows.
Cooperative Learning
This form of learning provides opportunities
for students to pursue information on topics selected by the classroom facilitator
in a group context, advocated by education professors as preferable to requiring
students to study or seek information individually.
Critical Thinking Skills
Along with “lifelong learning,” this is one
of the key emphases of education professors, who maintain that critical
examination of topics of immediate interest is more important that learning a
set body of knowledge.
Developmentally Appropriate
Educators and other “progressive” educators
maintain that introducing concepts before a child is ready can be demoralizing
and psychologically harmful to the girl or boy;
the student should not be presented with information earlier than age
ranges at which children typically encounter concepts.
My Comment >>>>>
Accessing skills
These are not efficiently utilized in the absence
of strong bases of knowledge; the
absence of contextualizing information necessitates quick and typically shallow
understanding, rather than the acquisition of knowledge inculcated and
internalized over an extended time, to the point of automaticity.
At their own pace
Letting students decide how fast they will learn is by no means satisfactory for acquiring
the enormous body of knowledge at the core of an excellent education; students should be the recipients of
knowledge and skill sets possessed by teachers who are themselves broadly and
deeply knowledgeable, with a strong sense of the pace at which information is
best acquired.
Authentic Assessment
This is a supplementary rather than primary
format for the demonstration of student knowledge and skill; well-constructed standardized tests are the
fairest, most objective means to measure student achievement in mathematics,
reading, and all subject matter.
Break the Mold Schools
Well-trained scholars operating at the
level of the locally centralized school are better positioned than most parents
and community members to inaugurate and manage schools; the perceived need to launch “break the mold
schools” is a testimony to the terrible training that administrators and
teachers receive in departments, colleges, and schools of education.
Child-Centered Schooling
Adult educators should nurture young people
as village elders and responsible adults have always imparted knowledge and wisdom
to those who shall carry forth and innovate upon their cultural inheritance.
Competition
Numerous scholarly investigations
demonstrate that tests and grades are powerful motivators for the acquisition
of specified knowledge and skill sets;
an excellent teacher conveys an excitement about the pursuit of
knowledge for the intrinsic satisfaction of learning while establishing
instruments for measuring student achievement.
Constructivism
Especially for students whose families have
had limited opportunities for education, travel, and experiences with the world,
the intentional introduction of knowledge and skill sets by a broadly
and deeply knowledgeable teacher is vital to an excellent education; all children should be understood in the
context of their life circumstances, but such circumstances are neither the
basis for the starting point of study or the foundation for curriculum.
Cooperative Learning
Group study must be adroitly overseen by a
highly killed teacher as a supplementary rather than prime mode of
learning; vital student learning
proceeds best on the basis of individual assignments, group discussions, and individually
demonstrated acquisition of knowledge and skill sets on objective assessments.
Critical Thinking Skills
Astute thought can only occur on the
strength of a strong body of knowledge pertinent to the matter being analyzed.
Developmentally Appropriate
No preconceived notion of when a child can
learn a given skill or knowledge set should proscribe what the precocious or
highly motivated learner seeks to know or is able to learn under the sensitive guidance
of a master teacher.
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