Comments on: Why School Sucks http://betch.edublogs.org/2007/09/14/why-school-sucks/ education + technology + ideas Fri, 05 Dec 2008 07:41:29 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.5.1 By: cburell http://betch.edublogs.org/2007/09/14/why-school-sucks/#comment-627 cburell Sun, 16 Sep 2007 20:45:54 +0000 http://betch.edublogs.org/2007/09/14/why-school-sucks/#comment-627 Great post from a blog I'm happy to have just discovered! I just returned from the Learning2.0 conference in Shanghai, where I got to mention in an unconference with Will Richardson that Australia's equivalent of the absolutely horrible American AP (Advanced Placement) test is lightyears more progressive than the AP exam. I agree that school sucks (my blog has an "unschooling" tag dedicated to the subject), but agree with you that Australia is less depressing than America, when all is said and done. And as an American abroad (I'm in Seoul), I find this depressing. Again, great post (and Doug Noon's a great blogger, isn't he?). Great post from a blog I’m happy to have just discovered!

I just returned from the Learning2.0 conference in Shanghai, where I got to mention in an unconference with Will Richardson that Australia’s equivalent of the absolutely horrible American AP (Advanced Placement) test is lightyears more progressive than the AP exam.

I agree that school sucks (my blog has an “unschooling” tag dedicated to the subject), but agree with you that Australia is less depressing than America, when all is said and done. And as an American abroad (I’m in Seoul), I find this depressing.

Again, great post (and Doug Noon’s a great blogger, isn’t he?).

]]> By: tfogarty http://betch.edublogs.org/2007/09/14/why-school-sucks/#comment-624 tfogarty Sat, 15 Sep 2007 08:49:40 +0000 http://betch.edublogs.org/2007/09/14/why-school-sucks/#comment-624 Should we do some Visioning along the lines 'What I would do if I ran education in Australia?' What would we do if we started with a clean slate (sorry there is probably a better phrase to use). What are the teaching and learning processes we know will work? What are the process competencies we knwo every kid will need in the future? I'm not agin some content, I like a lot of what we do. However, I do get frustrated that we are not given the opportunity to work with kids in school to the extent I would like on the things that really matter. Values Truth Thinking Searching Reflecting Writing Sorry, I'm rambling. Again, I am sure someone else has been thinking longer and harder on this, and is more experienced than me. Our problem is that education, as it is, is well established. It seems that the political line on education is a cricle with both parties encamped within. This needs to change or Australia will never achive its potential. terry Should we do some Visioning along the lines ‘What I would do if I ran education in Australia?’

What would we do if we started with a clean slate (sorry there is probably a better phrase to use).

What are the teaching and learning processes we know will work?

What are the process competencies we knwo every kid will need in the future?

I’m not agin some content, I like a lot of what we do.

However, I do get frustrated that we are not given the opportunity to work with kids in school to the extent I would like on the things that really matter.

Values
Truth
Thinking
Searching
Reflecting
Writing

Sorry, I’m rambling.

Again, I am sure someone else has been thinking longer and harder on this, and is more experienced than me.

Our problem is that education, as it is, is well established. It seems that the political line on education is a cricle with both parties encamped within.

This needs to change or Australia will never achive its potential.

terry

]]> By: Chris http://betch.edublogs.org/2007/09/14/why-school-sucks/#comment-623 Chris Sat, 15 Sep 2007 08:39:20 +0000 http://betch.edublogs.org/2007/09/14/why-school-sucks/#comment-623 Mate, that's the $64,000 question isn't it? ;-) They are VERY much still focussed on content and not process, and that's really what started this little rant the other day. I wish I had a good answer to offer, but I'm not sure I do. I suppose the first step is to start raising awareness among the general teaching population that the current way it works does not serve our students well, and that as long as we blindly accept that it is the way it is because it is the way it is, then nothing will change. Mate, that’s the $64,000 question isn’t it? ;-) They are VERY much still focussed on content and not process, and that’s really what started this little rant the other day. I wish I had a good answer to offer, but I’m not sure I do. I suppose the first step is to start raising awareness among the general teaching population that the current way it works does not serve our students well, and that as long as we blindly accept that it is the way it is because it is the way it is, then nothing will change.

]]> By: tfogarty http://betch.edublogs.org/2007/09/14/why-school-sucks/#comment-622 tfogarty Sat, 15 Sep 2007 08:14:33 +0000 http://betch.edublogs.org/2007/09/14/why-school-sucks/#comment-622 Chris, Couldn’t agree more with what you say. How do we get the Australian Board of Studies to go own that path? Seems to me they are still focused on product (content) rather than process. Terry Fogarty Chris,

Couldn’t agree more with what you say.

How do we get the Australian Board of Studies to go own that path? Seems to me they are still focused on product (content) rather than process.

Terry Fogarty

]]> By: Chris http://betch.edublogs.org/2007/09/14/why-school-sucks/#comment-621 Chris Sat, 15 Sep 2007 07:33:35 +0000 http://betch.edublogs.org/2007/09/14/why-school-sucks/#comment-621 Sammyjo, perfect opportunity to speak up here... Sammyjo is an ex-student of mine, and completed the HSC last year. I would be really interested in your perspective here Sam... Would you mind posting a considered comment with your reaction to some of these things? I think it would make for a really worthwhile conversation. Terry, my view on this has always been that we need to teach students HOW to learn, not WHAT to learn. If a student grows into an adult that can, as Alvin Toffler wrote, learn, unlearn and relearn, then we will have prepared them well to deal with the world they are growing up in. If we just spoon feed them a collection of sanitised, prepackaged content (like the syllabus dictates) then I think we do them a huge injustice. The underlying principle of most school systems seems to be to focus on WHAT to learn. If you think in terms of the amount of knowledge that students must learn then of course they will never be able to learn it all, especially if it keeps increasing at the current rate. However if we focus of ensuring that a student knows how to find information when they need it, how to see the world through the lens of intelligent questions and give them strategies for finding intelligent answers, then, in my opinion, we have done vastly more to equip them for life than simply knowing the correct answers to the narrow range of "knowledge" bundled into the current syllabus. Sammyjo, perfect opportunity to speak up here… Sammyjo is an ex-student of mine, and completed the HSC last year. I would be really interested in your perspective here Sam… Would you mind posting a considered comment with your reaction to some of these things? I think it would make for a really worthwhile conversation.

Terry, my view on this has always been that we need to teach students HOW to learn, not WHAT to learn. If a student grows into an adult that can, as Alvin Toffler wrote, learn, unlearn and relearn, then we will have prepared them well to deal with the world they are growing up in. If we just spoon feed them a collection of sanitised, prepackaged content (like the syllabus dictates) then I think we do them a huge injustice. The underlying principle of most school systems seems to be to focus on WHAT to learn. If you think in terms of the amount of knowledge that students must learn then of course they will never be able to learn it all, especially if it keeps increasing at the current rate. However if we focus of ensuring that a student knows how to find information when they need it, how to see the world through the lens of intelligent questions and give them strategies for finding intelligent answers, then, in my opinion, we have done vastly more to equip them for life than simply knowing the correct answers to the narrow range of “knowledge” bundled into the current syllabus.

]]> By: Sammyjo http://betch.edublogs.org/2007/09/14/why-school-sucks/#comment-620 Sammyjo Sat, 15 Sep 2007 05:36:13 +0000 http://betch.edublogs.org/2007/09/14/why-school-sucks/#comment-620 TOO RIGHT!! TOO RIGHT!!

]]> By: tfogarty http://betch.edublogs.org/2007/09/14/why-school-sucks/#comment-616 tfogarty Fri, 14 Sep 2007 21:25:16 +0000 http://betch.edublogs.org/2007/09/14/why-school-sucks/#comment-616 One aspect of the new knowledge regime that intrigues me is how do institutions such as the BOS and schools cope with the doubling of knowledge every ‘few hours’. As I see, there is only so much time in a teacher’s day, right? Time is finite, right? If there is so much more knowledge for students to learn, where do we fit it all in? What do we stop teaching? Should there be lots more shorter courses? I am sure someone has thought about this and has THE ANSWER? One aspect of the new knowledge regime that intrigues me is how do institutions such as the BOS and schools cope with the doubling of knowledge every ‘few hours’.

As I see, there is only so much time in a teacher’s day, right? Time is finite, right? If there is so much more knowledge for students to learn, where do we fit it all in? What do we stop teaching? Should there be lots more shorter courses?

I am sure someone has thought about this and has THE ANSWER?

]]>