Tuesday, June 23, 2020
Important piece
An important article at Spiked on school shutdowns.
British schools have already reopened in a limited way, which places them ahead of most US schools but behind most Euro schools.
The author, Katharine Birbalsingh, is a British school principal who knows what she's talking about.
We have currently got our Year 10s and 12s in, except they are only in school one or two days a week and we have been doing video lessons with them as well. Because we are quite a strict school, we have had them working really well. We have done phone calls to every single family once a week throughout lockdown, and the kids have been completing the work. And yet it is really interesting – we find that they do not remember a lot of it. My teachers are pulling their hair out. It really is a great concern. I really think this has put to bed once and for all the idea that technology could ever replace a school or a teacher. Schools and teachers are essential for children to learn, particularly for children from disadvantaged backgrounds.Yup. EXPERIENCE is all that matters. Learning comes from the EXPERIENCE of being in the same room with the teacher and other kids, and working TOGETHER on shared projects. All muscles and senses are involved. With video or software, the eyes and ears are involved but nothing else. There's no walking to the blackboard, no math toys, no Legos or aquariums or dissected frogs. No muscle learning. Life is PURPOSE. A good teacher can create a shared PURPOSE for the learning, and can use the faster kids to help teach the slower ones. Competition and cooperation are part of the process. Parents with more time and resources can create a similar environment at home, but poor parents can't. Video and software are good HELPERS for real teachers but can't possibly REPLACE real teachers. (Note that I have a vested interest in courseware, so I may be overestimating the value. It may be nearly zero.)
Labels: Experiential education
¶ 5:45 AM
