Kids make their mark in life by doing what they can do, not what they can’t...School is important, but life is more important. Being happy is using your skills productively, no matter what they are. ~ Howard Gardner One of the underlying premises of CCSS appears to be that students who cannot read and write on an advanced college level are destined to be unsuccessful in life. Not everyone can be an advanced reader, no matter how hard they try. Do proponents of CCSS really believe that the 15 to 20% (NICHD) of our population with language-based disabilities are doomed to failure in life? The heck with art, film, literature, poetry, music, sports, vocational, trade, and alternative education programs...force feeding complex informational texts 70% of the time is the key to success in college and careers for all students. Rather than focusing our efforts on teaching students how to learn we should be creating rigorous learning activities and experiences that capture students’ interest and stimulates their own desire to learn, also known as “flow”. The dynamic interaction between a teacher and student is unpredictable, spontaneous, and an imperfect alliance that cannot be mass produced or scripted through prepackaged lessons and units. There are some things of value in life, like the powerful relationship between a teacher and student, that are not easily quantified and measured. A teacher may wear many “hats” during the day; educator, counselor, mentor, role model, referee, parent, advisor, and friend. It is fanciful to suggest that a single score on a standardized test is somehow going to assess the overall effectiveness and quality of a teacher or even begin to measure the impact a teacher has had on his or her students and how that will be manifested and revealed in their future achievements and accomplishments. Above all, instruction and assessment should be student-centered not Pearson and Grow Network/McGraw-Hill centered. Education should be about preparing future artists, caregivers, citizens, leaders, problem solvers, decision makers, innovators, teachers, and volunteers....not test takers. Learning is more about discovering what you don’t know than it is about applying and recalling what you do know Schools should be in the business of creating diverse and stimulating learning environments and experiences where a childs athletic, artistic and creative talents are free to flourish and thrive. Education should always be focused on helping each student to discover his or her unique gifts and abilities while providing numerous opportunities for students to pursue their passions. ~ John The Art of Learning Source: Welcome to the Machine; Education 2.0 learningfromlyrics.org/teachyourchildrenwell.htm
Posted on: Sun, 03 Nov 2013 20:39:45 +0000
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