Expected, Inspected, & Respected.
"Knowledge is of no value unless you put it into practice." Anton Chekhov
What are the goals of schooling?
I believe the goal of education is to prepare students intellectually, socially, civically, and economically to live a more fulfilled life in a civilization that is enhanced because of the knowledge, skills, and values that have been learned. Educators should teach fundamental skills in mathematics, science, and literacy and instill in them a desire to pursue knowledge for its own sake. Educators should help children gain the social skills necessary to navigate the complex culture in which they are embedded, while empowering them to make ethical decisions. Educators should teach students critical thinking, an integral skill that will allow them to make informed decisions about issues that affect their lives. Lastly, educators need to prepare students to meaningfully participate in a future economy that is rapidly changing - where adaptability, creativity, innovation, collaboration, and problem finding and solving will be essential skills. What should be taught? These skills should be taught via core subjects such as science, ELA, and math. Critical thinking and drawing logical conclusions based on evidence should be learned through the interrogation of the universe in science class. Exploring language and literacy in ELA, in order to understand and be understood, is crucial to the development of communication and comprehension. Students require the tools of mathematics to solve problems, think strategically, and bring precision to their thoughts and words. Additionally, I believe that the curriculum should always be relevant to the learners. That relevance may apply to students’ lives now or in the future, but a student should always be able to say why they are learning something. How should it be taught? When considering how to teach the core elements, an essential question that George Couros says we should ask ourselves is, “Would you want to be a student in your own classroom?” I believe the classroom should be a place where students feel safe, supported, and challenged, where they are motivated and engaged in their learning as their curiosity is stoked. As Plutarch said, “The mind is not a vessel that needs filling, but wood that needs igniting.” In the interest of igniting this fire, I believe that the classroom should be student-centred in the progressivist tradition where students have choice: opportunities to follow their own interests and pursue their passions through inquiry and problem-based learning. It is essential that it is understood that the classroom is a community of learners where everyone is a teacher and everyone is a learner. By giving children a voice to share their own learning and to learn from others, they will be able to reach Vygotsky’s Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) and benefit from More Knowledgeable Others (MKO). The goal is to get students past compliance and obedience, past engagement (where they care about what we are teaching them), and onward to educational empowerment (where they achieve the knowledge and skills to continue learning on their own). Students need some level of autonomy and purpose in order for them to achieve mastery over their own learning so that they own the process of education and see it as a continuing endeavour, not a race to the finish line at graduation. According to Carol Dweck (1999), this is more easily achieved if we promote and emphasize learning goals (where the focus is on increasing competence) rather than performance goals (where the focus is on looking smart) (15). What are the roles of the teacher, students, families and community? The most important role of the teacher is to connect with their students. As Theodore Roosevelt said, “Nobody cares how much you know until they know how much you care.” The teacher must then create an atmosphere where students feel safe, supported, and challenged. To achieve this goal, the teacher should create a context for learning where children, in their role as active participants in their own education, can engage in activities that interest them and use each other’s knowledge to scaffold to greater heights of learning. However, the teacher does not just stand aside and watch the students explore and discover. They must guide, support, and encourage students in their pursuit of mastery by forming groups, providing challenges that are relevant to real life situations, and asking probing questions. Families and communities play an important role in the knowledge building that takes place in the classroom as well. Parents or guardians need to make sure their child comes to school ready to learn: clean, fed, and having had a good night’s sleep. Teachers and families need to keep in touch so that each is aware of the individual student’s needs. It is also imperative to invite family and community members into classrooms to share their expertise and wisdom with children. In this way, the school experience is not separate from the day-to-day lived experience of the child, but a part of it. When the classroom is opened up to the wider community, everyone benefits.
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David Wiebe
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