Tags for "Discussion"
Welcome to ‘Got Questions?’
The first has to do with my own life as a young person. I remember being very excited about the concept of democracy: People coming together to decide, through discussion and compromise, through an open exchange of ideas, the best course of action that they, as a group, should take. Perhaps that is why I never understood censorship or indoctrination. If you believe an idea to be wrong, let it out in the world so it can be proven wrong. Don't turn it into a precious subversive commodity that people can rally around without being given the space to truly understand it or its... Where’s the Line? Putting Democratic Teaching Ideals to the Test
"Stop doing that and apologize."
"What? She doesn't care."
"She's not going to tell you she cares, but I do.... Teacher and Student Roles
The teacher calls the shots, runs the show, sets the agenda and the deadlines, informs students of how things will go on in their classroom, and is the person who has the knowledge -- which is to be passed on from his or her mind to the students of the classroom. And this is all usually done through teacher-led discourse and method, within the constraints of school curriculum of course.
The students (in theory) are to absorb all of the knowledge being offered to them, respond diligently and respectfully to the teacher's commands and direction, raise... Is Education Meant to Be Easy? And other ruminations on required assignments
Each week, I give students anywhere from 25 to 50 pages to read for class and I ask them to... The Nature of Ideas
To me, this means that public school in its current form is sacred to most Americans. The faith put in it is such that there isn't always an open mind when alternatives are suggested. It may not be a religious institution,...
Posted on Oct 14, 2009 - 02:16 PM by Jonah Canner in Got Questions?
Welcome. Before I begin responding to your questions I would like to say two things about what I will be doing here.The first has to do with my own life as a young person. I remember being very excited about the concept of democracy: People coming together to decide, through discussion and compromise, through an open exchange of ideas, the best course of action that they, as a group, should take. Perhaps that is why I never understood censorship or indoctrination. If you believe an idea to be wrong, let it out in the world so it can be proven wrong. Don't turn it into a precious subversive commodity that people can rally around without being given the space to truly understand it or its... Where’s the Line? Putting Democratic Teaching Ideals to the Test
Posted on Nov 11, 2009 - 11:41 AM by Kristan Morrison in democracy.edu
In my efforts to model democratic practices to pre-service teachers, I ask my students at the beginning of each class, "Are there any questions, comments, concerns, suggestions, complaints?" Usually I am met with silence or with just basic housekeeping-type questions (e.g. when do we have to take Praxis II? etc.). Occasionally, though, a student will offer a concern or complaint about the work load or impending due dates, or they'll propose a change to a grading rubric item. For example, in the last month, I had students request to be able to pre-record their Pecha Kucha presentation (a sort of slam poetry form of powerpoint presentation -- 20 slides in 20 seconds each to explore an... Skinner Box to FreedomPosted on Nov 17, 2009 - 08:44 PM by Ammerah Saidi in The Learning Curve
So, there I stood. In front of my thirty 9th graders, hour after hour, watching them write letters to each other, put their gum under their desks, talk to their neighbors while the assigned worksheet on the parts of speech I just spent the night before diligently creating fell silently to the floor. Think I am being melodramatic? I wish! In one class, I laughed to myself for a solid thirty seconds (a long time in high school time), after I spent three minutes going back and forth with a student as to why throwing wads of paper at a girl he did not like was unacceptable."Stop doing that and apologize."
"What? She doesn't care."
"She's not going to tell you she cares, but I do.... Teacher and Student Roles
Posted on Nov 20, 2009 - 02:52 PM by Shawn Strader in Op-Education
Just about anybody who has attended public school has experienced the distinction that seems to often exist between student and teacher.The teacher calls the shots, runs the show, sets the agenda and the deadlines, informs students of how things will go on in their classroom, and is the person who has the knowledge -- which is to be passed on from his or her mind to the students of the classroom. And this is all usually done through teacher-led discourse and method, within the constraints of school curriculum of course.
The students (in theory) are to absorb all of the knowledge being offered to them, respond diligently and respectfully to the teacher's commands and direction, raise... Is Education Meant to Be Easy? And other ruminations on required assignments
Posted on Dec 04, 2009 - 01:51 PM by Kristan Morrison in democracy.edu
The semester is winding down for my teacher education students and me. We are all filled with that sense of anticipation that comes when you see hard work reaching an end. It is at this time each semester that I start gathering my thoughts about changes I want to make to my courses for the new semester, and it is at this time when I ask my students to give me advice and feedback on how things went for them in my class. Inevitably, the conversation comes around to the reading responses -- the weekly written assignments where students give evidence of having read and processed the assigned texts.Each week, I give students anywhere from 25 to 50 pages to read for class and I ask them to... The Nature of Ideas
Posted on Dec 13, 2009 - 11:47 PM by Kris Sage in Sage Wonderings
One of the things that I found appealing about democratic education is that, in its essence, it's a challenge against a widely accepted norm. There are many different suggested ways within democratic and alternative education circles to challenge the norm, but most all of them are against public school in its current form. But it's worth noting that not only is it a challenge against the norm - it's a challenge against a norm that many people do not think twice about.To me, this means that public school in its current form is sacred to most Americans. The faith put in it is such that there isn't always an open mind when alternatives are suggested. It may not be a religious institution,...