Lockhart argues in part essay, part dialogue between Salviati and Simplicio, that math is an art to be discovered, not to be taught by rote.
education
It makes you incapable of talking to people unlike you; inculcates a false sense of self-worth; offers too much security; and trains leaders, not thinkers, argues Deresiewicz. Also, he discusses the importance of solitude.
It's been a while since I've done an old-fashioned linkdump. All of these are articles or posts that I wanted to respond to but never found the time to, and yet had stuck in my bookmarks.
- an interview in Fast Company with John Taylor Gatto about teaching and homeschooling
- three articles by Dave Pollard: ackwnowledging that he's an intense person, arguing that blogs haven't really filled a real need yet, and un-interviews
- an argument for no more advertisements in video games, which I think I found looking for arguments about how video games are the new music distribution channel
- Derek Miller wants more active voice in news broadcasts, and I agree: I bet if you did a content analysis of just one BCTV newscast, you'd find enough passive voice to write a blog post about
- I read Why Newspapers Matter, Danger to Human Dignity: the Revival of Disgust and Shame in the Law, The Gentle Art of Selling Yourself, Why Americans hate Paris Hilton, Marketing to Introverts and the Gentle Art of Saying No long enough ago to forget what they said
- William Safire on addressing people in written correspondence. How I address people depends on how close I am to them. I'm cheerier to customers and usually address them by name the first time they send in an email. But generally, the closer I am, the less likely I'm going to address them by name.
Donna Cameron and Terry Anderson examine cognitive and teaching presence, identity, focus, safety, ownership of space, exploration, integration and learning through blogging.
Reading Doc and AKMA on an article in The New York Times on home schooling (called "unschooling" in the article, which sounds like people could think it means "uneducating", but is instead meant to distinguish from the the traditional or status quo, much like the word "unconference"), I find similarities with arguments like those of John Taylor Gatto. Gatto writes in his essay—not mentioned in the article, perhaps because it's outside even the home schooling mainstream?—that traditional schools only teach confusion, class position, indifference, emotional and intellectual dependency, conditional self-esteem, and surveillance—compelling, if checked by the fact that my sister, an elementary school teacher, loves her job and her students, and whom I believe is a good teacher loved by her students and their parents.
Both Doc (and Julie, whom I thought of immediately reading Doc's piece linked at the top) are familiar with Gatto, which would lead me to guess that Gatto's omission from the New York Times article, its embarrassing correction and all, is puzzling (because of his influence on homeschoolers) or explainable (ditto). My research on the subject consists only of stumbling on links, since I'm childless (my plans for the foreseeable future—May 2007, if you must know—assume that continues). Always in the back of my 28-year-old mind, however, is the question "how would I educate my child(ren)", and while I can't make a decision now, among the values and personality traits I'd like to instill, or would like their teachers and mentors to instill in them would include love, strength, playfulness, seriousness, intelligence, athleticism, grace, and above all, curiosity.
That, in the hope that they will learn from the mistakes of their father, a regular sleep schedule.
Schools only teach us confusion, class position, indifference, emotional and intellectual dependency, conditional self-esteem, and surveillance, says John Taylor Gatto.
Both are must-reads. Also: Julie increased her coolness factor by 1 for listening to Kanye West.
He advocates no classroom, no lectures and no tests. The traditional educational system is failing a generation of would-be free enterprisers.
