Many people are disturbed by the disorder in the world today, but we have very different ideas about the cause and an even sharper difference in our ideas about a remedy. As mentioned in my last post, the decline in our society did not begin with the Humanist Manifesto. That manifesto was merely one step … Continue reading A disinherited generation
discovery learning
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That is my age, as of today. I saw my doctor for my annual physical checkup yesterday. He told me that I am fine and that arthritis is normal for someone my age. In other words, arthritis, like old age, is incurable. I got to thinking about a couple of Bible verses relating to old … Continue reading 80
How did our education system get where it is today?
The best description I have read of the thinking behind our public education system is Les déshérités (The Disinherited) by Francois-Xavier Bellamy, published in France in 2014. Bellamy traces the root of modern educational thinking to the philosophies of René Descartes and Jean-Jacques Rousseau. René Descartes (1596-1650) believed that all knowledge could be attained by … Continue reading How did our education system get where it is today?
Discovery learning
The Province of Alberta recently announced a complete transformation of their teaching methods. The new model is based on the wonderfully naive expectation that a classroom of 30 children of the same age will learn much better if the teacher is relegated to the background and not allowed to teach. Where does this dewy-eyed credulity … Continue reading Discovery learning
Flatlander Faith 