School tends to be a one size fits all proposition, and some children are misfits. Despite the best efforts of schools and teachers, some children just do not do well in a large classroom. Home schooling parents have more freedom to find ways to adapt the curriculum and environment to make learning work for their … Continue reading Misfits
teachers
Gifts my mother gave me
The Nelson Gage Dictionary has this note about teaching: Teach emphasizes giving information, explanation, and training, by guiding the studies of the person who wants to learn. Every little child is a question box, wanting to learn about the world in which he finds him/her self. The questions become wearisome for parents. We don’t have … Continue reading Gifts my mother gave me
Reality, Respect, Responsibility
A modest proposal to revitalize the education system 1. Reality Education should be geared towards teaching children how to think, not what to think. This means equipping them to be literate, numerate and articulate. Those are the fundamental skills that will enable them to learn everything else they will need to learn in life. Children … Continue reading Reality, Respect, Responsibility
Not how it’s supposed to work
Someone once described education as a process whereby information gets from the teacher’s outline into the student’s notebook without passing through the mind of either. -Douglas Wilson
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
Kids are different today
"Kids are different today," I hear ev'ry mother say Mother needs something today to calm her down And though she's not really ill There's a little yellow pill She goes running for the shelter of a mother's little helper And it helps her on her way, gets her through her busy day. For readers not … Continue reading Kids are different today
Flatlander Faith 