Comments on: Harder vs. Smarter

By: Ian

Ian — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 09:45:07 +0000

Regarding developing a more integrated curriculum, there has been quite a lot of discussion in the UK about this.

The RSA recently released a report based on a survey of schools and a review of inspections of schools who are using our Opening Minds framework to plan a more integrated curriculum – http://www.thersa.org/projects/education/education-v.2/education-news/ofsted-rates-opening-minds

And governement sponsored review recently advocated a themed approach in primary schools, provoking quite a bit of comment – http://rsaeducation.wordpress.com/2008/12/08/the-rose-review-beware-flying-mud/

By: A. Mercer

A. Mercer — Sun, 07 Dec 2008 17:02:27 +0000

@Questioning The parents of both my poor immigrant students, and non-immigrant-been in the country at least as long as my ancestors-parents at consensus level rates indicate that they want their children to go to college. They have no idea how to support their kids getting there, they may unintentionally undermine efforts for their children to get there, but they have the same dreams for their kids to go to college (and not just on sports scholarships). Also, can I point out not all immigrant groups are the same? I have a large population of S.E. Asian refugees at my school from Cambodia/Laos and they have college attendance rates in the 1-3% range (although that seems to be changing).

By: Charlie A. Roy

Charlie A. Roy — Sat, 06 Dec 2008 21:56:35 +0000

@Clay Burell Clay I finished "America's Hidden History" over the Thanksgiving holiday. Sounds like a similar strand I think you'd like it.

By: Doug Noon

Doug Noon — Sat, 06 Dec 2008 11:15:36 +0000

Unslicing the pie is a good way to think of it. I tell students that pizza was invented to help us teach fractions. But unless we spend some time putting the pieces together, that’s all we teach – bits and pieces.

By: Clay Burell

Clay Burell — Sat, 06 Dec 2008 06:46:08 +0000

Excellent post, Doug. I’m slowly making my way through James Loewen’s _Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your US History Textbook Got Wrong_, and just this morning finished a chapter called “Land of Opportunity” that intersects with your post on several levels (and that I’d recommend “Questioning” above read).

I was about to write a monster comment here trying to sketch those intersections, but I think I’ll take a page from Downes and post it on my space, and link back here.

I downloaded the _Investigating Systems_ packet and skimmed it, then went to Brady’s webpage. Intriguing stuff. I’ve often thought about how life didn’t start to make any sort of “systematic” sense to me at all until I was well into my 30s – and that my quest to figure it all out started _after_ high school, when I was in my 20s – and have spent most of my teaching career trying to get students in my classes to make connections from my classes to all their other classes. To unslice the pie.

And it’s that slicing that fails, to get back to your post, to seem to make most students _want_ to work harder.