"The business of turning real objects into flat pictures is a convention, like language, and like language, it must be learned." John Holt
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"This was not because of the teacher, who was a very understanding and gentle woman, and gave these children much m... http://tl.gd/8qhkh4anderscj
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"It is ironical that China, a country vastly poorer than we are, should attach so much importance to children's art... http://tl.gd/8qi484anderscj
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I am not sure about the truth in this statement.
"art is a powerful and essential way for many children both to explore the world around (and inside) them and to ex... http://tl.gd/8qi5nlanderscj
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"One of the fundamental ideas behind most of what we do in school is that children should and must spend many years... http://tl.gd/8qifi7anderscj
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"One of the fundamental ideas behind most of what we do in school is that children should and must spend many years memorizing a lot of dull facts before they can begin to do interesting things with them. This is a foolish way to go about things, and it doesn't work." John Holt
"Most children get so fed up with learning the dull facts that they quit before they get enough of them to do, or e... http://tl.gd/8qigejanderscj
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I am beginning to see a little bit of this in my own daughter, who is in kindergarten.
"It seemed as if their schooling had been for so long so far removed from reality that they were no longer able to ... http://tl.gd/8r8vbdanderscj
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"the matter of freedom, to choose how to do this, or to choose not to do it, is all important." John Holtanderscj
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"We thought we had set up in our class a laboratory in miniature, and that the children would accordingly act like ... http://tl.gd/8r9cmdanderscj
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"until their mental models of the world had enough pendulums in them so that talk about pendulums would mean someth... http://tl.gd/8r9t7fanderscj
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"We teachers like to think that we can transplant our own mental models into the minds of children by means of expl... http://tl.gd/8r9uaaanderscj
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"When learning is at the most fundamental level, as it is here, with all the abstractions of Newtonian mechanics ju... http://tl.gd/8ra0ntanderscj
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"Not only must we cross that line many times, but in the words of the old spiritual, nobody else can cross it for u... http://tl.gd/8ra2h8anderscj
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"If you once let children evolve their own learning along paths of their choosing, you then must see it through and... http://tl.gd/8ra56landerscj
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"We must recognize that there are some teachers who like being 'leader-draggers.' They like to feel that they are a... http://tl.gd/8ra99danderscj
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Them are fighting words. Anyone want to dispute this? I would love to hear what you think:
"We must recognize that there are some teachers who like being 'leader-draggers.' They like to feel that they are at every moment in control, not only of the child's body, but also of his mind. They like to feel themselves the source of all knowledge, wisdom, and learning in the classroom. Some such teachers are moved by a love of power, of which the classroom gives them plenty; others, by a deep and sometimes desperate need to feel useful, necessary, and even indispensable to their students. Both kinds are strongly threatened by any suggestion that children can and should learn on their own." John Holt
"Many other teachers would like to give their students more independence and self-direction but are held back by fe... http://tl.gd/8raalianderscj
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This seems more palatable. I know I have encountered teachers of both breeds:
"Many other teachers would like to give their students more independence and self-direction but are held back by fear of the standardized tests by which their pupils, and they themselves, will be judged." John Holt
"When children have no autonomy in learning everyone is likely to be bored." John Holtanderscj
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"in a small class you may be able to maintain at least the illusion that you have complete control, and that everyo... http://tl.gd/8racvoanderscj
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Pay attention Detroit teachers to these quotes, they may be what you will have to live by very soon:
"in a small class you may be able to maintain at least the illusion that you have complete control, and that everyone is doing the same thing at the same time; in a large class it becomes impossible." John Holt
Detroit Public Schools: proposed budget cuts result in half of schools closed, class sizes up to 60 students http://tinyurl.com/4n5coma
Bill Sterrett
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"Many people talk as if our problem was to make the city schools as good as the ones in the suburbs. This is not th... http://tl.gd/8rafbkanderscj
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"Many people talk as if our problem was to make the city schools as good as the ones in the suburbs. This is not the problem at all. We have been able to afford boredom and miseducation in the suburbs because the children have been willing to put up with it—though we may not be able to afford it there much longer." John Holt
@anderscj Holt is interesting... otoh, what is the answer when there is no spark to learn? For some it burns out really early
Ron Amundson
mnphysicist
@mnphysicist I don't believe that. If you sit downwind you can always feel the heat from a flame.anderscj
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@mnphysicist problem has to do with whose learning objectives are really important and whose are addressed.anderscj
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@mnphysicist How often do we ask students what they want to know?anderscj
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@anderscj is it perhaps that systemic issues block what little bit of flame that remains?Ron Amundson
mnphysicist
@mnphysicist systemic issues are pt of the problemanderscj
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@anderscj roger on the learning objective thingRon Amundson
mnphysicist
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