Tuesday, February 22, 2011

Twitter Book Club: John Holt (1964) How Children Learn - Chapter 4

Reading

"But we must be aware that their ignorance and clumsiness are often painful to them, and we must be careful not to ... http://tl.gd/8m9b9tless than a minute ago via Twittelator


This explains a lot, lets repeat it:
"But we must be aware that their ignorance and clumsiness are often painful to them, and we must be careful not to rub their noses in their own weaknesses. Parents who do everything well may not always be good examples for their children; sometimes such children feel, since they can never hope to be as good as their parents, that there is no use in even trying." John Holt
It explains why children of super wealthy parents often don't live up to much. It explains why sometimes building things with my kids and their Legos doesn't result in them wanting to build more with them like I would think. It explains why so often a teacher with great content knowledge has trouble reaching their students. It explains a lot.

"No doubt it is exciting and inspiring for a child interested in athletics, or music, or dancing, or art, or drama,... http://tl.gd/8m9dgcless than a minute ago via Twittelator



"Even in the privacy of out own minds, we do not like to be made to feel ignorant and stupid. Confronted with what ... http://tl.gd/8m9ihrless than a minute ago via Twittelator



"This spirit of independence in learning is one of the most valuable assets a learner can have, and we who want to ... http://tl.gd/8m9jl3less than a minute ago via Twittelator


How can we encourage this spirit of independence when we are told what students must be taught and at what times in their development they must receive the instruction? How does the most articulated curriculum honor this in kids? My sense is that the most articulated and standards aligned curriculum is probably crap when put into practice.

"the things we learn because, for our own reasons, we really need to know them, we don't forget." John Holtless than a minute ago via Twittelator


Search your feelings Luke, you know this to be true.

"Most of the time, I just sat still and silent—a very hard thing for a teacher to do, particularly one who, like me... http://tl.gd/8m9nsfless than a minute ago via Twittelator



"To understand the learning problems of another person, particularly a child, we must try to see things as if through their eyes." John Holtless than a minute ago via Twittelator



"Most children, when they start to read, have been looking at and seeing letters for a long time. This is the exper... http://tl.gd/8m9shdless than a minute ago via Twittelator



"Asking children questions about things they are only just beginning to learn is like sitting in a chair which has ... http://tl.gd/8n07vqless than a minute ago via Twittelator



"Dumb questions not only insult and anger children but often confuse them enough to destroy some of what they have ... http://tl.gd/8n0aacless than a minute ago via Twittelator



@anderscj context for that quote?less than a minute ago via Twitter for iPhone



@jerridkruse It's from John Holt's (1982) revised edition of How Children Learnless than a minute ago via Twitterrific



@jerridkruse He basically calls into question the value of quiz-like questions for formative assessment. Says it's insulting to the learner.less than a minute ago via Twitterrific



@anderscj ah, the quiz like makes sense, but more open-ended questions are extremely valuable.less than a minute ago via Twitter for iPhone



@jerridkruse yeah, that is what he calls for. Make sure questions to children are honest questions, not meant to quiz them.less than a minute ago via web



"The worst damage we do with all this testing is to the children's own confidence and self-esteem, their belief tha... http://tl.gd/8n0ishless than a minute ago via Twittelator


I think this calls into question most educators' understanding of formative assessment. Lets repeat it:
"The worst damage we do with all this testing is to the children's own confidence and self-esteem, their belief that others trust them to learn and that they can therefore trust themselves. For every unasked for test is above all else a statement of no confidence in the learner. That I check up at all on what you have learned proves that I fear you have not really learned it. For young children, these repeated votes of no confidence can be devastating." John Holt
I think formative assessment is important but let us take this into consideration when we devise methods of doing it, especially with very young kids.


"Books for little children, beginning readers, have so few words and so many pictures that many children may not be... http://tl.gd/8oc3leless than a minute ago via Twittelator


I really don't think this is true but it is a valid concern.

"We act as if children were railroad trains running on a schedule...we say that if children are going to know so mu... http://tl.gd/8ocauhless than a minute ago via Twittelator


I absolutely love this quote. Lets repeat it:
"We act as if children were railroad trains running on a schedule...we say that if children are going to know so much when they go to college, then they have to know this at the end of this grade, and that at the end of that grade. If a child doesn't arrive at one of these intermediate stations when we think he should, we instantly assume that he is going to be late at the finish. But children are not railroad trains. They do not learn at an even rate. They learn in spurts, and the more interested they are in what they are learning, the faster these spurts are likely to be." John Holt

"What makes things easy or hard for our minds has very little to do with how little or how much information they ma... http://tl.gd/8ocdc1less than a minute ago via Twittelator



"when they learn in their own way and for their own reasons, children learn so much more rapidly and effectively th... http://tl.gd/8ocevhless than a minute ago via Twittelator


again, another quote that proves why Holt has been a champion of the unschooling movement:
"when they learn in their own way and for their own reasons, children learn so much more rapidly and effectively than we could possibly teach them, that we can afford to throw away our curricula and our timetables, and set them free, at least most of the time, to learn on their own." John Holt

"Children do not need to be made to learn, told what to learn, or shown how. If we give them access to enough of th... http://tl.gd/8ocghhless than a minute ago via Twittelator



"Children trying new things are like plants putting out little green shoots. We must be careful not to cut them off." John Holtless than a minute ago via Twittelator



RT @anderscj: "Children trying new things are like plants putting out little green shoots. We must be careful not to cut them off" John Holtless than a minute ago via TweetDeck



"How much might self-set challenges occur in school learning if time and space were allowed for them to happen and be observed?" John Holtless than a minute ago via Twittelator


This is precisely why I am a fan of what Ananth Pai is doing with his 3rd graders in his classroom. While I might argue with him about the the purpose of school, I completely agree with his choice to bring student choice and challenge games into his curriculum.

"What all too often happens there is that they learn to see school challenges as threats, which they usually are, n... http://tl.gd/8ocsscless than a minute ago via Twittelator



"Little children want to be able to do what bigger children can do and do." John Holtless than a minute ago via Twittelator



"I only wonder whether an educational revolution as profound as open education can survive in the long run unless i... http://tl.gd/8od3ueless than a minute ago via Twittelator



"People will seize any excuse for believing whatever they want to believe." John Holtless than a minute ago via Twittelator

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