After reading the article at www.answers.com/topic/elementary-education-current-trends a few things stuck out to me. One is that is says that curriculum and current trends in education are a "focus of concern and disagreement." I think that just about sums it up. Everyone has an opinion, but what are we really doing about it? We are all concerned about it because ultimately we are all effected by it in one way or another and yet we tend to sit back and think that it is someone else's problem (even teachers)! It reminds me of the people that don't go out and vote and then spend the next 4 years complaining about who the president is. We need to earn the right to complain and disagree by putting ourselves out there!
The article takes education in several countries and talks about the similarities and differences. I liked part of the Japan section where it talked about the focus of their education being to "work together to become healthy in mind, body, and spirit." In the United States we sometimes focus so much on the test scores and where we are compared to other countries that we forget to work together and we forget that we are educating PEOPLE. We don't always take into account the whole child when we are teaching them. I am forced to think about some of my students that come to school worrying about where their next meal will come from and I am asking them to focus on spelling? Fat chance!
Just some interesting ideas and of course, more questions to ponder!
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I also liked how in Japan they focused their education on "working together to become healthy in mind, body and spirit." I think that is one thing we can take away and use in the United States. Also I agree with what you said about people who don't vote and spend the next 4 years complaining. There are more and more kids worrying about food and shelter or even wonder what their home life will be like when they get home and this affects their performance in the classroom and their behavior.
ReplyDeleteI agree too that "less is more" in regards to our expectations for curriculum and learning. We all more or less know that the teachers who have fewer, but very clear rules and expectations for their students usually have more success and compliance from their students from a management standpoint. I think our policy makers are focused on accountability because of the few teachers who do not do their job and as a result, all teachers are forced to comply to standards that hold them back as opposed to highlighting their strengths.
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