tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5648820059035540727.post6719543660201422104..comments2024-02-22T00:08:21.406-08:00Comments on Leading Light: Black and WhiteKateGLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09016771214433267354noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5648820059035540727.post-19209426284241709922013-03-17T05:51:22.184-07:002013-03-17T05:51:22.184-07:00I appreciate your point, and agree with you on som...I appreciate your point, and agree with you on some points, but isn't there a danger of creating another, new orthodoxy which a lot of children don't fit in with? I feel it's not always opportune to divide pupils or children up between boys and girls.. Sport could be an example to illustrate.. not all boys like football or rugby. I feel a better approach, albeit a potentially very expensive one, would be to devise education around learning styles. Again, this may be a bit utopian though. Marc Tnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5648820059035540727.post-45656897532167587052013-03-16T04:07:01.054-07:002013-03-16T04:07:01.054-07:00Insightful as ever, Kate, and you make a deceptive...Insightful as ever, Kate, and you make a deceptively simple yet powerful point Dave - what we already know but do little with. If I have a personal hero in this era, it's Sir Ken Robinson who articulates ways forward that align with my values. <br /><br />For me, it's a systemic challenge muddied by conflicting political agendas and exacerbated by the frightening rate of environmental change. Achieving consensus seems light years away, hence a lot of frustration. <br /><br />As individuals, we can take action within our spheres of influence and true leaders can make a significant difference. Collaborative action can also accelerate change as we have witnessed all over the world recently. Incremental v radical, idealism v pragmatism, and/and.<br /><br />Ever hear of Dr Fons Tompenaars? He advocates a way of reconciling dilemmas - if position A is opposed to position B, move beyond compromise through to a new place, C. For example, the Catholics in N Ireland called their city Derry and the Protestants called it Londonderry. Some people didn't want to offend others so would refer to it as Derry/Londonderry which was clumsy. A DJ started using the term Stroke City. Through/through - through A and B through to C. Let's find C. <br />dashhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09434422270414437102noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5648820059035540727.post-41572608321515422952013-03-16T03:16:33.900-07:002013-03-16T03:16:33.900-07:00I fear the education system also suffers from the ...I fear the education system also suffers from the short-termist issues of cost constraints. There is so much that could and should be done to enhance the learning experience (including differentiated ways of teaching to enable a greater number of learners to thrive; a better connection between employers and academics/educational establishments, in the broadest sense, to enable greater cohesion; and stronger encouragement/celebration of and links between learning and growth at all stages of age and employment) but we have entrenched legacy systems and the cost of change is daunting (whereas the cost of not changing is not really being considered...)KateGLhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09016771214433267354noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5648820059035540727.post-91126994683154997422013-03-16T02:06:49.617-07:002013-03-16T02:06:49.617-07:00Oh how I feel conflicted on this...
On the one h...Oh how I feel conflicted on this... <br /><br />On the one hand application of learning is critical and we will learn that from teaching, support, experience, etc.<br /><br />On the other hand every bone in my body shudders at the thought of someone spending almost 20yrs of their early life gaining something (what is it?) that is then largely ignored or forgotten.<br /><br />We rightly value education but I wonder if its widespread formalisation has created an orthodoxy that misses both the purpose and the modern need. I wonder if the nut to be cracked first isn't the current immovable system...<br /><br />We already know and can clearly observe the difference in boys & girls innate learning preferences in early years curriculum. To differentiate engagement approaches up to the age of 6/7 would seem sensible. Yet we continue to ask boys to respond & perform in the same way as girls to a common teaching approach.<br /><br />We know there is a difference. We know that difference is meaningful. We know there could be better, differentiated ways to teaching boys & girls. Yet nothing changes.<br /><br />If we can't get the early years right, dealing with what we know, then how can do we expect the system to develop to accommodate the needs of the future?Davidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09236773980616751709noreply@blogger.com