Philosophical Meanderings

857 wicked design problems

Posted by Chad Sansing ⋅ June 22, 2012 ⋅ 3 Comments

Amidst the traffic resulting from President Obama’s visit to Orlando, I thought of Arne Duncan in Washington, DC, and his 857 desks. I thought also of University of Virginia Rector Helen Dragas and her 3 meetings. And I thought about walking around Epcot last night while talking politics and education with my mom, a happily … Continue reading »

The boundless valley

Posted by Chad Sansing ⋅ June 21, 2012 ⋅ 14 Comments

[Author's note: much of this post is inspired by Bethany Nowviskie's "Reality Bytes."] Public schools and universities in the United States are increasingly governed by corporate interests that supersede, transverse, and transgress local and state code and control. There is a tremendous amount of tension between academic tradition and capitalist pursuits, and sometimes that tension … Continue reading »

Counting, measurement, and the Fraser Report

Posted by alanthefriesen ⋅ June 20, 2012 ⋅ 4 Comments

This year’s Fraser Institute report is in. For those of you unaware of what this means, the Fraser Institute is a private Canadian “think-tank” that concerns itself with education and statistics, attempting to create “a free and prosperous world through choice, markets, and responsibility” by ranking Canadian schools. Every year, the Fraser Institute releases “report … Continue reading »

Education: The Past, The Present and The Future #2

Posted by Paula White ⋅ June 16, 2012 ⋅ 10 Comments

You know you’ve read a good post when it makes you have several different thoughts about something important. While this post begins like another, it has a totally different ending… Recently I read an article from District Administrator magazine entitled, “The Three New Pillars of 21st Century Learning” … Continue reading »

Education: The Past, the Present and the Future

Posted by Paula White ⋅ June 16, 2012 ⋅ 7 Comments

Recently I read an article from District Administrator magazine entitled, “The Three New Pillars of 21st Century Learning” … Continue reading »

Mandatory Education Is Not Cruel and Unusual Punishment

Posted by Pernille Ripp ⋅ June 14, 2012 ⋅ 25 Comments

Cross posted from my blog, Blogging Through the Fourth Dimension An interesting debate has been sparked in the comments section of my post “Not Grading is Awful” here on the Cooperative Catalyst, with some people stating that forced school is inhumane. I have been pondering this for a bit and I must say I disagree; having an educational … Continue reading »

Creating a National Collective Voice of Young People

Posted by charles kouns ⋅ June 13, 2012 ⋅ 20 Comments

“School is constantly causing us to forget who we are in the first place. I’m not dropping out, I’m choosing to leave. I’m choosing to not follow their plan. Yes, it works for a lot of people, but most of them are only in school because they’ve all become too oblivious to themselves and too … Continue reading »

a quiet revolution …unfolds

Posted by monika hardy ⋅ June 10, 2012 ⋅ 3 Comments

all five videos

Real Reform: What we DO want (?)

Posted by iteach4change ⋅ June 10, 2012 ⋅ 9 Comments

Easy way to get a new post – paste your treatise from another blog… Yesterday (Sat. 6/9) this was posted on BlueJersey: “There’s a lot written here about what we don’t like about the right wing education “reform” agenda – the attack on unions, privatization, etc. I’m at an education panel at Netroots Nation, and … Continue reading »

“It’s not about the tool” – a naïve myth.

Posted by peter skillen ⋅ May 28, 2012 ⋅ 16 Comments

“It’s not about the tool – it’s about the learning.” – a naïve myth. I think I understand the intent of these kinds of statements. I believe it is a reaction that arises because some teachers and kids are focusing on the skills required to use the tool rather than on the ‘subject-matter’ at hand. … Continue reading »

Women Educators and Philosophers: A Crowdsourced Celebration

Posted by dloitz ⋅ May 26, 2012 ⋅ 78 Comments

The majority of teachers in this country are women, their impact on the history of education is vast, but only a few are covered in textbooks on education or talked about among the major thinkers in the history of education. Their wisdom, experience and action research in and out of the classroom has helped shape … Continue reading »

Educating and being educated.

Posted by Jabreel Chisley ⋅ May 24, 2012 ⋅ Leave a Comment

We are approaching the horizon of a national crisis that is being ignored, blanketed in dissolution of hopes that it will be one of those “work itself out” issues like we hoped with the 2000’s financial meltdown. Our feelings about this crisis are the same as they were in that crisis because the same lack … Continue reading »

Sustained by Love from Comrades (SLC)

Posted by iteach4change ⋅ May 24, 2012 ⋅ 1 Comment

Now is one of the few times I’m glad I have no time to write. I started writing a post in April and had to do it in pieces. I was almost all set to post something when I just had to change it. My next post was going to be titled “Time for Some … Continue reading »

A Standardized Composition Test

Posted by Brent Snavely ⋅ May 22, 2012 ⋅ 5 Comments

We know bubble sheets are unrelated to “real life”. I think we made the “education thing” up by constructing much nonsense about the written word being the supreme method of sharing ideas and information. I think we have forgotten that sharing experiences and doing things together are matters that (1) allow us to learn and … Continue reading »

Of Education, Learning, School and the School of Life

Posted by Brent Snavely ⋅ May 13, 2012 ⋅ 4 Comments

After spending (much too much) time with the written words of such ilk as Plato, William James, C.S. Lewis, Focault, Derrida and others, I decided to attend a one and one-half week seminar at an ‘alternative ed’ school — I went camping with the Indians. They have been running their school for many generations. In a manner … Continue reading »

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