learning

Back to their future – together!

Posted by kima ⋅ August 12, 2011 ⋅ 3 Comments

This was part of my speech on August 7 at Portland, Oregon during the 8th Annual AERO Conference — Transforming Education & Our World and was originally posted at the TEDxKids@BC website. I hope you will enjoy the video I made for the occasion – bear in mind that this was my first attempt at video editing! I am … Continue reading »

Bullshit freedom or freedom bullshit?

Posted by kima ⋅ June 25, 2011 ⋅ 8 Comments

Imagine this scene: — You walk into a bank with your 7 year old daughter (or son) and ask to see an account manager as you would like to open an account in her name, so she can start saving money and use her own debit card when she chooses to buy something with her … Continue reading »

The Hope That Lies at the Root of Humane Education

Posted by zoeweil ⋅ June 16, 2011 ⋅ 3 Comments

I wanted to share a recent post I wrote for Care2.com, an online community for people passionate about creating a better world. Here’s an excerpt from The Hope That Lies at the Root of Humane Education: As Joan Baez put it, “Action is the antidote to despair.” So when I feel hopeless, I harness my … Continue reading »

What’s high school for?

Posted by kima ⋅ May 6, 2011 ⋅ 3 Comments

I don’t always agree with Seth Godin, but I usually find his thoughts valuable beyond the world of marketing and entrepreneurship he usually writes about. I was so glad he decided to venture into the question of “what value could (or should) high school bring?” in today’s blog post, he suggests we should teach the future generations … Continue reading »

Have you ever stopped playing?

Posted by kima ⋅ May 1, 2011 ⋅ 4 Comments

Cross-posting from my personal blog as I believe this is relevant to this group and the readers of this blog too. I am looking forward to your feedback! It felt like a very long day today — a failure on one of the servers at work almost led to loosing all our customer data! The … Continue reading »

Rewards: motivating compliance or learning?

Posted by kima ⋅ April 21, 2011 ⋅ 12 Comments

I sometimes pretend and say ‘Yay!’ – my 7 y/o daughter explaining how she learned to ‘comply’ in her school Incentive schemes, which are supposed to encourage desired behavior through the use of rewards, or discourage undesirable ones through punishments, are all too familiar to all of us. Probably similarly familiar are the findings that … Continue reading »

I learn for a living!

Posted by kima ⋅ April 18, 2011 ⋅ 18 Comments

Recently, a blogger friend commented on my personal blog: ”It is hard to imagine myself as a once great curious and academically thriving student!” When I read that I had hard time thinking of a meaningful answer, but I think I have one after attending http://edcampvancouver.org yesterday! Bunch of educators gathered together to discuss various topics, among … Continue reading »

A Powerful, Crucial Vision for the Future of Schooling: Teaching 2030

Posted by zoeweil ⋅ April 8, 2011 ⋅ 2 Comments

Teaching 2030: What We Must Do for Our Students and Our Public Schools… Now and in the Future is perhaps the most cogent, reasonable, clear, and yet visionary book about educational reform in the 21st Century. Written through a collaboration of twelve teachers/teacher-leaders and changemakers, Teaching 2030 steers clear of rhetoric, either/ors, political side-taking, and … Continue reading »

Khan Academy: A Revolution in Education

Posted by zoeweil ⋅ April 1, 2011 ⋅ 9 Comments

One of the questions that I’m frequently asked is: How can humane education –- which explores the interconnected issues of human rights, animal protection, environmental preservation, and culture, providing students with the knowledge, tools, and motivation to become solutionaries for a better world –- be added to an already overburdened curricula? There is so much … Continue reading »

Want Better Schools? Exalt Great Teachers

Posted by zoeweil ⋅ March 28, 2011 ⋅ 8 Comments

For my blog post today, I’m sharing an essay I wrote that was published on Common Dreams.org, a progressive news site. Here’s a short excerpt: “We all have our stories of bad teachers. Most of us have memories of being bored, frustrated, anxious, and often miserable at school. We love our great teachers, and we … Continue reading »

Attention please! I just stopped paying attention – to you!

Posted by kima ⋅ March 24, 2011 ⋅ 11 Comments

This is a repost from my personal blog. I wrote this almost four months ago but it still resonates with me when people take someone’s attention for granted. I hope posting it here may prompt additional feedback from the people reading this blog. No, you’re not annoying, just boring! Attention is the new currency in … Continue reading »

Educator Arnold Greenberg: Counting What Can’t Be Counted

Posted by zoeweil ⋅ March 9, 2011 ⋅ 3 Comments

Arnold Greenberg, founder of Miquon Upper School in Philadelphia, Deep Run School of Homesteading, and Liberty School – A Democratic Learning Community, lives in an off-the-grid cabin in East Blue Hill, Maine. He wrote this essay, “Towards a Different Standard: Counting What Can’t Be Counted,” which I wanted to share with readers of Cooperative Catalyst. … Continue reading »

Teaching: The Most Noble Profession

Posted by zoeweil ⋅ March 7, 2011 ⋅ 3 Comments

For my blog post today, I’m sharing an essay I wrote that was published on Common Dreams.org, a progressive news site. Here’s a short excerpt: “In college a friend in medical school told me that he thought that medicine was the most noble profession. It was a strange statement, really, and quite provocative. I wondered … Continue reading »

Adora Svitak on the “big” changes in education

Posted by kima ⋅ February 25, 2011 ⋅ 14 Comments

In order to make anything a reality, you have to dream about it first! The goal is not to turn kids into your kinds of adults, but rather better adults than you have been! – Adora Svitak, 13 years old writer, poet and humanitarian speaking to adult audience at TED 2010 Editor’s note: Ever since I joined … Continue reading »

Learning? Yes, of course. Education? No, thanks.

Posted by kima ⋅ February 17, 2011 ⋅ 21 Comments

Education teaches us that our native abilities for learning are inadequate, that they must be developed and improved upon by submitting to or even seeking out pedagogical management of some sort. ~ Aaron Falbel, a free-lance writer, editor, philosopher, and musician I was recently introduced to Aaron Falbel, who had the great privilege to have known and be … Continue reading »

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