2 Comments

1. 

   Dan Meyer on June 7, 2007 at 11:28 pm

   Fun series, Scott. For whatever it’s worth to you and your fellow school change folks, I typically wind up with less of an “I Rule” feeling than a “You Don’t Really Get Me At All, Do You?” feeling.

   There’s just too much demonizing in the discussion. Lecture even a little from the front and your only agenda must be the outright subjugation of your students. Fail to incorporate 21st-centry tech in your classroom and you’re stubborn, out of touch, and blog fodder for a zillion frustrated agents of school change.

   I’ve been enjoying (http://mscofino.edublogs.org/) Kim Cofino, recently, who grounds her enthusiasm for tech in an teacher-led, organizational structure that kind of breathes empathy for those teachers who do have Flickr accounts but who don’t have their kids Twittering.

   You, Lehmann, Cofino, and a few others manage the balance. The usual soapboxing just leaves me exhausted, though.

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2. 

   Scott McLeod on June 8, 2007 at 5:19 am

   Thanks for the kind words, Dan, and the link to Kim. I try to ground my teaching in what I think is the ultimate question: “How’s it working for ya?”

   If kids are learning and engaged (and you can show this with data), then we’re doing fine. It’s only when kids are not learning and engaged that we need to reexamine our assumptions and our teaching techniques. Unfortunately, many educators (postsecondary included) think that what they’re doing is fine despite evidence to the contrary (e.g., the average 25%-30% dropout rate: anyone want to own this? anyone? anyone? How about the student boredom rate? anyone?). This violates the “I rule!” principle because we’re not really focusing on the needs of students…

   What a great thing it would be if every day every student walked away from school thinking “I rule!,” not in an empty, narcissistic, self-esteem way but an empowered, academically-grounded, self-efficacy way.

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