After reading "Why School?" by Will Richardson, I feel torn about the vision that Richardson has for education. I agree that education needs to change. I agree that the world as we know it is constantly changing and schools must constantly be changing along with it. I also agree that it is preferable for schools to be ahead of the technology curve, rather than behind it. Richardson writes that in one new educational vision “learning ceases to focus on consuming information or knowledge that’s no longer scarce. Instead, it’s about asking questions, working with others to find the answers, doing real work for real audiences, and adding to, not simply taking from, the storehouse of knowledge that the Web is becoming" (p. 43). Students truly do benefit from working with their peers in both small and large group settings. At my current school site, Vista Magnet Middle School, students work together at their table groups for the majority of each class period. They engage in meaningful discussions and in turn are developing mature communication skills. The reason why I am torn is because I feel that structure is necessary. I also feel that most students, given the opportunity, would not spend their time studying mathematics if it was not required of them. Although one can find Algebra and Geometry tutorial videos on the internet, that does not mean that they would access them willingly. As a math lover, this thought makes me nervous. I can recognize that technology replaces almost every daily mathematical need of the common man, such as calculating a tip and converting measurements. However, the person who programmed the software to make those calculations possible is a mathematician. Perhaps, if education changed as drastically as Richardson is suggesting, that mathematician may have never developed a love for math if he/she had not been exposed to it in a math classroom. Overall, I feel that Richardson makes a strong argument. The world is ever changing and the education system is falling behind.
Of the six Unlearning/Relearning ideas, I feel that I will have the easiest time committing to #2: Discover, don't deliver, the curriculum. In my K-12 education, curriculum was delivered to me. I must admit that when I first began learning about "discovering" mathematics, as an education technique, I was skeptical. I was not convinced that this could actually work. However, I've seen it! 6th grade students at VMMS used their knowledge about calculating the area of a rectangle to derive the formula for the area of a parallelogram. From parallelogram, they derived the formula for the area of a triangle, and finally, trapezoids. The students discovered patterns, tested theories, and created convincing arguments. As a teacher, I want to facilitate this type of learning in my classroom.
I feel that I might struggle with #1: Share everything. The main reason that I feel I will struggle with this Unlearning/Relearning idea is simply because of time. I have no problem sharing my work with others and I enjoy collaborating with other teachers. However, I worry that I will not have time to keep up with the online community of teachers who post and share lessons frequently. This is a skill/goal that I will need to work towards.
Of the six Unlearning/Relearning ideas, I feel that I will have the easiest time committing to #2: Discover, don't deliver, the curriculum. In my K-12 education, curriculum was delivered to me. I must admit that when I first began learning about "discovering" mathematics, as an education technique, I was skeptical. I was not convinced that this could actually work. However, I've seen it! 6th grade students at VMMS used their knowledge about calculating the area of a rectangle to derive the formula for the area of a parallelogram. From parallelogram, they derived the formula for the area of a triangle, and finally, trapezoids. The students discovered patterns, tested theories, and created convincing arguments. As a teacher, I want to facilitate this type of learning in my classroom.
I feel that I might struggle with #1: Share everything. The main reason that I feel I will struggle with this Unlearning/Relearning idea is simply because of time. I have no problem sharing my work with others and I enjoy collaborating with other teachers. However, I worry that I will not have time to keep up with the online community of teachers who post and share lessons frequently. This is a skill/goal that I will need to work towards.