In line with what you are saying about the perennial conversation about education’s goals, I was surprised today when looking through a Praxis II study guide, I came across this statement, “Although one key purpose of education is graduating students who are responsible citizens capable of participating thoughtfully in a democratic society, educational practices have a tendency to foster dependency, passivity, and a ‘tell me what to think and do’ complacency.”

Later, I read Peter Gray’s article on Psychology Today (http://ow.ly/TavT), titled “‘Why Don’t Students Like School’ Well Duhhhh…” it’s because they love freedom, he writes, and schools are prisons.

Surprisingly, the fusion of these two ideas, one from a major corporate testing company and the other a psychologist who sent his kids to Sudbury Valley School is very much one I can subscribe to.

Largely educational institutions, which I think most have the same goal as the one from the study guide, are mills and factories. They are a series of pull these levers, and push these carts, and jump these hoops, and do as I say and repeat what I say, activities. There is no culture of participatory democracy or thoughtfulness.

Mock elections and the like don’t prepare students for being thoughtful citizens in a participatory democracy. Telling kids that if their answers aren’t one of the options available to be marked on a scan-tron sheet then their irrelevant, isn’t crafting thoughtfulness, it is molding people who know how to manipulate a system, to beat the game, or at least survive it. And teacher prep programs are often no different! How often do students in teacher prep programs have any say in their program of study or the governance of their college or university?

Teaching prep programs don’t apply enough of the theory they cover in classes. Again, I point to Goddard College, as one of the few institutions that truly has a history of innovation and pedagogical implementation that practices what it has teachers-to-be study. Not only do students read Dewey but they live out his books in their experience at Goddard. They can offer truly interdisciplinary and learner-centered experiences to their students, because they themselves have done it. The understand critical pedagogy because they practice it, in workshops and in their own reflective practices.

Friends who have gone through highly regarded teacher-certification programs, note that while they learn philosophers like Dewey exist and a bit about what they had to say, it is mostly just to put a check-mark in box on a list. They don’t wrestle with the ideas and concepts, they are introduced to such ideas, because they are supposed to be, to say that they have. By example they learn how to “teach.” That they need to get the test scores so that they can pass. To get the test scores you do as they say, and you tell them what they said. This is then taught to their their students in K-12 classrooms so that they can “pass,” so that the school gets its money from the government and they get their paycheck. We forget about the higher orders of Bloom’s Taxonomy. We forget about what it truly means to be thoughtful and learning.

“It is difficult to get people to understand something when their salary (or other reward) depends on them not understanding it.” -Upton Sinclair

Further more Goddard doesn’t “teach” the theory of participatory democracy, they are in the process of practicing it. Just like the dichotomy of our culture-that of the ideal of democratic government system, but the everyday experience of our jobs being controlled by corporate monarchs or oligarchs-our educational institutions are no different. They preach one thing and practice another.

So, for me, the answer lies in getting in line with one’s values, personally and institutionally. To take the risk of behaving differently if it is in accordance with a larger truth. I am a fan of Zoe Weil and the Institute for Humane Education. They too practice what they teach, which is the idea of doing the most good and the least harm in the world. This is a simple, yet revolutionary model of thought and action. They demonstrate that by living and offering the experience that can transform the students own lives, they can then in turn offer these experiences to others in a ripple effect of emancipatory relationships. Unfortunately, oppressive pedagogies like those employed by many institutions, only make sure that each person is keeping the chains locked on the next.

I am grateful for this very thought-provoking conversation and those contributing to it. So thank you, Aaron, Kathie, and Terry. I hope that we can all support each other, if even only through this conversation to bring about meaningful change.

In peace,
Adam

http://www.ncate.org/public/010410_BRP.asp

AE

Tsmith – educational technology doctoral student/classroom teacher 15 years

First I want to congratulate you on being a veteran of 35 years. That is a feat that deserves serious recognition, and I hope that people thank you on a daily basis for your contribution to the success of America’s youth. I also like your proportional idea with regards to time in the field vs. class. I also think that your point about “reflection” is critical to college students learning to become high-quality teachers. My final thought revolves around you, as a person. I would like to see more teachers, such as yourself, in college classrooms working with students. I don’t even mean for you to have to teach the whole class. Taking someone and rotating them across four classes so that they work with the same group every four cycles would add a wealth of knowledge and experience to a field overly crowded with theory that isn’t practical for first-year students.

Thanks for your comment and your commitment.

Kathie

Aaron,

I am glad that my response was well received and I look forward to continued conversations. As for being best friends, I grew up in New Jersey so we’re practically brothers.

Adam

My struggle with college prep programs has part to do with certification requirements. I teach high school math. To get my endorsement, I had to major in math, so I have a BA degree with majors in math and a secondary teaching endorsement. In most high schools, the highest math class taught is Calculus 1. I struggle with being required to take such high level math classes when I had little or no time on how to teach Algebra 1. I think more time on the pedagogy of teaching the content would be much more beneficial. Just my two sense.

Warmest Regards,

Eric Townsley

I agree with much that you say here, except one critical point. Through my experience in various educational environments, I question the ideal of a college student spending one day in traditional college classes. I have found such an experience to be significantly unsuccessful in developing the qualities we need in teacher’s today.

Building on your previous post of “school reform must focus on its culture,” in order for this to be successful we must evaluate all aspects of the culture.

Culture, being the second womb, is all encompassing, and its easy to forget that. Thus, I argue, that school reform begins in teacher training programs and the institutions in which they are embedded. If these are done in traditional fashion, which is essentially the receptacle method (students are empty receptacles for teachers to fill up) that Paulo Freire called out for being a method of oppression, then we need to stop perpetuating the problem from the get-go.

More effective in my experience, are progressive pedagogies, such as the one employed by Goddard College. Students design their own program of study incorporating state competencies for licensure and standards of accreditation. Students live all over the world in their home communities, completing their studies in cooperation with other students and advisers. They set up their own experiences to gain mastery of skills, of which, I agree should be (and is) regular practice in applying concepts and reflecting upon their experiences.

We must re-evaluate our basic assumptions about what education is for, and what a teacher’s role is. Only from here can we truly begin to change cultures and bring about lasting, meaningful, and effective school reform. Otherwise, we are just painting the door a different color. In many cases we need to move into a completely new building or go outside (woah!). Instrumental reading for reflection in this area includes Ron Miller’s “What Are Schools For?” and Parker Palmer’s “The Courage to Teach.”

If we are not providing the structure for incoming teachers to being practicing this type of thinking and learning from the get go, then we have already set the trap for nothing of great substance to happen in reform efforts.

I appreciate your efforts in creating learning communities to affect positive change and allowing me to air my point of view here.

With Hope,
Adam Burk