This is a fantastic video which questions how we can learn, how we can be taught and raises many different questions about our own psyche perhaps.
Collaborative learning works well, sharing ideas and thinking differently works. I too believe in students and their capacity to learn, be creative, be evaluative and have an equal voice. That to me is important in my style of teaching. Reflection and being a reflective practitioner comes naturally to me. Yet we know there are many ways to teach, learn and assess.
The Finnish education system works. And addressing different ways to approach an assessment, well that works too.
On another note, it actually reminded me of my dad who was a well respected Music teacher for many years and how he viewed the curriculum. I'll leave that to one of his star pupils, arguably one of Scotland's finest female writers, to describe that. There's a wee link to an article from Janice Galloway at the bottom of this post.
If you have any comments on the video or the newspaper article, please note them below as I'd like to hear your thoughts.
Have a lovely weekend,
Mark
This is a great video as someone who was educated with these old school teachers it's great to see a new way of teaching. There is of course the old style of teaching out there won't name any names!.I was surprised and pleased when I started college to see how much it has changed and how much tutors now interact a lot better with students. It creates a better atmosphere thank you for that.
ReplyDeleteThere's no right or wrong way to teach I guess, but I think it is vital to get to know the class, address their needs etc. and try and engage in the best possible way. I teach all classes differently depending on what each one is up for as it were. And I always enjoy working with students, which is half the battle of course.
DeleteThis defiantly hit home with me.
ReplyDeleteWhen I think of my school days, I now know I was not pushed to achieve my potential although I’m not the most academic person all it really needed was a little more time to process and I could’ve achieved much better results.
I want to be a primary school teacher now and the idea of teaching children to reach their potential, regardless of background really excites me. Modern teaching needs to be about thinking outside the box, if someone doesn’t understand first time change the method of delivery rather than leaving them to struggle on, this is of course only based on my own experience mainly in high school in a smallish town.
Every student deserves the chance to succeed regardless of backround.
On a side note the article about your dad must make you very proud and pushed you to achieve.
Yes, you are quite right, everybody deserves an equal chance to learn, improve skills etc. I like the flexibility my subject lends me and try hard to maintain standards and levels of engagement.
DeleteThis video is fantastic!! I watched a ted talk which was similar and it's amazing that nowadays education covers a lot more than it did from when I was at school however it could be even better if we focus more on the creative side - everyone is good at something and if we explored more activities and arts from a young age then who knows what our kids could grow up to be!
ReplyDeleteWas that the Ken Robinson TED talk Kirsty? If so, I have used both of his over the years and we will maybe have a look at that sometime in the Ne'er.
DeleteYep! That's the one do schools kill creativity - very similar to this video and worth the watching.
DeleteWhat a well illustrated message! Motion in many ways I beleive this is important for humans beings to constinually develop and expand our mind and thinking.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comments Ana and welcome to the blog!
DeleteI don't think it'll be like this forever. Society is aware the system isn't working for everyone, without a doubt the upcoming generation will transform the classroom as we know it. I just hope books are still around by the time i'm old.
ReplyDeleteThere will, in my opinion, always be a demand for books. People like the look of a book, the smell, the annotation, the bookmark, the displaying etc. But of course the technology is such that more and more people only read online. It is a matter of convenience and taste I guess!
DeleteAa
ReplyDeleteIve finally gotten round to watching this video (I'm hiding on the stairs away from the kids!). Verdict-amazing.
ReplyDeleteI've read articles and watched the news whenever this subject rears its head, as it does every now and then, however this is the best way I've seen and heard the arguement put forward. I've not even popped the wine yet but it made me feel quite emotional. It seems so obvious that this arguement is right, our education system is failing masses of children and young people. I truly hope to be part of the generation that fixes it!
My own husband, who's now 44, was absolutely a fish being made to climb a tree and as a result he left school without the ability to read or write and a feeling he would amount to nothing (boy did he prove them wrong!).
He received no support at school. Fast forward 30 years and two of my step children are dyslexic like their dad. I'm pleased to say the support they receive is 100 times better than what their dad received however I very much credit this to their very proactive high school. I do not feel this is reflective of education across Scotland.
I do think society is slowly beginning to realise that the one size fits all approach is failing. Largely I think this is due to individual parents battling their kids corners and demanding appropriate support for their children's specific needs however it shouldn't need to be a battle.
Children should leave school every day feeling they have learned something (and I don't mean how to read or count), feeling empowered, valued and that they can contribute to the world. I hope Scotland will take the lead on this!
P.s. I feel like I should say I believe that a vast majority of individual teachers are aware of this and try their best to meet the needs of all the children in their care however they are constrained by the inflexibly of the system. I have a friend who was a headteacher for many years and has now quit, in her 40's, so was her frustration with the system
Deletehi, this is me just getting to the blog! just watched the video and with my personal experience of school it was the case that because I wasn't getting straight A's and achieving the highest score I felt I was pushed to the side and left to my own devices, it's wrong that the teachers only fuss over the smarter people for the better stats at the end of the year for the benefit of themselves and the school.
ReplyDeleteBut none the less I fully do not regret waiting until I was ready to come back to education but in hindsight, there is a lot of unneeded peer pressure in going to college/university that's unnecessary that people end up getting into certain courses that they do not wish for but society tells them to do so. People should do what they want to do is my point. :)
Welcome to the blog Megan, nice to have you on board! Sometimes you have to wait for the right time for Further or Higher Education and in most cases, it is worth doing. I believe in equality for all students and my teaching, learning and most importantly assessment decisions will be fair and reliable. Some pass, some don't, but I have never believed in a pecking order. Sadly, and quite correctly though, you are right, and I know it does happen in schools regarding personal teacher's pass rates etc. All for one, that's what I believe in, and quite evidently, so did my dad! Hope to see you round these pages again.
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