Facing The Future
Facing The Future Originally uploaded by duncmc [Update: Comments have been closed.] So, where to, now? I tried direct instruction. It “worked” in that,* students meekly did what they were told* it gave students a feeling that they were in a “proper” class, taught by a teacher “in charge”* it was easy to sort the [...]
Looking back (5)
Where To Now? Originally uploaded by Katelyn Gibson Gatto and Holt made the most convincing arguments, and provided the most practical help. Holt pointed out that children (people) learn most from what they themselves actually do, rather than from what teachers do (or don’t do): “Learning is not the product of teaching. Learning is the [...]
Looking back (4)
facing the wall Originally uploaded by NEINmeister I began to question my own values and assumptions:* was it necessarily A Good Thing to offer more choices, more autonomy?* what if my cultural values and those of my students were different, like Lisa Delpit describes? If that were true here, too, then I might not be [...]
Looking back (3)
Look Back Originally uploaded by InTheSunStudio The next stage (tho it wasn’t actually so neatly chronological) was reading stuff about empowerment, about language as power, about power differentials, about the classroom as a stage where power plays are enacted. That seemed to make some sense: * were my students perhaps behaving in ways similar to [...]
Looking back (2)
the look back. Originally uploaded by theshanghaieye What was going on? And what should I/could I do about it? My razor-sharp mind soon (after a few years) noticed a few things:1. students need to be told what to do2. they try to blend in with the group, try not to stand out3. they are afraid [...]
Looking back
looking back Originally uploaded by jennypenny26 I started this blog as a doodling-pad – a place to write in order to more clearly see what I want to say – as I blundered along attempting to “teach” autonomous language-learning at a private Japanese institution of higher education. I hoped also to attract comments and observations, [...]
Bad Cop
Bad Cop Originally uploaded by snuggle up & read About a year ago, I noticed I had a number of students who were showing up to class but then goofing off or sleeping and not actually doing much work. My solution had two prongs to it: a pitchfork (slightly heated). No, what I did was: [...]
Phonics or… creativity?
I just re-discovered teachers.tv, a British website (and actual TV programme?) that hosts a host of information about teachers and teaching in British schools. Obviously most of the content is going to be of more interest to people who actually live and teach in Britain, than to people who don’t (like me), but I enjoyed [...]
Objectives, importance of, in teaching
(Photo credit: skydive_upload12 by MikeyDotCom on Flickr) Borderland has an interesting post up called Ground Rush. Great story! Skydiving for school credit, wow! Wish I could have done that. His WordPress spam police fried my comment, and as this could be crucial to the future of education on this planet, I’m posting it here. Turning [...]
Not seeing the wood for the trees, and other complaints
Today I attended an “IT in Education” conference in Tokyo. I’ve been reading James Atherton’s site, and came across these pages on technology (in education) in general and handouts in particular. A couple of points: technology is not neutral, and Do you want students to take notes? Would it help them to understand the material [...]
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