tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32281953.post5438377309573004535..comments2023-05-17T09:55:59.040-05:00Comments on The Whining Schoolboy - <i>tales from a mostly-boring public high school teacher.</i>: Uh-Oh.School Master Phttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08698932512420895256noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32281953.post-49188767060499640272007-02-06T18:30:00.000-05:002007-02-06T18:30:00.000-05:00Ok, I went here -
http://www.sedl.org/change/issue...Ok, I went here -<br />http://www.sedl.org/change/issues/issues61.html<br />and read through until my eyes watered. To me, it looks for all the world that someone has decided that 'old working model' just doesn't cut it anymore and they're suggesting a 'new and improved' way. This seems to happen about every few years or so and 'this time' it's for good, all new research says 'this time' we've got it right. Until the next new and improved, better than ever, handed down from G*d model comes in the mail.<br />Call it cherry picking if you will, it probably is, but this just screamed at me -<br />"Teachers find help, support, and trust as a result of developing warm relationships with each other."<br />That and the word 'vision' about a gazillion times. Poor Schoolboy.<br /><br />Sign me - Stubbornly Hanging on to the Old School WaysAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32281953.post-73863688221695803202007-02-05T20:23:00.000-05:002007-02-05T20:23:00.000-05:00Anonymous - since I don't have a clue at this poin...Anonymous - since I don't have a clue at this point, could you give us a couple of details about how these PLC's work, from a practical standpoint? I've yet to hear any specifics beyond the jargon.<br /><br />Aside from the bad vibes I got from the article I had to read, I have two other reasons for scepticism: 1) research in education, in my opinion, is a very slippery critter - you can find research to "prove" that most any approach to education works. 2) maybe I'm obtuse, but I simply fail to see how focusing on "learning" instead of "teaching" is anything more than a distinction without a difference. Again, at some point a teacher has to teach if he/she has knowledge and understanding that a student hasn't yet learned.School Master Phttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08698932512420895256noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32281953.post-91901150727840305832007-02-05T10:02:00.000-05:002007-02-05T10:02:00.000-05:00middleagedhousewife said...
They spend so much ti...middleagedhousewife said... <br />They spend so much time discussing teaching, designing teaching strategies, designing teaching villages - well, I would prefer they shut up and teach. Alas, their energies are spent. Those that know how, teach. Those that don't, design meeting strategies.<br /><br />Here's the thing. PLC isn't focused on any of the teaching items you mention above. It's focus is on learning. It provides strategies to put in place so that the focus of a school is on kids' learning not teachers teaching. Keep an open mind. Research is showing that these concepts are working for kids. Isn't that the most important thing here?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32281953.post-90378883006494756832007-02-04T17:30:00.000-05:002007-02-04T17:30:00.000-05:00"Those that know how, teach. Those that don't, des..."Those that know how, teach. Those that don't, design meeting strategies."<br /><br />That's wonderful - maybe quote of the year on education matters.<br /><br />And you know, it's not like some ancient academic invented the "strategy" of a knowledgeable teacher instructing an un-knowledgeable student. This way of doing things is simply borne out of <i>reality</i>, for God's sake. At some point, a teacher (or parent, or priest, etc.) has to speak and demonstrate, and the kid on the other end has to listen and emulate. Can't get around it.School Master Phttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08698932512420895256noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32281953.post-21666791827377912072007-02-04T11:46:00.000-05:002007-02-04T11:46:00.000-05:00Are they sitting at a round table, in a circle? Ha...Are they sitting at a round table, in a circle? Have they each, in turn, stood and told something about themselves? Which one(s) of them are actually eager to start a PLC? Do the rest of those present realize they are slime b/c 1) they have no idea what a PLC is? and 2) they don't have the time nor the energy required to belong to one more community?<br />The older my sons get, the more I see of these teachers/admins. They spend so much time discussing teaching, designing teaching strategies, designing teaching villages - well, I would prefer they shut up and teach. Alas, their energies are spent. Those that know how, teach. Those that don't, design meeting strategies.<br /> "Leaders who create PLCs know that there is an urgent need for immediate results, but authentic, lasting and widespread change is a journey." Translated - Yeah, we know you need help yesterday but this is gonna take a while. How long? We have no idea. If it looks like it's not working, well just keep going. Like we said, it could take a while. Oh, it might not work at all but by the time you figure that out, we'll have moved on to another design/facilitation/whatever.<br /><br />Sign me 'Trying Hard to Get My Boys Educated'Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com