tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-762201600804179432.post374772843078815610..comments2023-12-15T07:51:27.673-08:00Comments on Betrayed - Why Public Education Is Failing: In defense of direct instruction: Constant constructivism, group work and arrogant attitude are abusive to childrenLaurie H. Rogershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18367210923946752695noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-762201600804179432.post-77986288070142070872015-02-17T17:58:52.190-08:002015-02-17T17:58:52.190-08:00"What’s actually a failure in K-12 education ..."What’s actually a failure in K-12 education has turned into a self-esteem problem for the children, to a point at which they literally panic over simple calculations. "<br /><br />This happened to us. I have a daughter that has taken a couple of years to recover from the botched implementation of CC integrated math in high school. She finally had embraced the fact that math wasn't all that bad when this happened. Now, her future and college opportunities have been stunted. <br /><br />I have also detested the years I have endured as a parent, being told by teachers, that math is different now. I may not have achieved my engineering degree, because I switched to the arts, but it is not because I don't generally understand mathematics. Renaming a process has nothing to do with the fact that the process is still the same. Yes, this is anecdotal, but it seems I am not the only one to experience this.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-762201600804179432.post-89331016605621245812013-02-18T03:36:38.403-08:002013-02-18T03:36:38.403-08:00As a long-time conservative, whom some would even ...As a long-time conservative, whom some would even call a black-hearted reactionary, may I make a plea to my fellow education reformers?<br /><br />Please, please, please, don't politicize what we are trying to do. And don't personalize it. <br /><br />I know -- believe me, I know! -- how enraging some of the horrible PC Leftist types who are prominent in the EdSchool world are. There are certain websites, a view of which can raise my blood pressure by 25 points.<br /><br />BUT ... the fact is, there is a huge spectrum of humanity involved here. There are people who are otherwise completely orthodox Lefties, who understand the damage that the EdSchool types have done. There are nice wooly liberals who are uneasy about the direction our educational system has taken.<br /><br />Some of the best articles on education have appeared in <b>American Educator</b>, a journal of the American Federation of Teachers.<br /><br />Even the most orthodox and dogmatic constructivists are not evil, just deeply misguided. Or, in any case, we must pretend that they are just misguided.<br /><br />We need to build as broad a coaliton as possible, for sensible reform. This must include, to be successful, people from the Left and the Right, and others who are not on the spectrum at all. <br /><br />We will be most effective if we do not question the motives of our opponents, but simply, with the utmost courtesy and calm, keep pointing out the evidence. <br /><br />I don't put this forward because I am a nice guy. It's the most effective way to wage political war. (See Trotsky on "How to make offense look like defense" in his <b>History of the Russian Revolution</b>.)<br /><br /><i>Wise as serpents, gentle as doves</i>.Doug1943https://www.blogger.com/profile/03833632801624062004noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-762201600804179432.post-56681286614918250202012-11-29T17:33:28.145-08:002012-11-29T17:33:28.145-08:00Well, the description of the problem can hardly be...Well, the description of the problem can hardly be improved upon. So what, as Lenin asked, is to be done? <br /><br /> Doesn't everyone feel that these people are morally reprehensible? But the resistance to their perversities is so polite, so muted. Do they deserve that?<br /><br />Perhaps a frank description would be helpful. I'm seeing the Education Establishment in this country as an unhealthy cult, with sociopathic tendencies.<br /><br />Or here's a somewhat simpler perspective. When George Orwell wrote "Animal Farm" and talked about Pigs, he was not speaking of tycoons, the super-rich, or the 1%. No, I believe he was speaking about the elite commissars then wrecking Russia. He was speaking about our Education Establishment.Bruce Deitrick Pricehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02881671487606709421noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-762201600804179432.post-21344370310341674872012-11-23T23:41:06.683-08:002012-11-23T23:41:06.683-08:00There's so many reasons of public education fa...There's so many reasons of public education failing..and the major one is quality of infrastructure and facilities..<br /><br />Education in USAhttp://studentpickup.com/Default.aspxnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-762201600804179432.post-61540267546146573692012-11-15T19:48:47.496-08:002012-11-15T19:48:47.496-08:00So true, Laurie! Keep up the great work. Trust m...So true, Laurie! Keep up the great work. Trust me, there are still many of us out here battling it out--or not. <br /><br />I gave up and just pulled my daughter out of CMP2. She was texting me "HELP! Get me out of here!!!" My husband was helping her and he saw within 2 weeks what the problems were. He couldn't even believe it and said to get her out. <br /><br />So, they (generously) offered to put her in a computer-based math class but she didn't want it--she just wants to do Saxon! Seriously--many kids LOVE to do math if you give them the freedom! <br /><br />You'd laugh--I used their arguments and terminology against them and said, "She just prefers to learn math a different way", "She wants an authentic pre-algebra class, one that will actually prepare her for Algebra 1 next year." "She is frustrated by the pacing and the pedagogy. If you were actually following the book (btw--I have copies of the teacher's manuals so I know...), then she'd probably be fine..."<br /><br />The good news is that she is doing GREAT now--(thank you John Saxon!) Just wish that all the kids could too. That's the really sad part. There other kids were either bored or lost.<br /><br />We are not going to win this in the short run and so meanwhile we have to take care of our own. I am hopeful that they will see how much better it is, especially after seeing how much more she accomplishes in a day --but I'm not holding my breath!CMnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-762201600804179432.post-45278477496673891492012-11-07T11:50:21.797-08:002012-11-07T11:50:21.797-08:00Hi Laurie.
Happy to help. A good place to star...Hi Laurie. <br /><br />Happy to help. A good place to start is this <a href="http://tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1207/s15326985ep4102_1" rel="nofollow"> recent summary of research on minimal-guidance instruction</a>, by Kirschner et al.<br /><br />"Pedagogical Constructivism" is my own term, which came after some reflection on Kirschner's contentions about the subject. There has been a successful conflation in the world of Education between these two concepts, and it is a source of much confusion. I think they need to be divorced, and the agenda for doing so must begin with the habit of using terminology that clearly separates them.<br /><br />So I advocate for both terms: "Pedagogical Constructivism" and the "Constructivist Teaching Fallacy" to become part of the common lexicon.<br /><br />You'll find Kirschner's article full of invaluable observations about what is actually known in the field of developmental psychology concerning effective teaching practices. Note his reference to the well-known "Worked Example Effect", for example. Well worth a read!R. Craigen (WISE Math co-founder)noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-762201600804179432.post-89712468087776397952012-11-06T05:32:42.642-08:002012-11-06T05:32:42.642-08:00Ther is NO dearth of ed funding. The ed world has ...Ther is NO dearth of ed funding. The ed world has had a river of money for decades and has wasted it on admin, "PD", useless/unnecessary technology etc. Waste, fraud and abuse abound. As a student who had 29 in my 1-12 class, and the wife of a guy who had 100 in his (parochial school) class, I don't think class sizes are the problem, either. Full-inclusion, mainstreaming, heterogeneous grouping and lack of disciplinary enforcement (including removal to alternate placements) are problems. Constructivism/discovery/groupwork are problems; even if such methods were effective (and I don't believe it), they are monstrously inefficient. Put the kids in rows, make the teacher teach and have the kids work individually.momof4noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-762201600804179432.post-50572914835170568922012-11-05T13:41:34.858-08:002012-11-05T13:41:34.858-08:00Robert, do you have a reference handy? I'd lik...Robert, do you have a reference handy? I'd like to read more about that. I've never seen a differentiation made between constructivism and some improper application of constructivist theory.<br /><br />Very interesting. It could be worth some conversation. It wouldn't be the first theory to have wandered miles away from its roots, if that's what has happened.<br /><br />Laurie H. Rogershttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18367210923946752695noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-762201600804179432.post-88883304118474867012012-11-05T13:02:00.851-08:002012-11-05T13:02:00.851-08:00Interesting article. I remember, with nausea, wha...Interesting article. I remember, with nausea, what it was like to fail to learn via THE one and only method. This isn't just a math issue...it can be a problem in virtually any subject from literature analysis to foreign language. I wouldn't pound the schools quite so hard, though. I worry that the impetus for this goes all the way back to collegiate departments of education coupled with a dearth of education funding, not to mention overcrowded classrooms. The biggest point this article makes, with which I agree, is that parents are chronically excluded. It's as if the only thing we're good for is supplying cookies at school parties. Bah humbug.<br />Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04098816933531750930noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-762201600804179432.post-9969298049695684262012-11-05T12:56:00.145-08:002012-11-05T12:56:00.145-08:00My only point here Laurie is that we should stop c...My only point here Laurie is that we should stop calling this methodology "Constructivism". I propose the term "pedagogical constructivism", to distinguish it from constructivism, which is a well-established theory of learning.<br /><br />Pedagogical constructivism is a <b>prescriptive</b> theory of <b>teaching</b> which purports to derive from the constructivist theory of <b>learning</b>, but which actually bears little resemblance to it, and certainly derives little of its prescriptions from anything said in the latter theory.<br /><br />Constructivism, in contrast, is a <b>descriptive</b> theory of <b>learning</b>, which is agnostic about prescriptive measures in the classroom.<br /><br />In constructivist theory, students may construct their knowledge through discovery, direct instruction, reading, social interaction, possibly even divine revelation. It is about how the brain assembles and organizes knowledge when given.<br /><br />Constructivist pegagogy recommends providing what is perhaps the weakest level of externally input knowledge for the learner .. "teaching by not teaching", if you will. Constructivist learning theory prescribes no such thing.<br /><br />Conflation of constructivist learning theory with pedagogical constructivism is being called by some the "constructivist teaching fallacy"; I think the name is apt, and I think we should speak of these two theories in precisely these terms.<br /><br />Keep writing. You're making some excellent points.R. Craigen (WISE Math co-founder)noreply@blogger.com