My personal education philosophy matches closely with the pedagogic progressives of the early twentieth century. Led by John Dewey, this movement proposed to make the education system about those who it serves, the students. Dewey believed that children learn best when their interests were included in the curriculum design. The movement believed that child-centered classrooms were the best fit for the American education system.
I tend to agree with these thinkers. Today, we are alienating too many children with curriculum designs and classes that they cannot relate to and do not find important to their lives. While there are certainly academic fields that should remain in schools (English, math, history, etc.) we need to make these subjects applicable and interesting to our students. Schools do not work for the students as they should, and we can fix that by making our classrooms more child-centered.
I think that this philosophy (and my opinions) also leaves much room for technology in the classroom. Today, most children and teenagers are well versed in technology, and their interests often lie in this realm. By integrating technology into the classroom, we can combine students’ interests, differentiate the curriculum, and allow the students to be leaders in their own education process (and perhaps learn something as teachers from our students). Technology and a child-centered education seem to go hand-in-hand, and I think that both of these educational ideas belong in the classroom.
I agree with your statement about alienating too many children with curriculum designs and classes.
ReplyDeleteDo you think students could be possibly alienated by technology if they went to a school without the proper funding for technology, or do think the student would be more motivated to finally use technology?
Personally, I think any access to technology could motivate students. I believe you make a good point, that students at low-income schools can be alienated by school, though I do not think it is by technology. I think that a danger of alienating students with technology lies with not explaining or applying the technology correctly.
ReplyDeleteI like your philosophy about child- centered classroom. I think it is very important to include the child’s interest in the curriculum. By doing that, we can make the students more motivated and more interested in the learning process. To accomplish this goal technology is a great tool.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteReading your post, and some of the others on the same topic makes me wonder if education can be made relevant to today's students _without_ new technologies. I think your point is well taken re: the need to make the curriculum engaging and relevant to students (which allows for Romeo and Juliet, for example, still being taught, but relevantly). I would be curious to read what you think about the new Common Core curriculum maps in English / Language Arts (see e.g., commoncore.org).
ReplyDeletejd