This post is a first for this blog: a guest post. Thanks to Joe Bower. He teaches grade 6 in Red Deer, Alberta. He blogs at For the Love of Learning and tweets here.
By Joe Bower
While I can see how some might take the desire to improve the education system as an attack on the system, I think it is far more productive to say that we believe in life long learning, so we know the system can always be better.
Romanticizing the past and invoking a defensive stance that pays homage to the system that groomed us will do little to ensure that our children get an even better education than we received.
The most robust systems are those that respond to feedback, We should look at our schools and learning organizations that constantly look to improve without trashing their heritage.
ReplyDeleteI agree that lifelong learning is the key. It's not about disrespecting people's experience or making them feel like everything they've done in the past is 'wrong'...it's about continual growth. We need to honour people's intentions...almost all educators are doing the absolute best for their students given what they know about learning. Now, they may not know enough, but they are doing their best. Strong relationships build trust...trust leads to openness...openness makes people willing. Some things we used to do still work; some things we're thinking of doing won't. Being reflective and strategic about our continual improvement will get us where we need to be. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteTom