Who decides Educn goals? LO5215

Jim Michmerhuizen (jamzen@world.std.com)
Mon, 29 Jan 1996 20:45:54 +0001 (EST)

Replying to LO5184 --

A newborn infant is a white-hot learning process, a primordial BigBang of
humanity. Aging, like the universe, his temperature eventually drops to a
level at which the language and concepts of our adult life can subsist.

Children _will_ learn. They cannot be stopped. They will learn whether
you want them to or not, and they will not stop at learning just what we
want them to.

In the face of such realities, schools need humility before they need
anything else: their contribution is minuscule at best. Maybe the way to
discuss these things is, on such a framework, to ask

- what learning can we best leave to a child's own initiative?
- what can best be left to family?
- what to business, in early adult life?
- what to formal schools?
- what to peer-groups?
- and finally [;^>, what to the Internet?

Regards
Jim Michmerhuizen jamzen@world.std.com
The Residence at http://world.std.com/~jamzen/
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On 28 Jan 1996, Rol Fessenden wrote:

> A little while back there was some discussion about engineers wanting to
> specify what (engineering?) students should learn, and the reaction of
> teachers. It raised the question for me of who decides what is important
> in education, how does that get communicated, and how does someone ensure
> that it drives classroom work.

> The first question -- who decides -- is an interesting. There has been
> some discussion about -- perhaps -- differing values between corporations
> and educators, and the issue was raised of the role of parents. Are they
> the chief clients? Are the students? If it is the latter, who represents
> the student, the parent or the teacher?

--
Jim Michmerhuizen <jamzen@world.std.com>