Re: play
OLDENBMA who-is-at HUGSE1.HARVARD.EDU
Fri, 09 Feb 1996 18:50:05 -0500 (EST)
I think Keith we need to be careful when we draw the lines between teachers and
academics. While Paley's work may not choose to, or need to foreground the
theoretical groundings, it is a big leap to say that she does not read the
"more academic stuff", or even to imply it. In my experience, classroom teachers
are thinking about the application of Vygotskian ideas on a constant basis. As
teachers, they may not "give credit" to Vygotsky, but the notion of using his
theoretical constructs is present.
Paley's contributions and the contributions of teachers in general to the field of
educational research need reexamination. It is in the day-to-day accounts of
the process by which various theoretical models fit or don't fit, that we move
our understanding of how Vygotskian theory can be applied to education.
Mary Anton-Oldenburg
First and Second Grade Teacher
and Harvard Graduate School of Education
Cambridge, Mass