Gordon,
I think what troubles me most is who or what is absent in order to have
this inquiry or progressive "ideal". Too often, the school a researcher
like yourself enters, is one that is middle-upperclass. These schools
get fabulous awards, get video taped etc. In many of these schools we
take all the special education students and put them in another room.
So, Gordon, where were the special education students?
I don't want this to sound confrontational, but so often "progressive"
approaches like inquiry occurs in a context that is so foreign to the
students I deal with daily. I guess for me it would be interesting to
see how this plays out with different types of kids. What about those
who are "weak" in expressive language? I have several kids like the two
girls, and there very fun to challenge and engage, but I also have many
other kinds of students that do not nicely fit the script of the video.
I guess I'd be interested more in the cultural-economic context of the
school, what student are or are not in the classroom (I only counted 5 -
where are the other 20). It might help me make sense why they all
engaged with inquiry in a similar manner.
n
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