Eric,
Precisely what was it in my message that led you to believe that I had
assumed that "the
only environment learning can take place is within the confines of a
'contrived' educational environment ".
I believe no such thing. But what was being asked for here was advice on how
best to operate when such an environment is a given.
Your communication is unclear to me . Are you ascribing egotism and ivory
tower thinking to me? Or are you actually agreeing with me? I will not reply
further until that has been clarified
Phillip Capper
WEB Research
PO Box 2855
(Level 9, 142 Featherston Street)
Wellington
New Zealand
Ph: (64) 4 499 8140
Fx: (64) 4 499 8395
-----Original Message-----
From: MnFamilyMan@aol.com [mailto:MnFamilyMan@aol.com]
Sent: Friday, 20 July 2001 15:15
To: xmca@weber.ucsd.edu
Subject: Re: active learning/teaching at the 7000 level
In a message dated 7/17/2001 3:00:01 PM Central Daylight Time,
phillip.capper@webresearch.co.nz writes:
But the teacher as a transformational tool for the students is the
critical
factor, not the organisation of the classroom. The greatest positive
influence on my intellectual life was a teacher with terrifyingly rigid
and
authoritarian practices who also had an absolute and consuming passion
for
his subject (history). So powerful was this contradiction that, as I
type, I
am 17 again, simultaneously frightened and inspired. Dealing with that
contradiction in itself was a transformational exercise in expansive
learning for all of us in the class. I will not here bore you with the
extraordinary life paths of so many thst he taught, and how many of
them.
like me, attribute so much to what at the time seemed to be a
fundamentally
traumatic experience.
I am passionate about teaching and learning as well, but to assume that
the
only environment learning can take place is within the confines of a
'contrived' educational environment is egotistical and much of the problem
with education today is how I hear educational leaders talk about what
their
going to 'do' with students. I say let's get away from these contrived
environments of abstract design and move to a method that addresses the
concrete aspect of true 'taught' knowledgeable behaviors, strategies and
techniques. Explaining how learning takes place at the 'google' level
does
still not explain proper method of teaching. Learning is not the same as
teaching.
Tired of ivory tower thinking,
Eric
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