[xmca] P&L on LSV's definition of Education

[mike cole <lchcmike@gmail.com>]

I was struck by the definition of education that P&L offer from LSV's essay
on the instrumental method (I am guessing a pre-1930 document, but i have
not checked). Anyway, it is introduced with the idea that for LSV
"educational development is 'artificial' ":

Education my be defined as the artificial development of the child.
Education is the artificial mastery of natural processes of development.
Education not only influences certain processes of development, but
restructions all functions of behavior in a most essential manner."

A few things perplexed me in reading this. First, it seems that the some
phrase such as "mediation through artifacts" might help in this case
(although i can get off on the idea that of educational development being
artificial development!). More importantly, it seems to me that the term
translated here as Education (hmmm, what was it in Russian?) has to be a
whole lot broader than formal education mediated by written language (or
neat films!), which is the topic here. This way of defining things seems to
underplay what is instructive about formal schooling (and learning a new
language in school, not in bed, which is where Pushkin advised doing one's
second and later language learnings!).

The tremendous challenge in acquiring L2 in school is a byproduct of the
particular forms of education and the 30: 1 ratio problem that is raised in
the paper. The methods illustrated in this paper and in this issue of MCA
altogether seem to speak to both these issues.

mike

PS-- gotta see that computer program that provides flexible support, or some
degree of flexible support, for Lw2 teaching and evaluation!
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