Amateur education is reality. Edupunk is mere aspiration and a smoldering hope for an improved system. Well, either that or an attempt by way too many old farts hoping to re-live their glory days of rebellion.

Shoot me now, I’ve brought up the meme again. ]]> http://students2oh.org/2008/02/23/amateur-education/#comment-966 M. Wilson Wed, 09 Apr 2008 21:26:06 +0000 http://students2oh.org/2008/02/23/amateur-education/#comment-966 Arthus, During the k-12 years, students don't know what they don't know. The goal of any good teacher is to expose their students to as many ideas as possible. Once the student has a base knowledge (k-12 Education) then they can make an informed decision on what they want to do with their lives ( college education). What about the idea of the "Renaissance Man?" With your approach would that ideal be a thing of the past? Arthus,

During the k-12 years, students don’t know what they don’t know. The goal of any good teacher is to expose their students to as many ideas as possible. Once the student has a base knowledge (k-12 Education) then they can make an informed decision on what they want to do with their lives ( college education).

What about the idea of the “Renaissance Man?” With your approach would that ideal be a thing of the past?

Importing the nomenclature of the workplace is something most of us do without thinking ... Every time we talk about “homework” or “seat work” or “work habits,” every time we describe the improvement in, or assessment of, a student’s “work” in class, every time we urge children to “get to work” or even refer to “classroom management,” we are using a metaphor with profound implications for the nature of schooling.

@ThePlaz: Thanks for commenting.
Actually, I don’t have a plan—I realize that I have no idea where I will be 10 years from now. Heck, I don’t even know where I’ll be next week. However, because I understand this I chose what I do based upon what I am passionate about at any single point in time. Without a passion for something, I think it is impossible to do it well; the same is true of learning. Therefore, I do not think that making rational choices for what will be the most valuable in the future is the most appropriate choice: I think making passionate choices about what you are interested in now is the most effective in the long run.

I do understand why test scores are useful: they are an effective way to narrow down the field. However, what I would like colleges to do is toss out the scores after their preliminary use. That is, choose a floor of scores and if students are above that floor, consider them. Otherwise, simply reject the students with a clear-cut reason. However, beyond that floor I think test scores should be ignored. As Stacy wrote, it is ridiculous to obsess over tiny differences in scores. Rather, take the eligible (smaller, after using scores to narrow down) and compare them solely upon other measures.

You’re right about students being confused with free choice. As I wrote before, students are so used to constraints they are confused when given freedom. However, the cycle will have to end eventually (starting with incoming kindergartners).

@David: I like that idea; an “educational oath” to keep students natural love of learning intact. You’re right that students seem to lose their natural curiosity as they move up through the grades.

@Albert: Looks great: glad to see someone making use of our Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 license.

@Charlie: I think everyone in schools could stand to do a lot more two-way communication. In my school, the only reason you talk to an administrator is if you are in trouble. ]]> http://students2oh.org/2008/02/23/amateur-education/#comment-852 Charlie Fri, 29 Feb 2008 02:17:13 +0000 http://students2oh.org/2008/02/23/amateur-education/#comment-852 @ Arthus I like your thinking about encouraging teachers to engage in honest discussions with students. I find it very enlightening as an administrator to sit down with the office runners and find out their opinion on certain issues. @ Arthus
I like your thinking about encouraging teachers to engage in honest discussions with students. I find it very enlightening as an administrator to sit down with the office runners and find out their opinion on certain issues. ]]> http://students2oh.org/2008/02/23/amateur-education/#comment-851 Albert Aguilar Thu, 28 Feb 2008 22:45:10 +0000 http://students2oh.org/2008/02/23/amateur-education/#comment-851 This was a great blog. For this reason I did take out a quote and added to a photo that I remixed. That quote can be seen <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/24055236@N08/2292567584/" rel="nofollow">http://www.flickr.com/photos/24055236@N08/2292567584/</a>. Once again thank you. This was a great blog. For this reason I did take out a quote and added to a photo that I remixed. That quote can be seen http://www.flickr.com/photos/24055236@N08/2292567584/.
Once again thank you. ]]> http://students2oh.org/2008/02/23/amateur-education/#comment-850 Tammie Ciccarelli » Blog Archive » Student 2.0 Thu, 28 Feb 2008 19:10:38 +0000 http://students2oh.org/2008/02/23/amateur-education/#comment-850 [...] the deep thoughts and relevance of the post made by the Student 2.0 bloggers.  Yesterday I read Amateur Education posted by Arthus, a deep thinker who is passionate about his subject.  In one post Arthus covers [...] [...] the deep thoughts and relevance of the post made by the Student 2.0 bloggers.  Yesterday I read Amateur Education posted by Arthus, a deep thinker who is passionate about his subject.  In one post Arthus covers [...] ]]>