Education News: Learning 24/7?
posted by Karen Cole @ 12:00 PM
Wednesday, July 19, 2006
About Me
- Name: Karen Cole
- Location: United States
After many years of working as an educational researcher and curriculum developer, I now specialize in helping parents create a learning-friendly household. Find out more about by background on my web site.
Previous Posts
- Web Site: Free typing lessons for kids
- Math Moment: Oldest World Cup Players
- Activity: Blow bubbles
- Book Review: My Side of the Mountain
- Current Events to Share: New Spelling?
- Web sites: Hug a tree
- Math Moment: Hit a 90 mph fastball
- Activity: Design Fireworks
- book reviews: First Aid for Kids
- Education News: Summer Vacation?
5 Comments:
Thank you!!!
I whole heartily agree that a child should be taught 24/7. I always try to emphasize putting what they learn in their daily lives; especially in math. This year, my daughter learned telling time estimations and averages. Her classes were accelerated and she seemed to have some difficulty keeping up, but we would take what she learned and go to the airport to figure out arrivals and destinations and watch baseball games to calculate player averages. Of course the ultimate way to teach math on a day-to-day basis is in the art of cooking. There's also a history and science lesson in there too. The kids stay focused doing activities that are routine and needed rather than sitting in front of a tv o video game.
Hmm, I thought Karen's point was that we shouldn't be teaching 24/7.The great learning theorist, Jean Piaget, wondered why Americans are always trying to speed up the natural development process. That's the folly in teaching all the time--to some extent, learning is a natural process with its own timetable.
But then, if we are going to teach our kids using the real world, we better actually USE the real world. Sounds like Elyse's activities are way better than those provided in the program cited.
Why is it that educators so often miss the great opportunities for highlighting the mathematics in the world around them? To miss player averages in baseball, as the 24/7 Akron folks did! Geez! It may be that so many generations of lame word problems have left them blinded to actual math in the world.
I love the new definition of Big Learning--driven by meaningful activity.
Elyse, I really like your activity ideas too. I think the Akron folks should give you a call.
SF Mom, thanks for the bit from Piaget.
And the missed math opportunities mystify me too. I think even people who are pretty good with math often don't see it as part of the toolbox for enjoying life and understanding the world. It's almost as if they WANT math to stay mysterious and separate. Or as if they deep-down suspect math is actually NOT all that useful, but that kids can be tricked into learning it if we dangle the word "baseball."
I recently got to interview an electronic game designer---now there is a lot of cool math! And, they have a shortage of artists in the field. Lots of big learning potential.
Well said, nyfew!
-KC
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