I just took a little self-quiz to see how much I “know about learning.” The quiz was recommended by The Training Doctor and I’m pleased to note that I did fairly well because I’ve pretty much . I’m increasingly convinced what we think is about teaching is actually about learning.
Anyway, one of the answers to a question included the observation “many experts believe taking a nap after learning something new aides learning.”
Woo! This explains the behavior of some of my students!
It also means I’ll be able to justify more naps!
Seriously, there is a lot to be said for naps. Perhaps I should offer a course on napping. Imagine the potential for integrating experiential learning! “Do not disturb–learning taking place” would take on a whole new meaning.
If you’d like to take the quiz, follow this link. After you’ve taken the quiz, have a nap!
Chose both the road and how far down it you’ll travel
An important part of a recent vacation was spent in the Lancaster Pennsylvania area—also called “Amish Country.” When I lived closer, visits to the area were frequent and I developed a familiarity with the area. So this was an interesting opportunity to return after a decade of absence.There is much truth in the saying, “The more things change, the more they stay the same.” While there were some obvious changes to the area—it was equally obvious that many things have not changed. I have always avoided the heavily trafficked tourist areas and never shared the common perspective that Amish folks are a tourist attraction. I’ve always considered myself a guest among these special people.
One favorite back road farm stand had not changed much, although the attendant was now a nine year old Amish girl working alone indicating a new generation is now involved. She was pleasant and efficient, totaling up our purchases using a simple calculator. When I presented her with an unusual combination of bills and coin she pushed the calculator aside, took my offering, and counted back the correct change without hesitation. Watching her box our purchases cheerfully and carefully in the hundred degree heat was humbling.
I can’t help but contrast this with another experience several days prior. We ate at a restaurant where some of the servers were perhaps nearly twice my Amish friend’s age. Several of them actually couldn’t stop texting (or talking) on their smart cell phones while they were walking between the kitchen and their customers’ tables. They of course used computers to document our order and calculate our final bill. I did not test our waitress’s change making ability—credit cards eliminate that need anyway.
The Amish are also among one of the most misunderstood groups of people, often considered “backward” and “out of touch.” The point of this contrast is not to demonstrate that–the point is quite the contrary.
I would offer that the Amish are actually quite progressive. What makes them “different” is that they are selectively progressive. (Remember, my young friend did use a calculator for part of the transaction. Not long ago a brown paper bag and pencil would have been the tool of choice.) The important distinction between the Amish and society in general is that the Amish only embrace technology after careful and deliberate consideration of the impact it will have on individuals, families, and the community.
One of my frequent observations that might parallel this is “just because you can do something, that doesn’t mean you should do it.” We are inclined to want the latest and best. Technology offers lots of temptations. Why watch that old TV when you can have a wide screen? (The Amish question might be “why watch TV at all?”) Only a few months to go and I can upgrade my smart phone to one that’s even smarter! The possibilities are endless, really.
So while it would be possible and perhaps be nice to be able to order online from that farm stand in Pennsylvania (they make incredible pickles), I’m willing to concede that for this Amish family to embrace that technology would require some major changes in their lives. And for me it would mean that a visit a few years from now not only wouldn’t be necessary, but wouldn’t be possible.
Call me backward and out of touch, but I’m not ready to give those visits up.
How could I not be interested in a site called “Brain Pickings?” (Brain Pickings is a human-powered discovery engine for interestingness, culling and curating cross-disciplinary curiosity-quenchers, and separating the signal from the noise to bring you things you didn’t know you were interested in until you are.) A recent post offered Ten Commandments for Teachers as offered by Bertram Russell in 1951. I’m not sure I’d limit these to teachers and I’m having a lot of trouble picking a personal favorite!
Do not feel absolutely certain of anything.
Do not think it worth while to proceed by concealing evidence, for the evidence is sure to come to light.
Never try to discourage thinking for you are sure to succeed.
When you meet with opposition, even if it should be from your husband or your children, endeavor to overcome it by argument and not by authority, for a victory dependent upon authority is unreal and illusory.
Have no respect for the authority of others, for there are always contrary authorities to be found.
Do not use power to suppress opinions you think pernicious, for if you do the opinions will suppress you.
Do not fear to be eccentric in opinion, for every opinion now accepted was once eccentric.
Find more pleasure in intelligent dissent than in passive agreement, for, if you value intelligence as you should, the former implies a deeper agreement than the latter.
Be scrupulously truthful, even if the truth is inconvenient, for it is more inconvenient when you try to conceal it.
Do not feel envious of the happiness of those who live in a fool’s paradise, for only a fool will think that it is happiness.
An interesting (and ongoing–this is nothing new, really) debate in the public education sector includes the role of “vocational” education. Meanwhile, some of us are still wondering what happened to “shop” and “home economics.” During one session at the recent Financial Literacy Summit I chuckled a bit when a speaker asked how many schools were providing “consumer science” courses. “Oh, you mean home ec?” The speaker went out to point out that she’d counseled a college student regarding his financial problems only to discover that he was eating every meal out because he didn’t know how to cook.
A recent study conducted in the UK asked what type of qualification or training would help young people succeed in their career. The answers came back: on the job training (93%), apprenticeships (90%) and internships (84%) topped the table compared to 78% who said degrees. Now I’m not minimizing the value of a college education–any education has value–nor am I trying to start a political debate. But whether we are talking about adult education courses of the public education system in America, there’s a lot to be said for integrating “hands on” learning. I’m sure I’m not the only one who remembers the response to students who announced they were studying for a liberal arts or some other esoteric degree: “You want fries with that?”
Education at any and all levels is not a “one size fits all” proposition. The following is an article about an article that appeared in the most recent issue of Training Doctor News.
Here is a really fascinating article (http://www.thenation.com/node/167476) comparing the standard United States educational system approach of getting everyone the same, basic, k-12 education and the more pragmatic approach of other nations such as Switzerland and the Netherlands. The impetus for the article was a perceived draw back of the Obama plan and the recent announcement to invest 1 billion dollars to increase the partnership between high schools, colleges and employers.
Here are just a few highlights, we recommend taking 5 minutes to read the whole article:
A draw back of the plan is that it is focused on post-high school, while in many Western European nations, the final years of high school are customized depending on whether the student is going to go on to college, go on to a technical school, or enter the workforce (in other words, preparing young adults for the workforce is addressed much earlier)
Currently, the (US) youth unemployment rate (26 years and under) is 22%; in the Netherlands the youth unemployment rate is 5%.
In the United States, only 20% of 26-year-olds have a credential of some type.
The Swiss government analyzes business needs and the skills required to achieve those needs and plans for government sponsored schooling to feed the needs of business; in the US there are just a few non-profit organizations that bridge between the three: government, schooling and business.
Nancy Hofmann, author of the book, Schooling in the Workplace, is quoted in the article as saying: [in the US] “We behave as though nobody needs to learn to work. We behave as if somehow education alone will launch you into a career.”
Walter Boomsma (“Mr. Boomsma”) writes on a wide array of topics including personal development, teaching and learning. Course information is also available here!
I just took a little self-quiz to see how much I “know about learning.” The quiz was recommended by The Training Doctor and I’m pleased to note that I did fairly well because I’ve pretty much . I’m increasingly convinced what we think is about teaching is actually about learning.
