This is why our “traditional approach” to education is skewed.
Our tradition only goes back to the industrial age. Actual academic traditions were more like discussing subjects in the main square of town.
Author Archives: Rebecca Fegan
Steps or Dancing?
Notes or music? Photo or Art? 3-D rendering or Sculpture? I went to a dance contest today. It made my teeth itch. There were several different dance schools present, but you could tell if they were from the same studio. How? Same steps– different music. Move to a place on the stage, do a hipContinue reading “Steps or Dancing?”
Old Dogs
It is a proven fact that young people’s brains are more elastic and pliable and able to learn things much faster than old people. Old people’s brains get brittle and set. They can’t maneuver between subjects and activities as fast as young people. This is why it’s OK to be a prodigy but once youContinue reading “Old Dogs”
Indoctrination
What if every new thing becomes the piece of that puzzle that you were missing…the PacMan shape with the brown and the little dot of red and what looks like fingers that fits…right…there?
Don’t make that rule!
…why, oh why are creativity and resourcefulness relegated to activities other than work? And then, why are creative and resourceful activities so structured for children? We dull our imaginations and then attempt to dull or eradicate imagination from the children. What madness is this?
What if…
What if the “you” of the future came back in time to change something and you don’t remember what it was? You know all those situations where they posit what they’d do if they could go anywhere in time and make a change? I’d go back and kill Hitler! I’d move the people from PompeiiContinue reading “What if…”
How Do you Learn?
We’re about to embark on a trip through the wilderness that is education. The trails that we know are well-traveled, but they may not be the most direct and effective path. Socrates said:I cannot teach anyone anything. I can only make them think.After you have become accustomed to something, how often do you think aboutContinue reading “How Do you Learn?”
Why is it important to learn?
Take a look at what you’re planning to learn. If it is because it sparks interest or your curiosity keeps bringing you back, there is a deep-seated need in your subconscious that compels you to learn this. This would be the curiosity-based learning. If you are highly motivated to learn something because you see itContinue reading “Why is it important to learn?”
Why do you want to learn?
There are two types of learning. There’s the experiential learning that you do in the course of living. You learn to walk, talk, and solve problems that allow you to do bigger things. You know that tired cliché, “You learn something new every day?” It’s true. I learned something about lawn mowers, air filters, oil,Continue reading “Why do you want to learn?”
When are you finished?
This is a tricky question. It’s one that most don’t even consider. I wish to learn Italian. That seems a bit vague. To what degree do you want to know this language? Common conversation? Publishing a book in the new language? Studying the literature of the country? Understanding what the waiter is saying under hisContinue reading “When are you finished?”