1. DCI74 wrote:

It would seem so far that the President’s education reform isn’t much reform at all. I have seen firsthand the abject failure of Bush’s NCLB program. While I do see the value of magnet and charter schools the public school system can’t be abandoned. Standardized testing is not a true reflection of intelligence, it is one measure but not the complete picture.

2. Mario wrote:

I wonder when Obama is going to make education his main priority. I think after healthcare is taken care of he is going to move towards energy and the environment. He really needs to change NCLB and reduce the amount of standardized tests students have to take. Here in my hometown two high schools have been caught sending a smaller amount of students to take tests and creating different classes for tested subjects like algebra and biology to keep lower performing students from taking tests and making the schools look like the students are performing better when they really are not.

3. DCI74 wrote:

Indeed Mario. I feel that standardized testing is a great measurement of a student’s ability to remember information but it says nothing about their ability to understand or even apply the information. I would love to see the arts return to the public school systems along with more comprehensive learning so that students aren’t just being conditioned and trained to be employees but instead are learning how to become career-driven and potential entrepreneurs.

4. MLL wrote:

Agreed. It’s a shame that these standardized tests are causing us to miss out on so much of what these kids have to offer the world….not to mention that it’s demotivating for students and likely contributing to the dropout rate.

One of my son’s best teachers of all time really got it. She would say, “The question is not, ‘How smart are you,’ but rather, ‘How are you smart?’”

5. DCI74 wrote:

Exactly MLL which is why I focused on the theory of multiple intelligences with the kids I’ve worked with over the years. I found that it not only allows them to see the various ways in which they can manifest their intelligence but it works as a great aid for a teacher or educator to create activities that connect to those intelligences versus using a one-size-fits-all format for classroom instruction. Yet I have never heard any presidential education czar even mention Garnder’s theory of multiple intelligences but they can talk all day about standardized tests.

6. R.oB. wrote:

DC et al.

What would you do differently? I’m tired read yet another critique of Obama. This ain’t Monday morning and we aren’t talking football. Let’s talk solutions and push Obama to implement them.

7. DCI74 wrote:

R.oB. go back and read what I said again and you can start with the one right above your post. I not only stated my support for what the President is doing (magnet & charter schools) but I also provided a very specific teaching aid that I know for a fact is not being used in the public school system (Gardner’s multiple intelligence theory) and showed my support for seeing the arts back in the public schools. The one area I have criticized and will continue to is standardized testing and the weight it receives as a barometer of student intelligence. See I knew someone would come along and not actually read but assume that if a bright flag isn’t being raised in outright support of the President then it would too quickly be swept into the pile of blind criticism. So for the people counting at home that’s 2 points in support of the President, 2 things I would do differently and 1 thing the President is in favor of and I am not but somehow all you read was criticism. My solutions have already been stated, what do you have R.oB.?

8. Mario wrote:

If you guys haven’t watched Sir Ken Robinson’s TED talk about schools killing creativity then you really should. It’s on youtube and titled “Do Schools Kill Creativity?” He gives a speech of how creative children our but we educate them out of their creativity because as DC has been saying we have a mistakenly very narrow view of intelligence. Other solutions I see besides putting arts on the same level as math and science I would say is to quit drugging kids for being normal energetic kids, bring back P.E. wherever it’s been cut, make internships and community service part of the regular curriculum to give kids a real sense of responsibility along with helping kids in poverty learn that they can give assistance and not just only receive, and to make teach children the relevance of the subjects they study. I think teachers can do that by relating what is learned in science classes to medicine and technology during labs, using economics and math to teach kids how to manage and invest money and learn about economic policy, and use english to give students time to create their own poems, short stories, and novels and how to get involved in their local newspaper by writing letters to the editor. I’m sure a number of teachers do these things already but obviously not enough are.

9. DCI74 wrote:

Exactly Mario. There are just a small handful of schools in the country that base their curriculum around multiple intelligences like the Gardner School in Washington state and the New School in St. Louis but it could certainly have an impact if done at the public school level because it will create a lot of what you mentioned. Visual, kinesthetic, verbal, naturalistic, written, mathematical, all of those different types of intelligences provide unique opportunities for both the instructor and the student to be creative in ways that are not static. In my experience I realized that the kid that can’t sit still and talks a lot isn’t doing so because he wants to be rude or disruptive, in many instances it was because he or she was a kinesthetic learner and so learning in a lecture method was not comfortable for them, they needed to be engaging in something hands on to get them moving, that is how those students maintain their focus. But obviously the same would not apply for the verbal learner who requires the complete opposite. So once a teacher has this kind of information about his or her students, there are at least 8 different intelligences, they are now equipped to design much more creative ways of disseminating the information. It doesn’t mean you completely neglect standard teaching practices however it allows more chances to try innovative approaches to delivering the same material in ways that immediately resonate with the students and making learning fun and more experiential. On another note, one of the most remarkable things I’ve found about Gardner’s multiple intelligences is how he effectively used it with people who are autistic. It makes me think of how it can be applied even more so now that so much information regarding the autism spectrum is becoming available.

10. Mario wrote:

DC, what do you think of trying to use other school models like the Montessori, Padeia, and Dalton schools? I’ve been looking at a few educational theories trying to see which sounds most like mine and what I believe will work best for educating all students. I have to learn more about Gardner as well. Have you heard of Alfie Kohn too? I’ve just stumbled upon him today. Marc I’d like hear your opinion on this too if you read it.

We really need to inform parents and teachers about these methods too so we can really have the right idea of what education is and its purpose. I’m tired of experimenting with our children with all of these failing reform models.

11. DCI74 wrote:

Mario, I like the Montessori school program in fact my younger sister’s children all attend a school like that and are doing well. My 9-year-old nephew is a math whiz and he’s interested in robotics so I can see the benefits.

12. Mario wrote:

Yeah, I had a classmate who went to a Montessori school and she said she really liked it.

13. DCI74 wrote:

Mario, I think innovative approaches like the Montessori or Dalton design or MI are just a few ways that shift from merely teaching kids how to past tests but showing them how to develop really important skills like critical thinking in an experiential environment. spurring creativity by both the teacher and student. It reshapes the learning atmosphere and makes it a place youth want to go instead of dreading to be there. Schools should not be teaching kids to basically turn them into employees.

14. DCI74 wrote:

*pass

15. Mario wrote:

OK, so DC do you think we can actually change majority of public schools to a Montessori school or Dalton plan model and how? I’m sure it would take a while to change teacher education and bring in parents used to the traditional system but here in Charlotte we already have a few public Montessori schools so I’m sure more school districts can begin to implement those types of schools.

16. DCI74 wrote:

Mario I think all of these approaches and others should be apart of the public schools board of education toolkit. They should be thoroughly introduced to the parents and community so an informed decision can be made regarding which one or ones to implement. But due diligence and research should be done to determine what would be the best fit for each district.