In the Comments section, Tex says:
"I had not noticed the use of the word “educationists” before. After looking it up, I learned it is a real word. Showing my ignorance, I guess."
Since "educationist" is a term I use a lot, I feel compelled to say a few things about it.
The word exists, but I use it as a term of art. For one thing, I can't bring myself to utter the word "educator". There is something about that word that repels me. Probably because educators are often infused with ed school ideology and don't do a lot of educating. Ed school ideology is antithetical to education.
Educationist then becomes the somewhat disparaging term taking the place of educator. It's my shorthand designation for "educators" who subscribe to all the ed school mumbo-jumbo, theories, beliefs, fads and practices that I consider inimical to real education.
For example, if an "educator" says or believes the following among other things, he would qualify as an educationist: (with thanks to Prof. Plum, a/k/a Martin Kozloff and his Fads and Flapdoodle vs. Serious Instruction.
“Be guided by the following ideas: child-centered and student-centered, holistic, natural, authentic, learning styles, multiple intelligence, brain-based instruction, developmentally appropriate practices, best practices, etc.”
“You can’t transmit knowledge. Students must construct knowledge. Therefore, most learning and instruction should be in the form of inquiry and discovery.”
“You should develop your own materials. You should NOT use commercial materials because (1) one size does NOT fit all; and (2) commercial materials rob you of creativity.”
This list can be extended considerably. You can add whole language (pea is pumpkin), fuzzy math to the mix.
With all due respect you seem to be a very math-focused person. There's a certain degree to which those ideas might not fit so well in a more objective subject such as math, but I'm not so sure about everything else. I'm also not sure all those things are so bad. With the last I definitely agree that (in the case of math) the idea is misguided. Some commercial materials can be awesome I've found in my experience as math student, and even given that they were bad they'd still be a necessary evil. For the record I'm attempting a BA in Math and plan to go on to grad school for education.
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