kitchen table math, the sequel: the compleat constructivist

kitchen table math, the sequel: the compleat constructivist

Wednesday, March 5, 2008

the compleat constructivist

6 comments:

Instructivist said...: When I took an SS methods course we had a book by the same author. "Constructivist" wasn't yet in the title.

It was one of the most vacuous courses. The teacher couldn't explain what is supposed to be taught in SS. We spent most of the time doing genealogy charts and mobiles. She must have had a vague idea that history should be involved and genealogy was her idea of history.

The amazon link to this book is here: http://www.amazon.com/Dynamic-Social-Studies-Constructivist-Classrooms/dp/0131712705; March 5, 2008 at 8:45 PM
Instructivist said...: One of my big gripes is that history disappeared as a named subject and was subsumed (presumably) by the amorphous phrase "social studies". I blame it for lousy history instruction.

It's amazing how far back the invention of SS occurred.

Here is an excerpt of the history of this development.

From Social Studies Education

The contemporary social studies curriculum has its roots in the Progressive education movement of the early twentieth century. With its emphasis on the nature of the individual learner and on the process of learning itself, the movement challenged the assumptions of subject-centered curricula. Until this time, the social studies curriculum was composed of discrete subject areas, with a primary emphasis on history. To a slightly lesser degree, geography and civics were also featured, completing the triumvirate.

There were indications that change was coming when the 1893 Report of the Committee of Ten on Secondary School Studies advocated an interdisciplinary approach in the social studies. By 1916 the National Education Association (NEA)'s Committee on the Social Studies was urging that an interdisciplinary course of instruction be created based on the social sciences. When the NEA 1916 report established social studies as the name of the content area, it presented the scope and sequence that is still in use at the start of the twenty-first century. Social studies received further support when the 1918 Cardinal Principles of Secondary Education called for the unified study of subject areas heretofore taught in isolation. This course, called social studies, would have as its main goal the cultivation of good citizens.

The emphasis on citizenship development was understandable. At the time, because of increased immigration from non-English speaking countries, educators were given the task of teaching English and "the American way of life" in addition to their content areas. As World War I raged in Europe, social studies courses were viewed as a means of developing patriotism among the new foreign-born citizens.

Indeed, citizenship education was one of the main missions of the National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS) when it was formed in 1921. What began as a service organization intending to close the gap between social scientists and secondary school teachers soon advanced an integrated study of the social studies and a broader conception of social studies education.; March 5, 2008 at 9:05 PM
Instructivist said...: This is sort of a reversal.

(Scheduled for CBS's Early Show Thursday):

NEW HOMESCHOOLING METHODS - We will be giving an inside look into the methods that parents use when home-schooling their children.

Jeannie Ringe home-schools her daughter, Margaret, using the “Thomas Jefferson” method - one that encourages children to follow their personal passions rather than be forced into learning certain things.

Many parents who follow this method of teaching argue that most public school systems give students the same material at the same age, and test students identically, with no attention given to individual talents or interests. The finished products are indeed good employees, as they are taught what to think. In contrast, they believe following the “Thomas Jefferson” method will produce adults who become the true leaders in government, the entrepreneurs in business, and the inspiring voices of great ideas, high morals and noble values.

THE EARLY SHOW will give an inside look into the lives of these home-schooled children, and find out how it may affect their future education and careers.; March 5, 2008 at 10:42 PM
concernedCTparent said...: I'm certain TJEd will be oversimplified on the morning show. While it's not structured in the way a classical education would be, it's not exactly unschooling either. There's lots more info about it here:

www.tjed.org; March 6, 2008 at 4:44 AM
concernedCTparent said...: *By structured, I refer to the Trivium.; March 6, 2008 at 4:48 AM
Catherine Johnson said...: Ironic that a CBS program talking about something that sounds like unschooling (which is going to have a HUGE appeal to an awful lot of public school parents) appears in the same moment that we have CA judge talking about criminalizing homeschooling parents.

heh; March 6, 2008 at 7:27 AM

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