Posts
Conservatives do tend to oppose constructivism- but so do plenty of liberals. My parents are die-hard Democrats but are in favor of teaching phonics, traditional math, and the Great Books.Until March 2009, I had not seen a single exception to this rule.
Behold:
Indiana's governor aims to transform high schools with technologyMitch Daniels went to Princeton with Ed, I think. He knows what a liberal arts education is.
ASCD SmartBrief | 03/13/2009
Indiana's 350 public high schools could get a high-tech makeover if Gov. Mitch Daniels wins support to replace many classroom lectures with group learning. "No one knows what the ideal or perfect model for helping our kids achieve more is, but here we have something that works," said Daniels of the model that has been introduced to six Indiana high schools. "It's a huge step beyond what we have been doing. It's affordable, and it can be moved into schools very quickly." Indianapolis Star, The (03/10
Once you've got Reaganite fiscal conservatives who are not trapped in 1980s nostalgia plumping for group learning, it's all over.
3 comments:
"... but here we have something that works"
I'm sure nobody will ask exactly how they quantify that. Rather than look at the whole K-12 picture, they are playing guess and check. It's all relative, not absolute.
A liberal sees constructivism and thinks: "This is compatible with my Romantic child-centric philosophy." A pro-capitalist thinks: "This is high tech. Group learning prepares kids for collaboration in the business world."
ari-freedom
I suspect he's plumping technology more so than group learning. It's a marketing tactic: push the tech because the average person views tech as good and efficient. But the average person isn't informed enough to understand the methodology that's packaged with it. And to the extent they do, their opinion of it is shaped by the "experts" who sell it.
Conservatives do indeed have an uphill battle with this, but the first step is to attack the "link" between tech and group learning.
Post a Comment