We had the first lecture for Education, Service and Community Engagement and it was most inspiring. For one thing, the lecturer mostly used a whiteboard and we weren’t all looking at computer screens throughout, so I felt alert at the end of the day. Secondly, and just as important, the content of the lecture was so thought-provoking. The idea of Theology of Liberation has put a new light on Catholicism for me. I am aware that I have associated Catholicism with the oppression of various people. Catholics aren’t allowed to think for themselves (they must think exactly what the church tells them), women don’t have equal rights and many feel so brainwashed and damaged by their upbringings with the strong emphasis on sin, that all they can do later is to reject it.
However, following the first lecture I felt relieved to have heard about the truly good intentions at the base of the doctrine of the Catholic Church. Whilst I am sure that the argument against women in the priesthood is one about which I will always feel uncomfortable, I realize that in closing my eyes to everything about the Catholic Church, I am throwing the baby out with the bathwater. Actually what is more important is to accept the good that is carried out in the name of Christianity. Either one is for something or against something and considering myself Christian I must align myself with other Christians wherever possible.
Liberation Theology looks at what the message of the Gospel looks like from the perspective of the poor. It is Christianity from below. It means that where you live makes a difference to how you view religion. Clearly if people are out there on the street at soup kitchens, this will make politicians uncomfortable as they themselves are not concerned on a daily basis with the welfare of their own people at ground level but more with their political power. Anyone pointing out the plight of the poor is going to be threatening. The work of Gutierrez, displaying such commitment, would be threatening to anyone even slightly unsure of the work they were doing in the world. When the essence of one’s work is not founded on something meaningful it is extremely unsettling to witness another working out of complete commitment to their belief. As I heard about the deep devotion and the hope in the lives of those in South America living under such difficult circumstances just from the knowledge that people in Australia were thinking of them, I felt inspired to be grateful for my life and all I could do. At the same time I felt ashamed by the minimal work I actually do for charity.
I also felt concerned as we were made aware of the inequality in standards of living present in the world. Of course we are in the rich world and there are millions of people living without basic necessities. The video we watched about shopping in America was grotesque and yet our constant buying here in Australia is much closer to that reality than to that of the lives of the starving in Africa. If theology is “critical reflection on praxis in the light of the Word of God”, (Robert McAfee Brown) becoming aware again of these realities is disconcerting in the extreme. Whilst it is comfortable for me to point an accusing finger at politicians who do too little for the poor, what am I actually doing other than giving some money? If “Commitment means encountering the poor” (Brown) then I am clearly not committed. But as it says in “Signs of a Crisis”(Jim Wallis) “who has time to be a citizen?” In order to give the meagre amount of money I give to charity I am working all hours. But perhaps the “encounter with the poor” would bring more comfort through the reality of an interaction than just sending in the money.
Clearly, as a teacher, I need to know what I think about this. If the human conscience is a “clue to the word of God” (Brown), I am surely being spoken to about needing to do more charitable works.
Liberation from the “power of fate” and also from “personal sin and guilt” (Brown) is also a very powerful proposition. This could potentially lead to the world be changed totally. Once again it is an exciting thought but alarming to think of how little I do in order to bring about this Kingdom of God. It leads me to think that I too am working for the
‘Anti-Kingdom’.
Reading the Signs of a Crisis (Jim Wallis) I found alarming because although it was clearly written a while ago, it seemed more current than ever. It doesn’t matter which political leader is being spoken of, there is always disappointment about how little things have changed since the most recent leader was elected and how things have stayed the same.
Looking again at the greed so prevalent in our society and being some one who lives as part of it, also made me very uncomfortable. I believe like many others that I am doing my best but am I really?
I avoid watching violent films, and attempt to treat people I come into contact respectfully. I prevented my children from watching violent films to protect them from the images to avoid some of the toxins as talked of in “overarching sign of our crisis is our poisoned environment. From our toxic wastes to our toxic values, from the pollution of our air and water to the pollution of our hearts and minds” (Wallis), hopefully I thereby avoided some toxicity in my children as they grew up.
Although I go and vote I am aware that I do nothing else. The idea that “The ritual of public polling has now almost completely replaced genuine citizen participation in political life” (Wallis) rings true in my life and once again makes me feel uncomfortable. I am grateful for the opportunity to vote but I also know that I should be doing more politically because this is what it is to be Christian on earth.
The issue of societies surviving or not sometimes being dependent on the decisions made about sustainability is also confronting. Learning about ecological footprints and how large my own is, also induces guilt. What can I do to reduce mine? Of course I turn off lights and use little water but how can reduce it further? Having lived in Iceland for two years I saw that somehow they managed to survive having subjected the country to almost total deforestation. The Icelanders lived in extreme poverty until very recently. I would be interested to read what Jared Diamond had to say on it, but from what I saw of Icelanders 20 years ago, they were not environmentally conscious or caring. However, the social structures in place certainly cared for all people equally with remarkable funding for health and education and there seemed to be almost no poverty as there was in Europe at the time. There was an amazing awareness of Spirit in the culture, maybe it was this depth that enabled them to get through the dark winters with singing and story telling being the main entertainment although more recently the Icelanders were as prone to materialism as any First world country.
To complete the first journal entry I would say that I have found this course and the readings very interesting and informative.
The lecture on Moses was also very inspiring. I have always rejected the First Testament because I found it hard to relate to what appeared to be not in line with Christ’s teachings. I now have a new understanding of the prophets and the aim they had of evoking “a consciousness and perception alternative to the consciousness and perception of the dominant culture around us” as Bruggemann writes of the aim of prophetic ministry. Previously I have not seen the work of the prophets as that of promoting a new social justice through helping people to new understandings by aiding them in a “dismantling of the dominant consciousness” of the world in which they lived, rather I have seen there message to be an inner one. Clearly re-reading the prophets with this understanding gives it meaning to the reader at any time even if the contemporary laws are quite at odds with those at the time of the prophet. Suddenly there seems to be point in reading the First Testament for inspiration.
The idea that a prophet comes at a particular time for a particular community is also inspiring as a reminder for us, on a more humble level, that we also have particular tasks to do in our own particular lives just as the prophets had.
Michael wanted to “get God off the hook for Christ’s crucifixion” by making it clear that Christ had to die because the life that he led came into conflict with the Purity project of the time. (Leaders of the purity project deal with problematic people by murdering them.) From this perspective I can see that God can be let off as Jesus clearly presented a significant problem. However, if God is omnipotent surely nothing that he doesn’t desire can happen? The idea that the people in the purity project could have had greater power than God and made Jesus die against God’s will doesn’t make sense in a world where God is omnipotent.
We once again saw some confronting images (the image of Bishop Romero being shot for example) and I felt overwhelmed by my powerlessness to change the world and the horror of the cruelty we inflict upon one another as humans. I felt that the lecture was trying to address how we would respond to a student’s question “what sort of a God would allow evil to happen?” and I was no clearer at the end than I had been at the beginning. An omnipotent God surely wouldn’t allow such atrocities as the Rwandan genocide to happen and yet for some reason these things do happen, is it in order that humans learn to understand the power of freedom of choice and experience the horrors that certain choices bring with them?
Christ was clearly critical of the time in which he lived and was also clearly pained by what he saw and as such He sets us an example of how to view the world. Bruggemann talks of the numbness in which most of us live which can be penetrated by the passion of Christ and lead to transformation: “internalization of pain and external transformation” as he says “articulated grief is the gate of newness”. We can change our world as a result of the pain we go through. But this doesn’t explain at all why suffering has to happen in the first place. As Michael expressed it as Christians “we have responsibilities towards God’s kingdom- we need to cooperate”, we need to get active in our own world to do what we can to reduce the suffering.
The full day of JS423 was so inspiring! All the students had to speak on an issue of social justice and every single one was so well prepared and each person was fired up by what they had done. I could see that each person was a force to reckoned with and that the world through us teachers can become a better place. Liz, who spoke about refugees and internally displaced people gave an overview of the current state which when seen from the point of view of nations actually being motivated to help refugees in order to keep them off their own shores as explained in 'Human Cargo' is all the more disturbing.
It seems that self-interest is always at the base of inequalities and injustices and the fact that so many difficulties can be experienced as a result of the character of the person currently in charge of the UNHCR (United Nations High Commissioner of Refugees) seems insane in a world where humans have responsibilities towards each others. As a result of the High Commissioner being liked or not liked as a person attitudes towards the organization itself are changed and as the nature of its work is to save lives this seems almost unbelievable.
In a similar way the article 'Unpacking theopolitical dynamite' seemed to be arguing from a subjective point of view what makes a text worthy of believing or not. I was not persuaded that any one has the right to claim that something is true and something else not when reading the Bible. I am sure that I can say what I may or may not wish to believe but that does not mean that I would force my opinions on other people and say that their beliefs are wrong.
On the other hand the reality of terrorist attacks being a response to the colonialism before and the lingering effects of colonialism and the 80:20 world we live in as Michael presented it I am able to accept. AlsoI agree that the image of fighters bombers is certainly as terrorist as any 'terrorist attack'. It is terrible idea that people learn through example and that victims see attack as the only way to liberate themselves from oppression as this is what they have experienced.
Monday, April 30, 2007
Wednesday, April 11, 2007
Wednesday, April 4, 2007
vygotsky posting
I agree completely with Lev Vygotsky’s claim that a student’s learning is related to their environment and culture. I am sure that this is the case and I believe that for many students the classroom environment may not be the ideal place in which to learn, as they are often so distracted by social interaction with other students. Of course they will be learning about socialisation but content learnt may be minimal.
Vygotsky talked of egocentric speech (talking out loud) as “a transition to internalized thought” (Driscoll cited in Riddle. 1999) and I wonder whether in the present time egocentric speech is more socially acceptable than it was in the past, resulting in people talking considerably more than in the past (during classes, movies or concerts for example).
Vygotsky claimed that the three elements that needed to be present in order for learning to occur were 1) active student 2) active teacher and 3) an active social environment. (The Mozart of Psychology. N.d.)
Here I think he is referring to the fact that unless a student is actively involved whatever they are doing will not be internalized. I think that this is helpful as it means that as a teacher I would be wise to relax in the knowledge that there is only a certain amount that I can do.
As a teacher of mine used to say “teaching has nothing to do with learning” (Ilana Nevill. 1980) and Vygotsky also said that “From a scientific point of view, strictly speaking, you cannot educate anyone else”. (ibid.)
Vygotsky created the term Zone of Proximal Development describing it as “the distance between the actual development level as determined by independent problem solving and the level of potential development as determined through problem solving under adult guidance or in collaboration with more capable peers”. (Vygotsky 1978) I interpret this to mean that students can learn more when they are helped by someone else, if they are met on ground of something that they already know. This makes sense as from what I have seen if I can engage students with something about which they feel confident, learning is much more likely than if they feel lost from the start.
References:
Nicholl, T. Vygotsky.
Retrieved from HYPERLINK "http://www.massey.ac.nz/-alock/virtual/trishvyg.htm" http://www.massey.ac.nz/-alock/virtual/trishvyg.htm on April 3 2007
Riddle, E. Lev Vygotsky’s Social Development Theory (1999)
Retrieved from HYPERLINK "http://tonymcarthur.edublogs.org/files/2007/03/vygotsky1.htm" http://tonymcarthur.edublogs.org/files/2007/03/vygotsky1.htm on March 4 2007
Lev Vygotsky Wikipedia entry
Retrieved from HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lev_Vygotsky" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lev_Vygotsky
On April 3 2007
The Mozart of Psychology
Retrieved from HYPERLINK "http://vygotsky.afraid.org/" http://vygotsky.afraid.org/ on April 3 2007
Vygotsky talked of egocentric speech (talking out loud) as “a transition to internalized thought” (Driscoll cited in Riddle. 1999) and I wonder whether in the present time egocentric speech is more socially acceptable than it was in the past, resulting in people talking considerably more than in the past (during classes, movies or concerts for example).
Vygotsky claimed that the three elements that needed to be present in order for learning to occur were 1) active student 2) active teacher and 3) an active social environment. (The Mozart of Psychology. N.d.)
Here I think he is referring to the fact that unless a student is actively involved whatever they are doing will not be internalized. I think that this is helpful as it means that as a teacher I would be wise to relax in the knowledge that there is only a certain amount that I can do.
As a teacher of mine used to say “teaching has nothing to do with learning” (Ilana Nevill. 1980) and Vygotsky also said that “From a scientific point of view, strictly speaking, you cannot educate anyone else”. (ibid.)
Vygotsky created the term Zone of Proximal Development describing it as “the distance between the actual development level as determined by independent problem solving and the level of potential development as determined through problem solving under adult guidance or in collaboration with more capable peers”. (Vygotsky 1978) I interpret this to mean that students can learn more when they are helped by someone else, if they are met on ground of something that they already know. This makes sense as from what I have seen if I can engage students with something about which they feel confident, learning is much more likely than if they feel lost from the start.
References:
Nicholl, T. Vygotsky.
Retrieved from HYPERLINK "http://www.massey.ac.nz/-alock/virtual/trishvyg.htm" http://www.massey.ac.nz/-alock/virtual/trishvyg.htm on April 3 2007
Riddle, E. Lev Vygotsky’s Social Development Theory (1999)
Retrieved from HYPERLINK "http://tonymcarthur.edublogs.org/files/2007/03/vygotsky1.htm" http://tonymcarthur.edublogs.org/files/2007/03/vygotsky1.htm on March 4 2007
Lev Vygotsky Wikipedia entry
Retrieved from HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lev_Vygotsky" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lev_Vygotsky
On April 3 2007
The Mozart of Psychology
Retrieved from HYPERLINK "http://vygotsky.afraid.org/" http://vygotsky.afraid.org/ on April 3 2007
piaget posting
Piaget has been extremely influential on preschool and primary school planning as a result of the four successive learning stages he claimed to be fundamental to the way in which children learn.
His theory rests on an understanding of ‘intelligence’ (or adapting to the environment) as a process of assimilating or accommodating new information into ever more sophisticated skills (which he called ‘schemes’) following the conflict which arises when new information does not fit into a pre-existing idea. As a child develops new skills, old structures are replaced by new ones so which result in the qualitative nature of children’s answers changing gradually and being dependent on their age.
This is not an indication that younger children are less intelligent than older children but rather that they are not able to have particular thought patterns until they have learnt them, which means that learning needs to be age appropriate.
As a mother of two I have witnessed the development of my children and seen how they were able to understand new things at different stages. Particularly the egocentric nature of the child during the second period (Preoperational Thought) and the fact that this reappears in the fourth period (Formal Operations) I can understand well.
These stages are similar to the ideas that Rudolf Steiner put forward in his understanding of the human being and likewise he thought that the treatment of the child needed to be age- appropriate.
References:
Boeree, C. George Jean Piaget
Retrieved from
HYPERLINK "http://webspace.ship.edu/cgboer/piaget.html" http://webspace.ship.edu/cgboer/piaget.html
on 3 April 2007
Fetherston, Tony. Becoming an effective teacher. Thomson Melbourne 2007
Silverthorn, Pam. Jean Piaget’s Theory of Development
Retrieved from HYPERLINK "http://tonymcarthur.edublogs.org/files/2007/03/piaget.htm" http://tonymcarthur.edublogs.org/files/2007/03/piaget.htm on 7 March 2007
Piaget’s developmental theory
Retrieved from
HYPERLINK "http://www.learningandteachinginfo/learning/piaget.htm" http://www.learningandteachinginfo/learning/piaget.htm
on 3 April 2007
His theory rests on an understanding of ‘intelligence’ (or adapting to the environment) as a process of assimilating or accommodating new information into ever more sophisticated skills (which he called ‘schemes’) following the conflict which arises when new information does not fit into a pre-existing idea. As a child develops new skills, old structures are replaced by new ones so which result in the qualitative nature of children’s answers changing gradually and being dependent on their age.
This is not an indication that younger children are less intelligent than older children but rather that they are not able to have particular thought patterns until they have learnt them, which means that learning needs to be age appropriate.
As a mother of two I have witnessed the development of my children and seen how they were able to understand new things at different stages. Particularly the egocentric nature of the child during the second period (Preoperational Thought) and the fact that this reappears in the fourth period (Formal Operations) I can understand well.
These stages are similar to the ideas that Rudolf Steiner put forward in his understanding of the human being and likewise he thought that the treatment of the child needed to be age- appropriate.
References:
Boeree, C. George Jean Piaget
Retrieved from
HYPERLINK "http://webspace.ship.edu/cgboer/piaget.html" http://webspace.ship.edu/cgboer/piaget.html
on 3 April 2007
Fetherston, Tony. Becoming an effective teacher. Thomson Melbourne 2007
Silverthorn, Pam. Jean Piaget’s Theory of Development
Retrieved from HYPERLINK "http://tonymcarthur.edublogs.org/files/2007/03/piaget.htm" http://tonymcarthur.edublogs.org/files/2007/03/piaget.htm on 7 March 2007
Piaget’s developmental theory
Retrieved from
HYPERLINK "http://www.learningandteachinginfo/learning/piaget.htm" http://www.learningandteachinginfo/learning/piaget.htm
on 3 April 2007
hattie posting
I found it both inspiring and uncomfortable to read John Hattie’s article “Teachers Make a Difference: What is the research evidence?”
Inspiring because as a Novice teacher I can still live in hope that I might become an expert teacher and have ‘exceptional effects’ and uncomfortable because I saw myself as a teacher reflected in many descriptions of novice teachers.
I am not surprised that the student accounts for 50% of the variance of achievement. I am also not surprised that the teacher accounts for about 30%. Although simultaneously excited and alarmed by the power at my hands!
I am certainly passionate about my subject but I am also aware that I don’t think I am able to see the ‘essential representations’ without having the experience of having taught it already several times.
I am aware that I need to provide much more feedback to the students and that a great deal of my time is spent in classroom management and if asked how a lesson was, my response will be largely based on how much or little control I felt I had. I am certainly “attempting to dominate the situation”, something expert teachers apparently do not do.
I am also passionate about teaching the students to learn by participating but I have been afraid of showing emotionality about successes and failures in relation to this. I know that my classes would benefit from more praise being given.
I certainly respect the students and believe that they are all capable of learning but I think that this may often not come across to the students as I am trying so hard to keep control, the emphasis moves from learning to trying to create the learning environment.
Reference:
Hattie, J. (2003) Teachers Make a Difference: What is the research evidence?
Retrieved from Notre Dame University Portal School of Education March 1 2007
Hattie, J (2005) What is the Nature of Evidence That Makes a Difference to learning?
Retrieved from www.acer.edu.au/workshops/documents/HattieSlides.pdf
Inspiring because as a Novice teacher I can still live in hope that I might become an expert teacher and have ‘exceptional effects’ and uncomfortable because I saw myself as a teacher reflected in many descriptions of novice teachers.
I am not surprised that the student accounts for 50% of the variance of achievement. I am also not surprised that the teacher accounts for about 30%. Although simultaneously excited and alarmed by the power at my hands!
I am certainly passionate about my subject but I am also aware that I don’t think I am able to see the ‘essential representations’ without having the experience of having taught it already several times.
I am aware that I need to provide much more feedback to the students and that a great deal of my time is spent in classroom management and if asked how a lesson was, my response will be largely based on how much or little control I felt I had. I am certainly “attempting to dominate the situation”, something expert teachers apparently do not do.
I am also passionate about teaching the students to learn by participating but I have been afraid of showing emotionality about successes and failures in relation to this. I know that my classes would benefit from more praise being given.
I certainly respect the students and believe that they are all capable of learning but I think that this may often not come across to the students as I am trying so hard to keep control, the emphasis moves from learning to trying to create the learning environment.
Reference:
Hattie, J. (2003) Teachers Make a Difference: What is the research evidence?
Retrieved from Notre Dame University Portal School of Education March 1 2007
Hattie, J (2005) What is the Nature of Evidence That Makes a Difference to learning?
Retrieved from www.acer.edu.au/workshops/documents/HattieSlides.pdf
I found it both inspiring and uncomfortable to read John Hattie’s article “Teachers Make a Difference: What is the research evidence?”
Inspiring because as a Novice teacher I can still live in hope that I might become an expert teacher and have ‘exceptional effects’ and uncomfortable because I saw myself as a teacher reflected in many descriptions of novice teachers.
I am not surprised that the student accounts for 50% of the variance of achievement. I am also not surprised that the teacher accounts for about 30%. Although simultaneously excited and alarmed by the power at my hands!
I am certainly passionate about my subject but I am also aware that I don’t think I am able to see the ‘essential representations’ without having the experience of having taught it already several times.
I am aware that I need to provide much more feedback to the students and that a great deal of my time is spent in classroom management and if asked how a lesson was, my response will be largely based on how much or little control I felt I had. I am certainly “attempting to dominate the situation”, something expert teachers apparently do not do.
I am also passionate about teaching the students to learn by participating but I have been afraid of showing emotionality about successes and failures in relation to this. I know that my classes would benefit from more praise being given.
I certainly respect the students and believe that they are all capable of learning but I think that this may often not come across to the students as I am trying so hard to keep control, the emphasis moves from learning to trying to create the learning environment.
Reference:
Hattie, J. (2003) Teachers Make a Difference: What is the research evidence?
Retrieved from Notre Dame University Portal School of Education March 1 2007
Hattie, J (2005) What is the Nature of Evidence That Makes a Difference to learning?
Retrieved from www.acer.edu.au/workshops/documents/HattieSlides.pdf
Inspiring because as a Novice teacher I can still live in hope that I might become an expert teacher and have ‘exceptional effects’ and uncomfortable because I saw myself as a teacher reflected in many descriptions of novice teachers.
I am not surprised that the student accounts for 50% of the variance of achievement. I am also not surprised that the teacher accounts for about 30%. Although simultaneously excited and alarmed by the power at my hands!
I am certainly passionate about my subject but I am also aware that I don’t think I am able to see the ‘essential representations’ without having the experience of having taught it already several times.
I am aware that I need to provide much more feedback to the students and that a great deal of my time is spent in classroom management and if asked how a lesson was, my response will be largely based on how much or little control I felt I had. I am certainly “attempting to dominate the situation”, something expert teachers apparently do not do.
I am also passionate about teaching the students to learn by participating but I have been afraid of showing emotionality about successes and failures in relation to this. I know that my classes would benefit from more praise being given.
I certainly respect the students and believe that they are all capable of learning but I think that this may often not come across to the students as I am trying so hard to keep control, the emphasis moves from learning to trying to create the learning environment.
Reference:
Hattie, J. (2003) Teachers Make a Difference: What is the research evidence?
Retrieved from Notre Dame University Portal School of Education March 1 2007
Hattie, J (2005) What is the Nature of Evidence That Makes a Difference to learning?
Retrieved from www.acer.edu.au/workshops/documents/HattieSlides.pdf
bruner posting
Jerome Bruner considers that there is no age at which a person is not able to learn something if it is taught in the appropriate way. Although this may be true, I question whether learning certain things when very young is healthy. For example, children may learn to read when very young but might it not be better that the child is playing outdoors and experiencing real life?
Bruner claims that there are three modes of representation: Enactive, Iconic and Symbolic and everything should be taught in this order. It is interesting to note that these same modes correspond to the rough approaches which are used in Steiner education with the first seven years of life being active (not reading etc), the second seven years having learning with many pictures being used and the third seven years becoming more logical and academic in its focus.
Bruner also says that the culture in which a person lives is very important in education and I agree with this. I am sure that where someone is living has an enormous impact on how someone learns both negatively and positively. When I think of the lack of motivation in most of the North Shore students I teach, it is quite alarming. It is very difficult for students to imagine themselves outside of their immediate surroundings, so to them the idea of learning a foreign language is a waste of time as it not part of their culture. For Germans to learn English is a different matter as English is so readily available in their media. As Bruner says an “interest in the material to be learned is the best stimulus for learning”. (The Process of Education. 1960)
Knowing how very little I remember from the information I learnt while at school, the final quote I read by Bruner reflects exactly what I think:
“To instruct someone…is not a matter of getting him to commit results to mind. Rather it is to teach him to participate in the process that makes possible the establishment of knowledge. Knowing is a process not a product”. (Postscript for The Process of Education. 1966)
References:
Flores, Nicole. Jerome Bruner’s Education Theory
Retrieved from HYPERLINK "http://www.newfoundations.com/GALLERY/Bruner.html" http://www.newfoundations.com/GALLERY/Bruner.html
on April 3 2007
jerome bruner and the process of education
Retrieved from HYPERLINK "http://www.infed.org/thinkers/bruner.htm" http://www.infed.org/thinkers/bruner.htm
on April 3 2007
Jerome Bruner Wikipedia article
Retrieved from HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerome_Bruner" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerome_Bruner
On April 3 2007
LECTURE 14: BRUNER
Retrieved from HYPERLINK "http://evolution.massey.ac.nz/lect14/lect1400.htm" http://evolution.massey.ac.nz/lect14/lect1400.htm
on April 3 2007
Bruner claims that there are three modes of representation: Enactive, Iconic and Symbolic and everything should be taught in this order. It is interesting to note that these same modes correspond to the rough approaches which are used in Steiner education with the first seven years of life being active (not reading etc), the second seven years having learning with many pictures being used and the third seven years becoming more logical and academic in its focus.
Bruner also says that the culture in which a person lives is very important in education and I agree with this. I am sure that where someone is living has an enormous impact on how someone learns both negatively and positively. When I think of the lack of motivation in most of the North Shore students I teach, it is quite alarming. It is very difficult for students to imagine themselves outside of their immediate surroundings, so to them the idea of learning a foreign language is a waste of time as it not part of their culture. For Germans to learn English is a different matter as English is so readily available in their media. As Bruner says an “interest in the material to be learned is the best stimulus for learning”. (The Process of Education. 1960)
Knowing how very little I remember from the information I learnt while at school, the final quote I read by Bruner reflects exactly what I think:
“To instruct someone…is not a matter of getting him to commit results to mind. Rather it is to teach him to participate in the process that makes possible the establishment of knowledge. Knowing is a process not a product”. (Postscript for The Process of Education. 1966)
References:
Flores, Nicole. Jerome Bruner’s Education Theory
Retrieved from HYPERLINK "http://www.newfoundations.com/GALLERY/Bruner.html" http://www.newfoundations.com/GALLERY/Bruner.html
on April 3 2007
jerome bruner and the process of education
Retrieved from HYPERLINK "http://www.infed.org/thinkers/bruner.htm" http://www.infed.org/thinkers/bruner.htm
on April 3 2007
Jerome Bruner Wikipedia article
Retrieved from HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerome_Bruner" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerome_Bruner
On April 3 2007
LECTURE 14: BRUNER
Retrieved from HYPERLINK "http://evolution.massey.ac.nz/lect14/lect1400.htm" http://evolution.massey.ac.nz/lect14/lect1400.htm
on April 3 2007
glasser posting
I have found reading some of William Glasser’s work very interesting. From what I have read, it seems that it would be empowering for everyone using it. To concentrate on acting and thinking (two of the things that make up his view of ‘total behaviour’) is logical, because, as he rightly says our feelings often seem to be out of our control.
Glasser claims that the only significant problem people have is that of relationship and that even those diagnosed as mentally ill either have at least one very dissatisfying relationship or no relationships at all. Glasser believes that there is no such thing as mental illness but he is concerned with mental health. He believes that people chose certain behaviours, (even hallucinating, panic attacks, etc), in preference of experiencing their current life.
I have known two people who finally suicided and I always felt that they lost their power by coming to rely on drugs as a cure for what was described as ‘chemical imbalances’ in their brains. In both cases I felt that what they were being told by doctors was untrue and felt that the doctors concerned were really abusing their power by disempowering the patients and offering them drugs, which they later came to rely on.
The idea that teachers in schools can have a large impact on students through showing caring and compassion is also empowering as this is what I desire. As Glasser says, “There is no shortage of unhappy people” (Reality Therapy in the year 2000) and if I can do any thing to reduce the number by offering compassion, so much the better.
Glasser does not believe in punishments and from what I have seen of detentions, their effectiveness is extremely limited and I would like to see an alternative course of action.
I am also conscious that in my need to ‘survive’ as an untrained teacher I have used many of the ‘Seven Deadly Habits’ Glasser speaks of at times when it would have been more useful to focus on the ‘Seven Caring Habits’.
Sources
Glasser, W. Reality Therapy in the year 2000.
Retrieved from HYPERLINK "http://www.wglasser.com/rt2000.htm" http://www.wglasser.com/rt2000.htm
On April 3 2007
Glasser,W. School Violence from the Perspective of William Glasser. Retrieved from http://www.wglasser.com/violence.htm on April 3 2007
Glasser, W. Focusing on Chemistry instead of Compassion
Retrieved from HYPERLINK "http://www.wglasser.com/chemistr.htm " http://www.wglasser.com/chemistr.htm
on April 3 2007
Glasser, W. Counseling with Choice Therapy.
Retrieved from HYPERLINK "http://www.wglasser.com/thenew/htm" http://www.wglasser.com/thenew/htm
On April 3 2007
Wikipedia entry on Glasser, William
Retrieved from HYPERLINK "http://wik.ed.uiuc.edu/index.php/Glasser,_William" http://wik.ed.uiuc.edu/index.php/Glasser,_William
On April 3 2007
Glasser claims that the only significant problem people have is that of relationship and that even those diagnosed as mentally ill either have at least one very dissatisfying relationship or no relationships at all. Glasser believes that there is no such thing as mental illness but he is concerned with mental health. He believes that people chose certain behaviours, (even hallucinating, panic attacks, etc), in preference of experiencing their current life.
I have known two people who finally suicided and I always felt that they lost their power by coming to rely on drugs as a cure for what was described as ‘chemical imbalances’ in their brains. In both cases I felt that what they were being told by doctors was untrue and felt that the doctors concerned were really abusing their power by disempowering the patients and offering them drugs, which they later came to rely on.
The idea that teachers in schools can have a large impact on students through showing caring and compassion is also empowering as this is what I desire. As Glasser says, “There is no shortage of unhappy people” (Reality Therapy in the year 2000) and if I can do any thing to reduce the number by offering compassion, so much the better.
Glasser does not believe in punishments and from what I have seen of detentions, their effectiveness is extremely limited and I would like to see an alternative course of action.
I am also conscious that in my need to ‘survive’ as an untrained teacher I have used many of the ‘Seven Deadly Habits’ Glasser speaks of at times when it would have been more useful to focus on the ‘Seven Caring Habits’.
Sources
Glasser, W. Reality Therapy in the year 2000.
Retrieved from HYPERLINK "http://www.wglasser.com/rt2000.htm" http://www.wglasser.com/rt2000.htm
On April 3 2007
Glasser,W. School Violence from the Perspective of William Glasser. Retrieved from http://www.wglasser.com/violence.htm on April 3 2007
Glasser, W. Focusing on Chemistry instead of Compassion
Retrieved from HYPERLINK "http://www.wglasser.com/chemistr.htm " http://www.wglasser.com/chemistr.htm
on April 3 2007
Glasser, W. Counseling with Choice Therapy.
Retrieved from HYPERLINK "http://www.wglasser.com/thenew/htm" http://www.wglasser.com/thenew/htm
On April 3 2007
Wikipedia entry on Glasser, William
Retrieved from HYPERLINK "http://wik.ed.uiuc.edu/index.php/Glasser,_William" http://wik.ed.uiuc.edu/index.php/Glasser,_William
On April 3 2007
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