Vol. III No. 3 * November/December, 1997
links valid through February 1998
Contents
A Call for Educators
to Assist in a Doctoral Research Study by Fred Mednick- Fred Mednick, author of Rebel Without a Car: Surviving and
appreciating your child's teen years, sends out a call for educators
to participate in a doctoral research project. Fred is looking to connect
with educators in seven countries, the United Kingdom, the United States,
Mexico, Thailand, Israel, Ethiopia, and Russia, as part of a
cross-cultural study of educational foundations and challenges.
Learning,
Learning Organizations, and Leadership: Implications for the Year 2050
by Jerry D. Bamburg- The nations that lead the world into the next century will be those
who can shift from being industrial economies based upon the production
of
manufactured goods to those that possess the capacity to produce and
utilize knowledge successfully. The major issue that confronts educators
in America is whether or not we can transform education and create
schools
that can successfully prepare our nation's students for life in the year
2050. This process calls for leadership at all levels, but those who are
responsible for America's schools must take the time to seriously
consider
the kinds of changes that are needed. If they do, they will come to
realize that schools, as presently organized and operated, are incapable
of addressing the needs of students and teachers and that a fundamental
transformation of American education is needed.
Asking the Right Questions
by Charles Johnston, M.D.
- When culture is relatively stable, the average person doesn't need
to
give big picture questions much attention -- we appropriately relegate
them to philosophers and the like. But in times of significant change and
challenge, the situation becomes dramatically different. The big picture
comes to have ultimate practical importance. This is particularly so for
educators. Education in such times is about teaching for realities that
barely exist, and that often we barely understand. If we are not deeply
attentive to the big picture, what we do in the classroom will be at best
irrelevant, at worst a violation of the sacred trust that education is
ultimately about. Asking the right questions can begin the inquiry
process, helping people identify the often unconscious threads with which
-- for good or ill -- we are weaving the fabric of the future.
- You Can't Get There
From Here: The Need for a New Logic in Education Reform (this
article removed 11/2006 because our permission to reprint was not renewed)
by Jeff Howard
- Sorting people, "education by elimination" is standard practice in schools
and institutions, reflecting erroneous beliefs about learning capacity that
prevail in American culture. True school reform cannot take place if we are
willing to waste the tremendous capacity of a large part of the population.
Designing and supporting high standards should be the goal of all educators,
but must come from the belief that people are capable of learning at high
levels. Reprint from Daedalus.
Special Education in
Restructured Schools: Findings from Three Multi-Year Studies by
Joseph Jenkins, et al.
- Pull-out services for students with learning disabilities (LD) have
come under increasing attack, although empirical evidence of their
ineffectiveness is scant. Calls for alternative, innovative models of
special education services prompted three research studies that used a
common data base to permit aggregation of findings on achievement of
students with LD in these restructured programs. In this article, the
three models are carefully described, as is the achievement of students
with LD during model implementation. Taken together, the findings from
the
three research studies suggest that general education setting produce
achievement outcomes for students with LD that are neither desirable nor
acceptable.
Antioch's Efforts
to Develop Culturally Congruent Teacher Education by Linda Campbell
- In an effort to attract minority candidates into the teaching force,
Linda Campbell wrote a Washington State grant in 1993 to implement a
teacher preparation program on-site at the Tulalip Indian Reservation in
northwestern Washington State. The grant included forging a three-way
alliance between Antioch University, the Tulalip Tribes, and the
Marysville School District which provides public education for Tulalip
Indian children. The process of developing a program founded on elements
of the culture it seeks to serve is one of several challenges Antioch is
facing.
- Students and Teachers
Discover New Tools for Thinking by Lorna Willams
- Over the past ten years, the Vancouver, BC school district has been
providing Instrumental Enrichment training to school and district staff,
and to students. Teachers are experiencing changes in their learning and
are reflecting on their own learning approaches, preferences, and styles.
Students and teachers are taking more risks and seeking new challenges.
I.E. has not been an easy method for anyone to learn, but the results
have
been fruitful beyond their wildest expectations, with students and
teachers of all cultures.
- Summary: Global Consciousness
Change... and The Emerging Paradigm
by Duane Elgin with Coleen LeDrew
- Duane Elgin, author of The Awakening Earth has conducted an inquiry
based on existing, comprehensive surveys. The inquiry was organized around
five thematic areas: Is the global communications revolution fostering a new
global consciousness? What is the extent of humanity's global ecological awareness
and concern? Is there a shift underway toward "postmodern" social values?
Is a new kind of experiential or firsthand spirituality emerging? Is there
a shift underway toward more sustainable ways of living? Read two excerpts
from a study guide produced by The Fetzer Institute, The Institute of Noetic
Sciences, The Brande Foundation, The California Institute of Integral Studies,
and The State of the World Forum. The guide is designed to promote community
dialogue and study. The first is is a summary
of the report, the second, describes emerging
paradigms.
- The Ten Commandments
of Community by Richard D. Lamm
- From the Building, the Window on the
Future opens on a new world where the conflicting goals and needs
of a diverse population place an ever increasing burden on society's institutions
. Richard Lamm, former governor of Colorado, now the director of the Center
for Public Policy and Contemporary Issues at the University of Denver, asks
us to look with new eyes at the idea of community, reconsidering the elements
that unite and divide us. Building better communities is a top public policy
priority and he offers ten building blocks to consider as we restructure our
institutions so that they work for everyone.
Draft: Education in America:
Current Issues and Future Opportunities by Jerry Bamburg
- In this draft , issues and opportunities surrounding the current drive to
reform and restructure our educational system are identified. The process
of identification of issues is essential if schools are to be thoughtfully
designed to reflect not only how we seek to educate children, but also in
a way that makes it possible for schools and the larger community to successfully
coordinate efforts to address the needs of children.
New on the
Bulletin
Board:
- Washington State Social Studies Home Page
- World Hunger Database
- Announcement: Learning Technologies Job Opportunities for Postdoctoral
Scholars
- Website: Political Cartoons Teach at Nifty New Website
- Website: Using Encarta In Classrooms: Master Teachers Show the
Way to Enrich Curriculum With Multimedia
- Announcement: World Conference on Educational Telecommunications
- Announcement: New Resource Helps Hispanic Students Find Scholarships
- Announcement: Visit Jupiter on the Web
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Have You Seen . . .
Links to announcements, interesting reading and great
resources.
Website: Multiple
Intelligences for Adult Literacy and Adult Education explores many
ways to apply the theory of multiple intelligences to basic skills, learning
styles, and adult literacy education. The site helps instructors and students
discover their many intelligences and how to use them effectively in mastering
whatever content is being learned in the classroom and at home. The emphasis
is on tapping the student's unique and natural learning processes to ensure
success. You'll find strategies, assessment suggestions, case studies, and
teaching tips -- also worthwhile for K-12 teachers and parents working with
young readers.
- Leo Ussak School is the "Coolest School" in Canada's Arctic, and
the first Canadian Arctic School to be on the web. The site is an outstanding
example of knowledge-building by students and teachers. You can learn about
the Inuit culture, take a tour of Rankin Inlet and learn about the Community
Access Centre that gives all citizens of Rankin Inlet computer and Internet
access. Classroom teachers will want to bookmark the Inuktitut Language and
Inuit Culture page. Students will find movies, an Hypercard stack of lessons
in the Inuktitut language, sound bites, and more.
- Website: Student Research Sites: Race and Race Relations in America
Some interesting websites for students researching American race relations.
- The Space Museum
An online museum of space related exhibits. Math, inventions, and more. Not
just for little kids.
- CC Publications: NetCourses and NetSchools
A guide to online schools and learning opportunities.
- Touro College: Graduate School
of Education and Psychology
People looking for training in Feuerstein's theories will be interested in
this American university's courses.
- Project Zero: Patterns of Thinking
Project Zero now offers PZWeb, an new online service. One of the resources
there is an article outlining 7 "dispositions of good thinking" -- useful
for assessing thinking skill levels in students.
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