This is an interesting, albeit American-based view of the charter system and the overall fragmentation issue of public education. I am not an advocate of reform. That tends to tinker at the edges. I advocate transformation. This requires new conversations at the grassroots. What does public education mean to you, your family, and the community you live in?
Words for Teachers and Learners at Heart
This fell into my world yesterday and I thought it might be a good share. It is certainly something to reflect on as we begin each day in our various roles of learning and teaching.
Human Resources – A Poem
I often wonder about the language of the workplace. We refer to students as clients and staff in schools as human resources. Reminded me of a song from my youth, The Five Man Electrical Band. They wondered about the increased proliferation of signs and wrote a short note to Jesus about it while stopping in at a church along the way. Enjoy!
A human resources expert appeared
out of a shroud
mist-like.
I recoiled
What’s wrong?
Pleasantly enough asked
seemed off somehow
May be a sinister tone?
Did I say the wrong thing?
Or things?
I wonder
didn’t get the job
not even interviewed for that matter, plus
I got a security escort
wasn’t the first time
Human resources, you say.
Humph
I have questions
to hell with yours
I’ll ask mine
Are we compatible?
Can we date?
Where are humans mined?
do they mind?
What are they worth?
Raw and finished versions
Where is the human factory?
Are they reliable?
Can I get a warranty?
Can you exploit them?
or do they have a mind of their own?
do they mind?
Can we drill for them?
Do they fit in a pipe
To ship them, not smoke them
Do they depreciate?
Like a car, factory, or another normal asset?
a write-off?
or right off?
She seemed confused
perplexed perhaps
That must not have been in the book
I guess?
Tough to get a job
As a human being,
Not a human resource.
No offense intended to human resources people. You have a job to do. I guess.
This is another great reblog of a reblog. Do our bosses approve and appreciate our learning? Frequently, what passes as institutional professional learning is an edict from above. When I engage in learning, I want to own it. I want to be a scholar.
Memories
Here is a nice thought for the evening and beyond. I am sure we can relate to this many days. What do we remember about someone or something long past? Personally, I give it a lot of thought. It is so interesting what quiet time conjures up and who it conjures up.
This is a most interesting view of bullying. There is a growing sentiment that entitlement is often a product of self-esteem and we, adults, should focus on self-efficacy and resiliency. Self-esteem fits under this and children learn to deal effectively with setbacks. It is certainly food for thought and I thank Darlena for the reblog.
A Blog Experiment
I am using software called NVivo. Essentially, I use it to organize and summarize qualitative data. One cool feature is the ability to create a word cloud. I am experimenting with that feature and using the image facility on my laptop. I summarized some World Cafe events we held in February and March. The results were simply outstanding. The only fly in the ointment was I had to scan the picture and lost the colour.
The overarching question we created our conversation around was: “What engages us in learning?
February 4, 2012
Think of a time that you feel was a high point in your learning. This would have been a time you felt most alive, effective, and engaged in the learning process. Describe how you felt. What made this possible?
February 18, 2012
“Without being humble, describe what you value most about yourself. How does this contribute to the experience of learning for you? What setting does this seem to flourish best in? What would attract you to that setting?”
March 3, 2012
What encourages us to continue learning and see learning as important in our lives?
Questions emerged. I thought the most interesting was an absence in the data. What about teacher expertise in subject area or technical knowledge? It could be these are unstated but assumed necessary. Or it could be that the relational aspect, the art of teaching, is so important to this group of people the technical and subject knowledge is secondary. What do others think about this?
Twice today, I received blog entries about living life fully and loving it for what it is. This is an amazing post and the other is at Marie Wetmore’s blog on my blog roll. I received this one from http://wheresmytbackandotherstories.wordpress.com/. Please check all three blogs out. They are great.
John Lennon’s Advice on Education
I wonder what education might look like if we followed this simple advice each day for every person who walked in the door’s of our schools?
Imagine a world where we could be happy, responsible, and not deny others their opportunities?
Thought and Haiku for Saturday
Last night, just before I went to bed, I was watching the news from one of the Spokane TV stations. Washington State completed an audit for public education. One of the conclusions was that simply moving 1%of funding from central offices and administration would add about 1000 classroom teachers states-wide. I am not suggesting this could be done across the board in every jurisdiction but it is food for thought. What if we moved 10% from school administration and central office administration? What would the benefits be? Right off the top of my head I thought of additional classroom teachers and effective professional learning could be undertaken.
Will this even be considered or are we merely protecting an antiquated and bloated status quo?
I am working on the World Cafe summaries from several months ago trying to find software to organize, analyze, and present the data in a meaningful way. The March 17, 2012 event yielded what was very close to a haiku. I massaged it a bit this morning and came up with the following:
schooling as a place
can just be interrupting
learning for children.
It sounds a bit like Mark Twain.
ivonprefontaine
Teacher as Transformer 