Finland gives each student 16 years of love, encouragement, support, hands on lessons, years and years of personalized practice and support before they are given their first standardized test at the age of 16!
America on the other hand has a long love affair with punitive school accountability, collecting big data on every child starting in kindergarten, punitive standardized testing and costly school reforms. Our education model is creating children that have real fear, anxiety, depression, and despair. Many of our students are developing a great dissatisfaction with their educational path in life! The never ending drive for high test scores, with the real message and mandate being, everyone is accountable. The incessant never ending over testing in schools for the purpose of collection of standardized data, supposably used to drive high academic performance, is in my opinion coming at the cost of curiosity. passion, and learning what is really important in life.
Students are being left with a zombie learning mindset that is stunting and numbing their intellect. Subconsciously students are seeking an "anagnorisis: a desire to find and identifying his/her true nature and passions" Mindless unquestioning drones are great for our unchecked consumption driven economy and greedy politicians but devastating for a compassionate society. A purposeful life with real meaning needs to be of utmost importance. We must scrap our model of punitive school reforms, that are an arbitrary ranking of teachers, schools and students for political and corporate purposes.
Hope, honor, curiosity, compassion, and virtue are on the wane today, yet we keep pushing punitive education reforms that are marginalizing a generation of children. Common Core and our new push for a technology based or formal STEM based education is extinguishing the intrinsic love of learning when paired with the same old reforms. Curious, adroit, well read, articulate, analytical investigative minds are developed through visionary holistic out of the box thinking and progressive ideas.
Common Core "RIGOROUS" pedagogical ideals are 10 years behind the times, just like 100s of other old school punitive reforms and dusty pedagogical practices! PUNITIVE school reform models never worked 10-20 even 30 years ago and are not needed in today's classrooms. Modern education is missing the point and at worst, it falls short of creating curious, wise, and virtuous citizens.
What are some of the solutions? How do we inspire a new generation of curious virtuous Odyssean scholars that thrive academically and emotionally in a culture of standardization and punitive accountability?
America on the other hand has a long love affair with punitive school accountability, collecting big data on every child starting in kindergarten, punitive standardized testing and costly school reforms. Our education model is creating children that have real fear, anxiety, depression, and despair. Many of our students are developing a great dissatisfaction with their educational path in life! The never ending drive for high test scores, with the real message and mandate being, everyone is accountable. The incessant never ending over testing in schools for the purpose of collection of standardized data, supposably used to drive high academic performance, is in my opinion coming at the cost of curiosity. passion, and learning what is really important in life.
Students are being left with a zombie learning mindset that is stunting and numbing their intellect. Subconsciously students are seeking an "anagnorisis: a desire to find and identifying his/her true nature and passions" Mindless unquestioning drones are great for our unchecked consumption driven economy and greedy politicians but devastating for a compassionate society. A purposeful life with real meaning needs to be of utmost importance. We must scrap our model of punitive school reforms, that are an arbitrary ranking of teachers, schools and students for political and corporate purposes.
Hope, honor, curiosity, compassion, and virtue are on the wane today, yet we keep pushing punitive education reforms that are marginalizing a generation of children. Common Core and our new push for a technology based or formal STEM based education is extinguishing the intrinsic love of learning when paired with the same old reforms. Curious, adroit, well read, articulate, analytical investigative minds are developed through visionary holistic out of the box thinking and progressive ideas.
Common Core "RIGOROUS" pedagogical ideals are 10 years behind the times, just like 100s of other old school punitive reforms and dusty pedagogical practices! PUNITIVE school reform models never worked 10-20 even 30 years ago and are not needed in today's classrooms. Modern education is missing the point and at worst, it falls short of creating curious, wise, and virtuous citizens.
What are some of the solutions? How do we inspire a new generation of curious virtuous Odyssean scholars that thrive academically and emotionally in a culture of standardization and punitive accountability?
READ MORE ABOUT Odyssean Education
Our students' need an "Odyssean" education, Apollonian reasoning, rationality and logic, AND they need Dionysian intuition. ‘Odyssean’ education – an education that starts with questioning, seeking the biggest unanswered questions and unsolved problems and teaches students to understand the connections between them (‘integrative analytical thinking’). Apollo and Dionysus are both sons of Zeus. Apollo is the god of the sun, of rational thinking and order, and appeals to logic, prudence and purity. Dionysus is the god of wine and dance, of irrationality and chaos, matters of the heart, madness and appeals to emotions and base instincts of man.
We are in living with the perils of external top-down group think (Punitive School Reform) that stifles or exterminated innovation, creativity and experimentation. The problems that we face in education are many and complicated yet they are best solved by those doing the teaching and learning. Many teachers and students may feel disenfranchised and see they have no seat at the table when the true message is different from the actions.
1. Creating a Culture of Questioning, Rhetorical Thinking, and Critical Thinking.
2, Creating a Culture of Novelty "OUTSIDE THE BOX HANDS ON LEARNING!"
3. Creating a Culture of Active Learning Hands on Learning
We are in living with the perils of external top-down group think (Punitive School Reform) that stifles or exterminated innovation, creativity and experimentation. The problems that we face in education are many and complicated yet they are best solved by those doing the teaching and learning. Many teachers and students may feel disenfranchised and see they have no seat at the table when the true message is different from the actions.
Courage is the most important of all the virtues, because without courage you can't practice any other virtue consistently. You can practice any virtue erratically, but nothing consistently without courage. Maya Angelou
1. Creating a Culture of Questioning, Rhetorical Thinking, and Critical Thinking.
The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existing.... It is a miracle that curiosity survives formal education. Albert Einstein
2, Creating a Culture of Novelty "OUTSIDE THE BOX HANDS ON LEARNING!"
Novelty, fun, and excitement produces dopamine in the brain, and dopamine is associated with building and cementing long-term memory.
3. Creating a Culture of Active Learning Hands on Learning
Active learning is a model of instruction that focuses the responsibility of learning on learners. Students must read, write, discuss, or be engaged in solving problems not merely actively listen. Active learning engages students in two aspects – doing things and thinking about the things they are doing (Bonwell and Eison, 1991).
Learn to enjoy every minute of your life. Be happy now. Don't wait for something outside of yourself to make you happy in the future. Think how really precious is the time you have to spend, whether it's at work or with your family. Every minute should be enjoyed and savored. Earl Nightingale
4. Creating a Culture of Cooperation
The most powerful force ever known on this planet is human cooperation - a force for construction and destruction. Jonathan Haidt
5. Creating a Classroom Culture of Responsibility and Accountability
One's philosophy is not best expressed in words; it is expressed in the choices one makes... and the choices we make are ultimately our responsibility. Eleanor Roosevelt
6. Creating a Classroom Culture of Virtue; Honesty, Compassion, Valour, Justice, Sacrifice, Honour, Spirituality, Humility
THE KNIGHTS CREED
THE KNIGHTS CREED
The knight is sworn to valorHis heart knows only virtueHis blade defends the helplessHis might upholds the weakHis words speak only truthHis wrath undoes the wicked.
The right can never dieIf one man still recallsThe words are not forgotIf one voice speaks them clearThe code forever shinesIf one heart holds it bright
"To be brave in deed and in word, to be one of strength and courage is to be a champion. A Knight must be a hero and a champion, a guardian of good. True of heart and noble in spirit, a Knight must be willing to sacrifice everything if it will further the one and only war."
"Be without fear in the face of your enemies. Be brave and upright, that God may love thee. Speak the truth always, even if it leads to your death. Safeguard the helpless and do no wrong; that is your oath. Rise a knight."
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