When looking at education 80+ years ago and comparing it to now one would assume that it is completely different. But is it really? So many of the same buzz words from then are still used now. So many of the same theories, strategies and expectations are the same.
After watching “Progressive Education in the 1940s” and reading the related blog posts by Seth Godin I realized that we are still having this same conversation after nearly eight decades and we haven’t seen much change. I think a big part of this is just as the blog post is titled “people who like this stuff… like this stuff”. If people like the way they are doing something then they stay the course. Like the old saying goes “if it’s not broke don’t fix it”. However, is this really what is best? In my opinion, no not necessarily. While I believe that my district and campus as a whole has made some progression in the right direction, I can see some “old ways” still in some classrooms. I know there are teachers who are “set in their way” or are hesitant to try anything new. Is it from fear of failure, the reality that it will be challenging, the fact that they like the traditional learning environments or a combination of them? For that I cannot say for certain, but either way the progression is at a stale mate in some of those classrooms.
I would also challenge that a lot of the progression has been inhibited because so many teachers are focused on the assessment piece. While I am in kindergarten and do not have state testing, we still have a huge emphasis on assessment and tracking academic movement through the learning progressions. I have no doubt that testing grades have an even bigger focus on testing as it is state mandated. Due to this I think that a lot of the progressive initiatives have been thrown to the wayside, because if the current strategies are “working” then district officials do not see a reason to change it. However, as Dr. Harapnuik reminds us of what Richard Freynman (2014) says there is a difference between knowing the name of something and knowing something. If all we are teaching students are the “names” of things (teaching to the test) but not really teaching them about it, they will only be successful when needing to recall facts based on memorization not on the application of a given topic.
My reflection has me asking how can I merge progressive teaching techniques and continue to get valid, positive results within my mandated assessments? This is one of the biggest goals and desires for me in my search for knowledge and learning in the Applied Digital Learning program. I hope learn how to better be able to create an environment for my students that meet their needs, engages them and pushes them towards a future of life long learning.
References
Godin, S. (2014, September 16). People who like this stuff... Seth's Blog. https://seths.blog/2014/09/people-who-like-this-stuff/
Harapnuik, D. (2014, September 16). People who like this stuff…like this stuff. Harapnuik.org. https://www.harapnuik.org/?p=5198
Harapnuik, D. (2017, June 9). To Get the Real Story You Need to Go to Primary Sources. Harapnuik.org. https://www.harapnuik.org/?p=5198
Richard Feynman : Knowing the Name of Something. (2014). [Video file] Retrieved from https://youtu.be/lFIYKmos3-s
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