Wednesday, July 02, 2008
Jo Reincke in Germany sent the following link to an article about schools in Finland and their apparent success. Education reform: Top of the class One of the things that educators notice that is different about schools in Finland is their integration of academic and vocational education in a single comprehensive school plan. It took them years to accomplish and this is a system quite unlike American Schools in which career tracks divide the hands-on vocational learning from the academic/college track. So, perhaps when I've mentioned before that Sloyd is the key to Finland's educational success, I haven't just been whistling in the dark.
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That reminds me a bit of the American Unschooling movement within the homeschool movement.
ReplyDeleteWhile I am not particularly a fan of Unschooling, I do think it is a fine system if properly implemented, and I think you would find some things to like in its theories.
The unschooling movement leaves the adult without a clear role in imparting values or experience.
ReplyDeleteI have a great deal of skill and experience to share with my students. It was why I chose to teach.
On the other hand, children left to their own devices will learn on their own. The question is whether there is any value in Mozart. You can fill your room with cats and pianos, and all the various notes will be played, but lacking in sensitivity compared to cats, pianos and a caring adult in the room.
Doug,
ReplyDeleteYou said, "The unschooling movement leaves the adult without a clear role in imparting values or experience."
Our concept of unschooling is seemingly very different.
Unschooling as I have heard it explained is actually very closely guided by the parents, and demands a tremendous amount of hands on parental involvment and guidance in the process.
Perhaps you could argue that the role of the parent isn't clear, but it seems to me that the unschooling parent/teacher/mentor had better have a very clear understanding of his role in imparting values and experience as should any good teacher or the whole thing would degenerate from "unschooling" to "ignorance" and "no education".
Perhaps you have personally witnessed the latter and find it distasteful. Perhaps in practice, many Unschoolers tend towards the latter. I don't know.
My point is that in theory, it emphasizes the hands on learning and mentoring many of us have found to be so useful.
Finnish Neurophysiologist Matti Bergström talks about the white game that parents play to direct their children toward success and preservation of culture, and the black game in which children must discover for themselves and reinvent culture on their own. So there is a balance to be found.
ReplyDeleteOur culture and schooling goes too far in one way, and the unschooling movement is recognition of that.