Why Schools Aren’t More Innovative

Check out this interview with author Steven Johnson, “Where Good Ideas Come From.”

Want to know why teachers aren’t more innovative?  They don’t collaborate enough.  Johnson makes a good point about how great ideas that have catapulted society forward.  We often credit these inventions or ideas to a lone genius, but the reality of it all is that most of the great ideas and innovations came out of collaborative work.

So, if we want our teachers and students to be more creative and innovative, why do we put so much emphasis on “doing things on our own”?  Teachers work in solitude all day long, rarely reflecting, discussing, or working with someone to improve their craft.  And, even worse, most teachers are really bad at managing student collaborative work in an educationally authentic way.

Will we make room for teachers and students to really collaborate and go beyond the minimum expectations?

The Passivity of Students AND Educators

“We need more ‘active learners’ at all levels of our education system. What percentage of your students – and educators – are just going through the motions (“just tell me what to do”) rather than inquiring, learning, leading, and, perhaps, modeling?”

I have to say this is an accurate description of many of our educators. I see it in my school system. And while there are many reasons that a teacher just wants to be told what to do, the attitude must be put to rest. School systems are going to have to do the hard work of figuring out what is causing this.

My guess is teachers are already doing everything they know to do, and we keep telling them they should do more. It’s like telling an ER doctor to save more lives, when he’s already doing everything he can to do just that. “Just tell me what to do, and I’ll do it – because I will do whatever it takes!”

Most teachers will change, adjust, modify, and break themselves to teach kids. But they will stop doing all of that when they keep getting told to “do more” and “care more” when they’re already doing and caring all they can.

Find the original blog post here from http://www.dangerouslyirrelevant.org: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/dangerouslyirrelevant/~3/yscSOahCjaQ/the-passivity-of-students-and-educators.html

No More AYP for KY?

My boss shared this article with me today, and I really couldn’t believe what I was hearing. A waiver for AYP under NCLB? This would be a huge step – and now, I’m trying to figure out if this is a good thing (because I agree that there are many problems with the current accountability system) or a bad thing (what will the new system be like?).

http://www.ksba.org/news/article/holliday-wants-to-end-ayp-as-measure-of-kentucky-school-progress

AT&T is That Bad?

This article reiterates the now popular idea that AT&T consistently provides sub-par service. When I got my iPhone, everyone warned me of all the terrible reasons I shouldn’t stay with AT&T, despite the fact that I have had nothing but good service from them. This dropped calls phenomenon must affect many people… Just not me? I wonder if perhaps we are now just listening and believing the media hype that has become so popular?

What do you think of your AT&T service?

http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/readwriteweb/~3/5XQIRAr5_Yc/no_surprise_to_iphone_users_as_consumer_reports_ca.php
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“The iPhone is great,” I often joke, “right up until you have to make a phone call.” Frustrations with dropped calls, missing text messages and overall shoddy AT&T service are legion.