Comments on: A circle, in a circle, by a circle, on a circle, etc… http://inpractice.edublogs.org/2008/04/12/a-circle-in-a-circle-by-a-circle-on-a-circle-etc/ Theory is nice, but we are working in practice... Thu, 05 Nov 2009 02:27:30 -0500 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.2 hourly 1 By: Jenorr http://inpractice.edublogs.org/2008/04/12/a-circle-in-a-circle-by-a-circle-on-a-circle-etc/comment-page-1/#comment-364 Jenorr Sun, 13 Apr 2008 11:40:44 +0000 http://inpractice.edublogs.org/2008/04/12/a-circle-in-a-circle-by-a-circle-on-a-circle-etc/#comment-364 It seems to me that we can often use studies (like statistics) to prove just about anything we want. I think Doug has hit a good point about who are the authorities about education. It says a lot that we have a secretary of education who has no teaching experience. Teachers have been pushed out of the conversation. We're also frequently too busy with the responsibilities of the daily job to fight that battle. That's likely what must happen however. It seems to me that we can often use studies (like statistics) to prove just about anything we want.

I think Doug has hit a good point about who are the authorities about education. It says a lot that we have a secretary of education who has no teaching experience. Teachers have been pushed out of the conversation. We’re also frequently too busy with the responsibilities of the daily job to fight that battle. That’s likely what must happen however.

]]> By: Graham Wegner http://inpractice.edublogs.org/2008/04/12/a-circle-in-a-circle-by-a-circle-on-a-circle-etc/comment-page-1/#comment-363 Graham Wegner Sat, 12 Apr 2008 23:16:16 +0000 http://inpractice.edublogs.org/2008/04/12/a-circle-in-a-circle-by-a-circle-on-a-circle-etc/#comment-363 Alice, you interpreted my clumsy metaphor exactly as I intended. Definitely no centre except that it doesn't stop some people from choosing one circle and trying to tell everyone else that it's the only one that matters! (By the way, this is the correct spelling of "centre" down under.) Alice, you interpreted my clumsy metaphor exactly as I intended. Definitely no centre except that it doesn’t stop some people from choosing one circle and trying to tell everyone else that it’s the only one that matters! (By the way, this is the correct spelling of “centre” down under.)

]]> By: Doug Noon http://inpractice.edublogs.org/2008/04/12/a-circle-in-a-circle-by-a-circle-on-a-circle-etc/comment-page-1/#comment-362 Doug Noon Sat, 12 Apr 2008 17:03:28 +0000 http://inpractice.edublogs.org/2008/04/12/a-circle-in-a-circle-by-a-circle-on-a-circle-etc/#comment-362 It's difficult to synthesize a complex relatedness we may see in a widely distributed discussion about education policy and practice, and I want to say that your (and Graham's) use of the circles metaphor serves well as a way to describe both the problem, and the need to make connections. There is a disconnect between research, policy, and practice. The structural problems in society have been laid at the classroom door. I suppose they've always been there. But I don't recall a time when the expectations were so high for schools and teachers to finally solve them. Jean Anyon and Kiersten Greene argue [<a href="http://www.publiceducation.org/pdf/2007_NCLB_Anti_Poverty.pdf" rel="nofollow">pdf</a>] that NCLB, as an anti-poverty measure , socializes the cost of corporate irresponsibility, leaving the taxpayers with the consequences of low wages and lack of jobs. Policy makers approach their task with an ideal and a theory of social change in mind that isn't necessarily borne out in practice. The same is true for researchers. The questions they ask are situated within a world view that may not (and I'd say, usually does not) generally apply. An important issue that you touch on here is, Who gets to be an authority in discussions about education? Ironically, teachers have little status in the larger discussion. People who work at higher levels get more attention than those of us who work in elementary school. At the elementary level, who listens to kindergarten teachers? I do. One of my favorite kindergarten teachers is my buddy class partner this year. She told me once that kids who don't know the name of the color 'red' in kindergarten will have difficulty learning to read. And while we marvel at the fact that a 5 year-old might not be able to name the basic colors, she struggles with the problem of teaching them something so basic that it cannot simply be told and memorized. The questions Michaele asks, and the observations she makes are testimony to the need for us to approach teaching as a form of inquiry. We should all pay more attention to kindergarten teachers. It’s difficult to synthesize a complex relatedness we may see in a widely distributed discussion about education policy and practice, and I want to say that your (and Graham’s) use of the circles metaphor serves well as a way to describe both the problem, and the need to make connections.

There is a disconnect between research, policy, and practice. The structural problems in society have been laid at the classroom door. I suppose they’ve always been there. But I don’t recall a time when the expectations were so high for schools and teachers to finally solve them. Jean Anyon and Kiersten Greene argue [pdf] that NCLB, as an anti-poverty measure , socializes the cost of corporate irresponsibility, leaving the taxpayers with the consequences of low wages and lack of jobs. Policy makers approach their task with an ideal and a theory of social change in mind that isn’t necessarily borne out in practice. The same is true for researchers. The questions they ask are situated within a world view that may not (and I’d say, usually does not) generally apply.

An important issue that you touch on here is, Who gets to be an authority in discussions about education? Ironically, teachers have little status in the larger discussion. People who work at higher levels get more attention than those of us who work in elementary school. At the elementary level, who listens to kindergarten teachers? I do. One of my favorite kindergarten teachers is my buddy class partner this year. She told me once that kids who don’t know the name of the color ‘red’ in kindergarten will have difficulty learning to read. And while we marvel at the fact that a 5 year-old might not be able to name the basic colors, she struggles with the problem of teaching them something so basic that it cannot simply be told and memorized. The questions Michaele asks, and the observations she makes are testimony to the need for us to approach teaching as a form of inquiry. We should all pay more attention to kindergarten teachers.

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