This is an interesting read, it’s about Montessori’s model of learning. I like quite a few things in this article. The writer challenges the notion of what it means to be educated, saying that one is never ‘educated’ because you always keep on learning.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/stevedenning/2011/08/02/is-montessori-the-origin-of-google-amazon
I have a student in my Year 8 class who is a History buff. He loves to talk about anything historical, and would like to keep me back at the end of each class to discuss something he’s read or talk about some interesting period in History.
My school offers some really interesting electives in Year 10 that this boy would love. He would even thrive in a Year 11 History class; he’d do so well. But he can’t. Our education system doesn’t allow for it. And when this boy finally gets to Year 11, and he finally studies the History that he’s been reading about for 3 years, he will probably not be as challenged anymore. He’ll be in a classroom full of kids who don’t have his background knowledge, and the teacher will have to go over all the things that this boy has already studied. Such a waste of his enthusiasm, his potential. It makes me sad and frustrated at our system of education.
Which country, which state, which government is going to be brave enough to bite the bullet and make schools truly about a love of learning, not just assessment factories? It would be political suicide. So we will have to be reliant on systems like Montessori, Steiner, homeschooling, and the IB to provide alternatives. If we get enough people choosing alternatives, maybe some governments will become brave enough to make a change….
