I agree with your guess RE Ellin's purpose!! On Mon, Nov 9, 2009 at 5:19 AM, Waingort Jimenez, Elisa < [email protected]> wrote:
> Hi Bev, > Thanks for your post. Well said! > > I have a hard time reading posts about all the minutae of "standards, > objectives, benchmarks" etc precisely because it ain't that easy to spell > out learning. Whenever I get pushed into this kind of thinking I go back to > my kids and remember that learning doesn't look, smell, and feel the same as > what's in those "precious" documents we all carry around and that some of us > are done in by. And, to respond your wondering (hypothetical question, in > this case) about why Ellin Keene may have written her book: I think that > part of her reason in writing her book was to clear it up for herself, to > unmuddy the waters of her own thinking that was probably getting translated > in less than intended ways in classrooms, to deepen her understanding, to > teach herself as much as to teach us. > Elisa > > Elisa Waingort > Grade 2 Spanish Bilingual > Dalhousie Elementary > Calgary, Canada > > The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even > touched. They must be felt within the heart. > —Helen Keller > > Visit my blog, A Teacher's Ruminations, and post a message. > http://waingortgrade2spanishbilingual.blogspot.com/ > > > In my opinion, this is a PERFECT example of what's wrong with some > current > educational movements, especially the extre,e standards, objective, and RTI > movements right now. We used to have scholars such as Jerry Harste who > simply refused to "make easy" what is actually hard and trying to pin > things > down with ease distorted what was actually being said and what could be > said. I've always liked his phrase "mucking around" when I think of > inquiry. Also related to this line of thinking is the "uncertainty > principle". Our profession has become (through forces not always within > our > control) adept at Naming Things. We want to come to an easy answer quickly > and "come to consensus." We are becoming intolerant of messy thinking, > reflection, and things that just take time. I wish we could have a little > dose of Piaget right now. If only he could come back, look and listen, and > try to pin things down without destroying them, I'd love to see it. I > don't > think he'd be proud of us. Even though assimilate and accommodate do name > thinking, it's not narrowed. For evidence of that, see how difficult it is > for people to do other than recite a definition. It's so hard to help > college students understand these terms and many never do. Even the ones > that do seem to need high-level review if they are away from thinking about > them a bit. > > Not everything can be skewered and mounted in a "butterfly" collection of > terms such as author's purpose and theme. Thank God, I say. And this is > precisely why I read this list. I have others to help me understand > without "compliance." Most people who post on this list have become > tolerant of the lack of easy and SIMPLE answers and are willing to struggle > with a meaning invented and used by them. (even though I suppose > there really isn't anything new under the sun.) > > Now, I have to happily unmuddy the waters a bit.--or muddy them, depending > on your point of view, I guess. What was Ellin Keene's purpose for writing > To Understand? If we can articulate that, we are a long ways along the > road > of understanding understanding. And I'm sure there are some who have put > the book aside because it is neither easy nor quick to comprehend and > apply. What it is, is a brilliant articulation of putting theory into > practice in the complicated, messy, challenging, and thrilling real world. > Her "multiple choices items" on tests don't have A-D. They go much > farther > than that. Or possibly her multiple choice answers are A, B, C, D (all of > the above), or E (some of the above, but we're still figuring out which), > or > F(not all of the above, but it will take more work to figure out which). > > And what happens to the teachers who are okay with, and challenged by, > discussions to help each other develop deep understanding -- when they're > forced to "teach" some programs, many of which remind me of Catechism > questions and answers, or the chanting of the beautiful, ancient rituals in > some churches (which at least helps us . Memorizing that E=MC squared > doesn't get us much further toward understanding. I really do wish Piaget > were here. My limited understanding of him would say that we in American > education today have been forced to articulate thinking in such a narrow > way > that it's been rendered nearly useless. > > But, you know, I'm not blaming us. It's been done to us. Maybe. Ellin > wouldn't have struggled to understand understanding ("Ya'all say that, but > you never say what that means...") if she had given up on us all. She > believes we can do it. And believe me, I do know firsthand what it can > cost > us as teachers. But if we don't do it, think what it costs our students. > > Hmmmm. Extended thinking to follow. > Bev P. > > > _______________________________________________ > Mosaic mailing list > [email protected] > To unsubscribe or modify your membership please go to > http://literacyworkshop.org/mailman/options/mosaic_literacyworkshop.org. > > Search the MOSAIC archives at http://snipurl.com/MosaicArchive. > > > -- "There is nothing so unequal as equal treatment of unequals." Chief Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes _______________________________________________ Mosaic mailing list [email protected] To unsubscribe or modify your membership please go to http://literacyworkshop.org/mailman/options/mosaic_literacyworkshop.org. 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