elovejoy's blog

Observations from 9/23/09

Emily Lovejoy

 

Today I was again observing Teacher A's 5th and 6th grade class.  Their school is currently focusing on the theme of community.  So, while some students worked on other things, Brie and I led some of the students through Bubbleology, a lesson presented to us in the Inquiry Science institute this summer by Joyce Theriot.

 

Observations from 9/16/09
Emily Lovejoy
Today I visited a local friends school for children from three years through sixth grade. The school has a diverse population of students and has strong Quaker values.  It especially focuses on teaching students to respect all people and also focuses on engaging them to be involved in peaceful problem solving.  I observed a 5th/6th grade class (Teacher A) and a 1st/2nd grade class (Teacher B).  Both teachers were participants in Bryn Mawr's summer institutes for K-12 teachers.
 

Exploring Science Education and the Brain in K-12 Schools:

A Praxis III Study
 
Emily Lovejoy

IN PROGRESS:

 

 

Monday

I found many of the arguments in the article, “Education as Life Itself: Freedom, Integration, and Beyond” convincing.  But, I found myself wondering if the idea that “education is not preparation for life; education is life itself” is entirely realistic.  As Brie has mentioned before, scholastic testing poses a threat to emergent teaching.  Somewhat along the same lines, I was thinking about the concept of a curriculum in schools.  Teachers and professors are required to teach certain things in a given year or course, and A must be taught before B.  The idea behind a set curriculum is that students will learn a certain set of facts so that they can excel on standardized tests and then move on to the next level.  I certainly support

Works by Emily Lovejoy

 

 

There was recently an article published in BBC News about the controversy over using Ritalin to increase brain functioning.  A bioethics professor comments on how he feels that the drug should be available to any "healthy" individual.  Comments?

 

The article is copied below (from http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/8106957.stm)

Ritalin backed as brain-booster

Ari Daniel Shapiro- "From recording whales to recording people"

his website/blog

The following article was published today in the New York Times about the prevailance of mental disorders in China:  Mental Illness: Far More Chinese Have Mental Disorders Than Previously Reported, Study Finds

 

 

Commentary on “Emergent pedagogy: learning to enjoy the uncontrollable- and make it productive” and discipline problems

article written by: Anne Dalke, Kim Cassidy, Paul Grobstein, and Doug Blank, August 2005.