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Education Readings   By Allan Alach Happy birthday to John Dewey, visionary educator, social reformer, psychologist, and philosophe r. Dewey was central to the development of the so-called progressive movement in education, which emphasizes the importance of student participation and meaningful activity in the classroom . Dewey began his career as a classroom teacher. After becoming a professor of philosophy, he shifted much of his attention to education, founding the University of Chicago Laboratory Schools and writing School and Society, which argued for the need for collaborative practical experimentation in the classroom . His emphasis on practical skills and learning by doing upended the inherited wisdom of the time, which valued obedience and rote memorization. John Dewey died in 1952. Over the course of his long career, he published 40 books and 700 articles on a wide variety of topics, and indelibly influenced the world’s classrooms with his meaning-oriented, democrati...

The walk down to the Junior School This mural assisted by a retired Art Adiser Junior classrooms in earlier (pre  Tomorrows's Schools)days were where one saw the best child centred classrooms . They were run along developmental lines, based on centres of interest and integrated language/arts based experience programmes . Exploring the immediate environment through their students senses with the belief that before the word the the experience was a strong feature of such rooms. The writings of Sylvia Ashton Warner and later Marie Clay were important references .  Welcoming new children and their parents Since Tomorrow's School;s educational change has been imposed from the top often by people with little classroom experience and , worse still, by politicians with competitive intentions contrary to the collaborative culture of schools . In recent years National Standards were introduced that were neither national or standard, and along with them tedious assessment and accoun...

New minds for a New Millenium Time for a rethink about the role of education  in a democratic society. A crisis in education I write this in a week primary teachers are to go on strike for better pay .   Concerns about the  excessive  workload expected of teachers is just as big a concern . Time for new thinking Both issues need to be sorted if teaching is to become an attractive career – a career that values teachers as the professionals they once were. I f conditions are not resolved then improving salaries will not solve the issues of workload and associated stres s. As one wise old rural adviser once said, ‘teachers need to protect their time and energy, if this is wasted on b/s then they will have no time left to teach.’ With this in mind the following is a look into a possible future. It all began with Tomorrows Schools The workload and associated stress has increased dramatically since the introduction of the competitive Tomorrow’s Schools reforms of the lat...

Education Readings By Allan Alach Every week Bruce Hammonds and I collect articles to share with teachers to encourage a creative approach to teaching and learning. I welcome suggested articles, so if you come across a gem, email it to me at allanalach@inspire.net.nz The Difference Between Being Busy and Being Productive ‘ When I was a new teacher, I believed I had to give 110% in everything I did. I thought that the best teachers were the ones who arrived first and left last. I was a busy teacher, taking on all kinds of committee work and saying yes to every project. But then I had a moment when I decided to “break up with busy.”’ http://bit.ly/2yM0qVs In the Classroom: Let Students’ Minds Wander (But Not Too Far) ‘How long can you stay focused? According to researchers, nobody is immune to the occasional daydream. In fact, many of us know all too well how difficult it can be to rein in our imaginations and pay attention to the task at hand. It may come as a surprise that these mom...