(no subject)

[somedaybitch]

a discussion about a problem i've long bitched about. we're teaching history wrong.

regurgitation of names, dates and places DOES NOTHING to teach kids context. i remember that the Battle Of Hastings was in 1066. so the hell what. i know precious little about the relevance of that battle because i don't remember. the things i'm versed in now are because i've sought the information on my own, as an adult, because of the gaps in my knowledge. when i think on that too long it makes me fairly cranky, although, it is the reason why Umbrage's snark about education only being for the purpose of passing tests is so really damned funny.


link fixed! thanks, bex. ;)

Comments

[bexxa.livejournal.com]

That link is maybe borked? http://pajamasmedia.com/2007/08/history_lessons.php

Anyway - ITA. Context is key - what led up to X, and what resulted from X, and why did X happen when and how it did. James Burke, Connections (http://www.amazon.com/Connections-James-Burke/dp/0743299558/ref=pd_bbs_sr_2/102-3527068-1120154?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1187573080&sr=8-2), and Daniel Boorstin, The Discoverers (http://www.amazon.com/Discoverers-History-Himself-Boorstin-Trilogy/dp/1842122274/ref=pd_bbs_1/102-3527068-1120154?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1187573125&sr=1-1), and Jared Diamond, Guns, Germs and Steel (http://www.amazon.com/Guns-Germs-Steel-Fates-Societies/dp/0393061310/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/102-3527068-1120154?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1187573197&sr=1-1) - start there, and pursue what interests you most, and you're well on your way to understanding how it's all related.

[somedaybitch.livejournal.com]

read all three. really enjoyed the first two, Diamond's style and political position interfered too much for me, but it was also very well done.

[arthurfrdent.livejournal.com]

this? is why I keep considering teaching H... though I don't necessarily agree that teaching the Material World would make a difference... if you work backwards from a material thing, perhaps. It does have a lot to do with interest, and in learning this has been a probelem for us. When I was in 7th gr. I pronounced to my teacher that it was worthless to learn math I would never use. In that all knowing way a 7th grader can. [Me? a brat? well, yeah, prolly...] Thing is, all argument to the contrary, I DON'T use math, and I work in a tech field. But none of my teachers preached connectedness [ala James Burke. Who is my HERO] None of them said learning story problems was a way of learning how to figure stuff out in the real world. When no-one is looking and no-one cares but you. Same with history. Pundits talk about sheeple, because people don't want to think for themselves. I think they don't want to think for themselves, because there is no apparent profit in it for them. Explaining to them that there is a hidden need is hard...

The greatest paradox of all is how much information is available with ease, and how few people are willing to lift their hands to a keyboard to get it.

[somedaybitch.livejournal.com]

i'm in that same agree/don't agree re the Material World, but i think that you got what she meant, working backwards from the thing because it connects to so.many.other.things.

Pundits talk about sheeple, because people don't want to think for themselves.

we do little to teach them how. we indoctrinate, we don't teach.

The greatest paradox of all is how much information is available with ease, and how few people are willing to lift their hands to a keyboard to get it.

i don't think that's true, and i think it's precisely one of the things that is slowly fueling change.

[arthurfrdent.livejournal.com]

"i don't think that's true, and i think it's precisely one of the things that is slowly fueling change."

slowly, perhaps, as generations change.

[somedaybitch.livejournal.com]

i don't even think it's a future thing. the depth and breadth of online learning programs shows otherwise. it exists because there's a market for it.

[somedaybitch.livejournal.com]

Exhibit A, (http://www.popsci.com/popsci/technology/49d9e79d0fa64110vgnvcm1000004eecbccdrcrd.html) my brilliant friend.

[arthurfrdent.livejournal.com]

so, you want me to get a PhD from MIT?

[somedaybitch.livejournal.com]

*snort*