February 2012 | Volume 69 | Number 5: For Each to Excel
Count: 20 pages
During the monthly class meeting yesterday on campus, I received a copy of the February Educational Leadership magazine and found two of-interest articles to my personal studies. In addition I read the Editor's Perspectives and the short news items on the opening pages. There's a lot of context to gain (buzz words, current hot methodologies being discussed, and trends and materials) from just casual browsing through these pages, in addition to the articles themselves.
"Standards vs. Customization: Finding the Balance"
by Larry Cuban (pp. 10-15)
Cuban provides an excellent historical perspective on the "dilemma, which has troubled educators for more than a century" (p. 10): the value placed on common standards of content for the purposes of equity and equality of learning and purpose; and the value of individual excellence produced through customization of instruction and learning experiences (today called differentiated instruction).
The limited time, money, and staffing cause tension, and what we educators are doing today is what we have been doing for decades: giving up a little of one value to gain a little bit more of the other. This article engendered a real appreciation for the on-going and seemingly inevitable conflict between the two values, and the case example Cuban shares, "A Blend in Action," encourages me yet makes me wonder how in the world the teacher described finds time in her day to do it all.
"Preparing Students to Learn Without Us"
by Will Richardson (pp. 22-26)
As follow-up to a blog he posted previously, Richardson asks if we are"personalizing learning for our students in ways that make school more relevant and inspiring?" Accurately, he concludes that we are largely not achieving this.
I was struck by Richardson's distinction between personalized learning and personal learning: a distinction largely of autonomy. Personal learning is that which springs from the student's interests and passions and which leads to creation of the life-long learner who will find the information s/he needs when needed. Personalized learning is something arranged for the students and which takes into some degree of account the individual needs and learning styles.
There is some evidence that schools and educators are moving toward the former, but the higher goal should be the latter, personal learning: can our classrooms help our student to "... a become passionate, patient, connected learner who is empowered to truly learn whatever and whenever he needs to[?]" (p. 26).
In the ideal world, personal learning would be the way for all of us to learn and we would happily make ourselves well rounded and educated people. Not so for me. Left to my own resources, I would never have learned any math beyond 4-5 grade level. I needed someone to require me to go further.
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