Session 80 - As a teacher, what do you see the purpose of education as being?
Thursday 12th January 2012
The discussion was passionate and highlighted that there are far more than just a single purpose of education. What transpired was the vast majority of participants feel that different areas of the community have differing views as to what education should entail, produce and require. Most felt the Govt have lost touch (no surprise there) but what surprised me was that many felt parents would not be open to change. In my experience I have found that once parents have had the opportunity to explore what ed could be, they are very excited about the possibilities. But it takes constant effort from those in the profession to try and shape the discussion rather than only react to poor policy direction. Towards the end of the discussion I challenged us to think about proactive. real life steps we can take to 1. define what the purpose of education is and 2 (an really importantly) practical ways in which we convey this to other staff, headteachers, parents, govt and most importantly - the students.
@LearningSpy: "If it means 'more intelligent' then Dweck's research suggests you can make people smarter #ukedchat"
@PeterSpencer88: "Wouldn't it be great to have MPs and education secretaries that had been teachers or worked in ed sector? #ukedchat"
@Babbleaboutbks: "Perhaps it's down to the individual then. At some point we are responsible for our own education. #ukedchat"
@msciffer: "governments only view students as economic units whereas teachers view students as humans"
@ufasarah:"I like something Tim Brighouse once said...its about learning to think for yourself and act for others"
@danhaesler is a teacher, blogger and speaker based in Sydney Australia. He writes for the education page of the Sydney Morning Herald.
Archive from the Session:
