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Friday, August 3, 2012

An Education Discussion Article

From the What Ed Said blog:

10 things parents should unlearn…

JULY 29, 2012
“We need to educate the parents.”
I’ve heard that statement three times in the past week alone. Once was while discussing the purpose of student portfolios. The second was in the context of making our PYP exhibitionmore student led, focusing more on the learning than the presentation. The third related tostudent led conferences. Apparently most parents want time to discuss their children’s learning without the learner present.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not blaming the parents. They need to be partners in their children’s learning and we need to find ways to make this possible and meaningful. But many parents base their opinions on the only model of education with which they are familiar… their own schooling. Even if they are young parents, I’d like to hope schooling has changed since they went to school.
10 things I think (some) parents should unlearn…
1.  Learning is best measured by a letter or a number.
2. Product is more important than process and progress.
3. Children need to be protected from any kind of failure.
4. The internet  is dangerous for children.
5. Parents and teachers should discuss students without the learner present.
6. Homework is an essential part of learning.
7. The school is responsible for the child’s entire education.
8. Your child’s perspective is the only one.
9. Learning looks the same as when you went to school.
1o. Focus on (and fix) your child’s shortcomings, rather than their successes.
I won’t elaborate at the moment, as I’d rather have your input. As a teacher and/or a parent, which ones do you agree with? Disagree? Challenge? Question?
One of the most visited posts on this blog was 10 things TEACHERS should  unlearn. Take a look at that one too.  It was written two years ago – Does it need an update?

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