ed 230 2011_lecture_5_slides-12
TRANSCRIPT
Education 230 SlidesFebruary 1, 2011
Apologies…
A small reaction paper marking delay.
The principle of utility
“As soon as we have managed to give our pupil some idea of what the word ‘utility’ means, we have another strong hold on him. The word makes a deep impression on him, provided it has meaning for him on his own age level and he can see it bearing on his present well being. ‘What is the good of that?’ Henceforth this is the standard question, the decisive question between him and me.” (99R, 81ROU)
Is this potentially problematic?
The Principle of Utility, ctd.
Why do some children hate school so much?
The conscripted clientele
Teaching Emile to read
The one key book
Is it Aristotle? Is it Buffon?
No, it’s…
Robinson Crusoe
Why Robinson Crusoe?
The ideal of the rugged individual
An idealized state of nature
Rousseau on Fables
Rousseau’s diagnosis of the problem with fables.
Children take away the wrong message.
Plato agrees.
What do you think about this?Think about modern equivalents…
The rest of the book
Eventual integration into society
Sophie
Dickens
A difficult early life
What insights does Hard Times offer?
Mr. Gradgrind
Does Gradgrind have any basis in fact?
Does Gradgrind have any basis in theory?
The District School as it Was
A fictionalized account
The abs and the ebs, the “Easy Lessons,” and the “Moral Tales.”
The students’ problems with writing.
The Squeers archetype
The Squeers archetype has an unfortunate basis in fact.
Boys won’t larn ‘less you thrash ‘em, says I. Leastways, mine won’t. Lay it on good, is what I says to a master. Lay it on good. Don’t do no harm. Lickin’ and larnin’ goes together. No lickin’, no larnin’, says I. Lickin’ and larnin’, lickin’ and larnin’, is the good ole way.
Strong discipline--The J. Homer French method of seating
Anti-Catholicism
Other trends
School was still mostly rural
The vast majority did not attend high school.
What about Québec?
A slow start in public education
Tension between French and English, Protestant and Catholic
A unique system of education
John Dewey
1859-1952
John Dewey’s early life
Born in Burlington, VT
Had a strict mother
• Attended the University of Vermont
• Teaching experiences
Dewey’s early life, ctd.
• Went to graduate school at Johns Hopkins
• Became a professor at the University of Michigan
• Eventually became interested in education
Life at the Dewey School
• An emphasis on child-centered education
• Cooperative learning
• An focus on the experimental method/discovery learning
• Few tests
• A structured environment
The Dewey School:Building a smelter
The Dewey School:Children Gardening
The Dewey School:Designing Farm Tools
My Pedagogic Creed• Dewey’s most important goal
• The school/life division
• The relationship to the experiences of children
• A “guide on the side”?
The school as an instrument of social
reform• What are Dewey’s views on this matter?
• An exalted role for the teacher
• Should the school be used to transform society? Can it be used in this way?
A Difficult Reading
• Take extra time to read Freire—it is a relatively long and difficult reading.