Thoughts for Parents in Castle View, Colorado by Gary Stager, Ph.D.
Principles…
- Things need not be as they seem!
- Strong progressive public schools are the bedrock of our democracy.
- Knowledge is a consequence of experience.
- Learning is not the direct causal result of having been taught.
- Young people have a remarkable capacity for intensity and it is incumbent upon teachers and parents to build upon that capacity, otherwise it manifests itself as boredom, misbehavior or just wasted potential.
- The Common Core is on the wrong side of history.
- There is no sudden epidemic of bad teachers!
- Parents and teachers should do everything possible to help kids get through high school without hating it.
- Modern knowledge construction is inseparable from computer programming and every child needs a laptop computer.
- Schools will no longer enjoy the monopoly on children’s time they currently enjoy.
- Students are competent, but we may not behave as if children are competent if we behave as if their teachers are incompetent.
- We know what to do. Those of us who know better need to do better.
- Kids need constant access to diverse expertise.
- The desire for personalization or individualization may not supplant exposure to concepts, skills and ideas that kids may not know they love.
- School policy should provide clear and convincing evidence that our society loves children.
- In education, bad ideas are timeless and good ones are incredibly fragile.
- The best thing school can do is prepare kids to solve problems that school as not even anticipated.
- What if our education policies were based on the assumption that each educator wakes up each morning and asks themselves, “How do I make this the best seven hours of a kid’s life?”
About Gary Stager