Note to President Obama: Want to Fix the Schools? Look to Portugal!

Agnapostate · 06-25-09, 06:27 AM

Don Tapscott: Note to President Obama: Want to Fix the Schools? Look to Portugal!

Quote:

President Obama already knows that the nation's schools are failing a large number of young Americans. One-third of all students drop out before finishing high school. It's a terrible record, and it's even worse in inner city public schools, where only half of blacks and Hispanics graduate from school. This is not a legacy that would make anyone proud: More young Americans on a proportionate basis drop out of school today than at any other time in our history.

This problem is undoubtedly complicated, but one of the reasons why many American youth are unmotivated and not learning well is that they're bored in school. They're grown up in a fast paced, challenging digital world, with the Internet, mobile devices, video games and other gadgets. They watch less television than their parents did and TV is typically a background activity. They are a generation doesn't like to be broadcast to and they love to interact, multi-task and collaborate. Yet, when they get into the classroom, they're faced with stale textbooks and lectures from teachers who are still using a nineteenth century innovation, chalk and blackboard.

American classrooms need to enter the 21st century. Thousands of teachers agree. Earlier this year, several important educational groups urged the president and Congress to spend nearly $10 billion to improve technology in the classroom, and ensure teachers know how to use computers most effectively.

To show the way, I suggest the president take a look at a modest country across the Atlantic that's turning into the world leader in rethinking education for the 21st century.

That country is Portugal. Its economy in early 2005 was sagging, and it was running out of the usual economic fixes. It also scored some of the lowest educational achievement results in western Europe.

So Prime Minister Jose Socrates took a courageous step. He decided to invest heavily in a "technological shock" to jolt his country into the 21st century. This meant, among other things, that he'd make sure everyone in the workforce could handle a computer and use the Internet effectively.

...

The children in this Portuguese classroom were loving learning about astronomy. They were collaborating. They were working at their own pace. They barely noticed the technology, the much-vaunted laptop. It was like air to them. But it changed the relationship they had with their teacher. Instead of fidgeting in their chairs while the teacher lectures and scrawls some notes on the blackboard, they were the explorers, the discoverers, and the teacher was their helpful guide.

(...)

IMO, presently existing education is excessively similar to one-sided indoctrination. Such a situation necessitates the insertion of elements that encourage autodidactism.

Edify_Always_In_All_Ways · 06-25-09, 11:29 AM

More technology is always better. If we can spend $100 to ship a decent laptop to Africa, I don't see the difficulty in doing it here.

Camlon · 07-03-09, 07:37 PM

I don't think that's a very big problem at all. In Norway they have a lot of technology and the students are still performing badly. What the US need is more focus on what they learn, instead the homework. The most important thing is not of they do the homework, but if they learn the syllabus. When homework counts 40% of the grade and the tests are a joke, then they won't learn very much.

Agnapostate · 07-05-09, 04:20 PM

Actually, I didn't consider the "technology" aspect the central point of the article so much as the focus on self-education and student-motivated learning rather than the indoctrination that occurs in most schools.

celticlord · 07-05-09, 04:39 PM

Fixing schools is hardly complicated. Simply chuck out all the novel theories about how students learn and go back to the basics.

Reading--kids need to read a lot, starting day 1 in kindergarten.
Writing--kids need to write a lot, starting day 1 in kindergarten.
Arithmetic--kids need to be able add, subtract, multiply, and divide in their head (calculators are crutches).

In the middle school grades, add history and basic science. Introduce algebra and geometry.

In high school, add literature and foreign languages. Introduce Euclidean proofs (students need to do a lot of these).

Forget all these standardized tests that don't measure anything except a student's ability to multiply guess. Essays and proofs and lots of both.

The brain is a muscle. You build it by working it.

hiswoman · 07-05-09, 09:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by celticlord

Fixing schools is hardly complicated. Simply chuck out all the novel theories about how students learn and go back to the basics.

Reading--kids need to read a lot, starting day 1 in kindergarten.
Writing--kids need to write a lot, starting day 1 in kindergarten.
Arithmetic--kids need to be able add, subtract, multiply, and divide in their head (calculators are crutches).

In the middle school grades, add history and basic science. Introduce algebra and geometry.

In high school, add literature and foreign languages. Introduce Euclidean proofs (students need to do a lot of these).

Forget all these standardized tests that don't measure anything except a student's ability to multiply guess. Essays and proofs and lots of both.

The brain is a muscle. You build it by working it.

Agree wholeheartedly with everything here with the following modifications:

Foreign language-I've always admired Germany's model of teaching foreign language. They start very early and continue through high school. A student who has attended German schools their entire life is usually fluent in two to three foreign languages by the time he/she graduates high school.

Learning theories-How an individual child learns is as important as what he/she learns. I believe that each child's learning style should be ascertained early on and the teachers should use a variety of methods for instructing to reach the children. Presenting the material does little good if the information isn't retained.

RightinNYC · 07-05-09, 11:09 PM

celticlord is completely right - this is not complicated at all.

If a kid spends more time reading and learning, he will be smarter. If school went from 8-4 every day instead of 9-3:15, the students would be far more intelligent.

If a kid takes school seriously and actually does his homework, he will be smarter. If parents were involved in their children's educations and made sure their kids were doing the required work, the students would be far more intelligent.

We don't need to spend billions on new technology or come up with new teaching theories (though each can help in their own way). We simply need to put a renewed emphasis on education and make sure that kids are getting more time in the classroom and doing more with it.

celticlord · 07-05-09, 11:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RightinNYC

If a kid spends more time reading and learning, he will be smarter. If school went from 8-4 every day instead of 9-3:15, the students would be far more intelligent.

As a fringe benefit, kids with noses buried in books are not going to be out doing drugs, committing crimes, joining gangs, or getting pregnant.

RightinNYC · 07-05-09, 11:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by celticlord

As a fringe benefit, kids with noses buried in books are not going to be out doing drugs, committing crimes, joining gangs, or getting pregnant.

They'll be getting pregnant.....with knowledge.

Agnapostate · 07-05-09, 11:38 PM

These alleged "solutions" serve as a distraction from the more pressing reality that the existence of coercion in the bureaucratic and internally hierarchical school system does not create conditions conducive to legitimate education. The thrust of this article isn't so much centered around technology alone, but around the role of technology in maximizing student self-education abilities by removing their excessive reliance on the instructor as the sole provider of information.

07-03-09, 07:37 PM	#3
Camlon Student Join Date: Jul 2009 Last Seen: 03-15-10 11:37 PM Location: Auckland, New Zealand Posts: 175 Thanks: 54 Thanked 60 Times in 39 Posts Lean: Conservative Gender:	Re: Note to President Obama: Want to Fix the Schools? Look to Portugal! I don't think that's a very big problem at all. In Norway they have a lot of technology and the students are still performing badly. What the US need is more focus on what they learn, instead the homework. The most important thing is not of they do the homework, but if they learn the syllabus. When homework counts 40% of the grade and the tests are a joke, then they won't learn very much.

07-05-09, 04:20 PM	#4
Agnapostate Banned Join Date: Sep 2008 Last Seen: 11-24-09 10:02 PM Location: Between Hollywood and Compton. Posts: 5,497 Thanks: 208 Thanked 908 Times in 608 Posts Lean: Libertarian Gender:	Re: Note to President Obama: Want to Fix the Schools? Look to Portugal! Actually, I didn't consider the "technology" aspect the central point of the article so much as the focus on self-education and student-motivated learning rather than the indoctrination that occurs in most schools.
	__________________ The workmen desire to get as much, the master to give as little as possible...It is not, however, difficult to foresee which of the two parties must, upon all ordinary occasions, have the advantage in the dispute, and force the other into a compliance with their terms. -Adam Smith

07-05-09, 04:39 PM	#5
celticlord Sage Join Date: Jan 2009 Last Seen: 08-27-09 06:41 PM Posts: 6,344 Thanks: 1,231 Thanked 3,779 Times in 1,902 Posts	Re: Note to President Obama: Want to Fix the Schools? Look to Portugal! Fixing schools is hardly complicated. Simply chuck out all the novel theories about how students learn and go back to the basics. Reading--kids need to read a lot, starting day 1 in kindergarten. Writing--kids need to write a lot, starting day 1 in kindergarten. Arithmetic--kids need to be able add, subtract, multiply, and divide in their head (calculators are crutches). In the middle school grades, add history and basic science. Introduce algebra and geometry. In high school, add literature and foreign languages. Introduce Euclidean proofs (students need to do a lot of these). Forget all these standardized tests that don't measure anything except a student's ability to multiply guess. Essays and proofs and lots of both. The brain is a muscle. You build it by working it.

07-05-09, 11:09 PM	#7
RightinNYC GIRTH 2.0 Mod team member Join Date: Mar 2005 Last Seen: Today 02:40 AM Location: New York, NY Posts: 21,261 Thanks: 2,414 Thanked 8,881 Times in 4,439 Posts Lean: Slightly Conservative Gender: Total Awards: 1	Re: Note to President Obama: Want to Fix the Schools? Look to Portugal! celticlord is completely right - this is not complicated at all. If a kid spends more time reading and learning, he will be smarter. If school went from 8-4 every day instead of 9-3:15, the students would be far more intelligent. If a kid takes school seriously and actually does his homework, he will be smarter. If parents were involved in their children's educations and made sure their kids were doing the required work, the students would be far more intelligent. We don't need to spend billions on new technology or come up with new teaching theories (though each can help in their own way). We simply need to put a renewed emphasis on education and make sure that kids are getting more time in the classroom and doing more with it.
	__________________ People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf.

07-05-09, 11:38 PM	#10
Agnapostate Banned Join Date: Sep 2008 Last Seen: 11-24-09 10:02 PM Location: Between Hollywood and Compton. Posts: 5,497 Thanks: 208 Thanked 908 Times in 608 Posts Lean: Libertarian Gender:	Re: Note to President Obama: Want to Fix the Schools? Look to Portugal! These alleged "solutions" serve as a distraction from the more pressing reality that the existence of coercion in the bureaucratic and internally hierarchical school system does not create conditions conducive to legitimate education. The thrust of this article isn't so much centered around technology alone, but around the role of technology in maximizing student self-education abilities by removing their excessive reliance on the instructor as the sole provider of information.
	__________________ The workmen desire to get as much, the master to give as little as possible...It is not, however, difficult to foresee which of the two parties must, upon all ordinary occasions, have the advantage in the dispute, and force the other into a compliance with their terms. -Adam Smith

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