I understand some of the skepticism, but with the right parents and environment this might work. This is very similar to how my siblings and I were taught. We didn't really have grades till college and most of our learning with at our own pace without direct oversight. It works out well for us.
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Dutch Officials Set to Open 11 iPad-Only 'Steve Jobs Schools' for Children
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(Except for the whole iPad/technology thing) This sounds a lot like how Thomas Jefferson envisioned the University of Virginia when he founded it. Just sayin, it's both revolutionary in that it's different (and probably better on a smaller scale) than what we're doing now with public education, but an older idea from another American genius. 
At that age the only thing I was curious about was Star Trek...
Good luck with your "Education Program".
Good luck with your "Education Program".
This is an incredibly worthwhile experiment. I'm just surprised a country is going through with it. I guess we'll find out if kids are more inherently curious than they are inherently lazy. We'll probably find out a few other things too. I've been a big fan of what Khan Academy is doing, but with this little structure... I don't know.
I have a 9 month old son and I'm looking forward to some changes coming to the education system before he really gets in there.
I don't want my son remembering facts because he can call those up on Google. I don't want him learning to do what calculators do or what spell-check does. I want him pursuing interests and learning how to learn (and presenting what he finds); learning how to persuade. I'd like him to learn charisma and empathy and entrepreneurship and finding excitement in challenges.
I think the part that's missing is the teacher as mentor and inspiration. Imagine a forum where teachers could create competing online videos for various subjects. The best teacher for any given subject (as chosen by viewers and peers) would receive a large cash sum as incentive. This could happen once a year, with the reigning champion for any subject "staying on". So the best video in the world for teaching "Classic Story Structure" is front and centre in the literature section until a better video on the subject is created.
I think this "best explainer" situation, along with the free-to-learn method, has the greatest chance of best results.
I have a 9 month old son and I'm looking forward to some changes coming to the education system before he really gets in there.
I don't want my son remembering facts because he can call those up on Google. I don't want him learning to do what calculators do or what spell-check does. I want him pursuing interests and learning how to learn (and presenting what he finds); learning how to persuade. I'd like him to learn charisma and empathy and entrepreneurship and finding excitement in challenges.
I think the part that's missing is the teacher as mentor and inspiration. Imagine a forum where teachers could create competing online videos for various subjects. The best teacher for any given subject (as chosen by viewers and peers) would receive a large cash sum as incentive. This could happen once a year, with the reigning champion for any subject "staying on". So the best video in the world for teaching "Classic Story Structure" is front and centre in the literature section until a better video on the subject is created.
I think this "best explainer" situation, along with the free-to-learn method, has the greatest chance of best results.
Doesn't really sound like a school
more like a daycare with Ipads and some tutoring.
This would be GREAT as a supplemental after school program but not as a developing child's primary source of learning and discipline.
more like a daycare with Ipads and some tutoring.
This would be GREAT as a supplemental after school program but not as a developing child's primary source of learning and discipline.
Call this initiative "too forward" if you like, and I admit it's a very bold move, but the fact of the matter is that the education system in this country is broken and out of date. It's experiments like this that will actually bring about change.
http://www.ted.com/talks/ken_robinson_changing_education_paradigms.html
http://www.ted.com/talks/ken_robinson_changing_education_paradigms.html
Why not either:
1.) open one that uses traditional learning + integration with the useful aspects of these devices
2.) donate to aschools and integrate it with the learning of the students
Moreover, handwriting is such a necessary tool, these kids need it. Unless they plan to be Doctors which is my only excuse for my horrible penmanship lol and even then, they'd have to still be able to write notes etc. while studying
1.) open one that uses traditional learning + integration with the useful aspects of these devices
2.) donate to aschools and integrate it with the learning of the students
Moreover, handwriting is such a necessary tool, these kids need it. Unless they plan to be Doctors which is my only excuse for my horrible penmanship lol and even then, they'd have to still be able to write notes etc. while studying
Very clever post. "This WOULD NOT work over hear [sic] BTW" without saying where "over here" is.
At that age the only thing I was curious about was Star Trek...
Good luck with your "Education Program".
Then I suppose Watson's theory on behaviourism is probably of good aid.
This is a very interesting idea. I would be curious to see how it turns out. I don't think it would work very well here in America on a board level, but I could see it working out well in other countries with different societal structures, more active/engaging child-parent relationships, tighter parent monitoring, things like that. I could see it working in different neighborhoods in our country, but on a mass level, I don't think so.
Keep in mind this is at the experimental level, and the only real way to figure out if methods like this will actually work is to try.
Keep in mind this is at the experimental level, and the only real way to figure out if methods like this will actually work is to try.
"Under the model of individualized instruction, students will learn through iPad apps at their own pace, with teachers serving as coaches to help them reach goals and advance to subsequent levels."
I remember that math class was set up this way when I was in fifth grade. You had the students that excelled, advancing several levels ahead of the others, the average students, and then the bottom of the rung who struggling to keep up. Work at your own pace is great in theory, but it's a real confidence killer to the kids who need to be pushed to get to the next level. On the flip side, it's fantastic for the students that do excel.
There's a middle ground where "work at your own pace" and "keep up" need to meet.
I remember that math class was set up this way when I was in fifth grade. You had the students that excelled, advancing several levels ahead of the others, the average students, and then the bottom of the rung who struggling to keep up. Work at your own pace is great in theory, but it's a real confidence killer to the kids who need to be pushed to get to the next level. On the flip side, it's fantastic for the students that do excel.
There's a middle ground where "work at your own pace" and "keep up" need to meet.
For those who are lazy, sure. When I was in 4th grade, my school did an experimental classroom with 2nd-5th graders all together. We helped each other, and in Math and Science (probably other areas too, can't remember as that was a long time ago), we had to keep up, but we could also go further if we wanted to. I was doing 7th grade math in 4th grade because of this model. And I was still able to help kids younger, and older then myself to understand different concepts. There was a teacher for every 20 kids, but that teacher didn't do "math lessons" like in a typical classroom. They were there to help you self teach, which is more valuable I think if you can learn to teach yourself. Children at that age want to learn. It's amazing the passion these kids at that age have to soak up everything they can. Also, the Dutch take a different approach to education that I think is being lost here in the states. Parents are actually involved in their children's education. They help their kids, and make sure they are doing well. Here in the states, our parents have become lazy and are expecting our school systems to raise the children.
No No No No No NO! This is all wrong! DX
Children need structured education to keep them focused. Where the UK (and US) system currently fails is that students have no respect for teachers (and likewise, many teachers revere themselves as gods) AND the way they learn is too document based.
As a developer of educational games (not the kind that require a CPU) I think this is a terrible idea. We have a responsibility to teach children in a way that will see them do well, not as dictated by the vision of a druggie billionaire.
Children need structured education to keep them focused. Where the UK (and US) system currently fails is that students have no respect for teachers (and likewise, many teachers revere themselves as gods) AND the way they learn is too document based.
As a developer of educational games (not the kind that require a CPU) I think this is a terrible idea. We have a responsibility to teach children in a way that will see them do well, not as dictated by the vision of a druggie billionaire.
Poor children.
BTW Maurice de Hond is considered to be a joke in the Netherlands. He's in charge of a company that's doing polls and is famous for his inaccuracies and deviations from 'real' results. He also had an IT investment company that completely went broke after the burst of the Internet bubble in 2000.
BTW Maurice de Hond is considered to be a joke in the Netherlands. He's in charge of a company that's doing polls and is famous for his inaccuracies and deviations from 'real' results. He also had an IT investment company that completely went broke after the burst of the Internet bubble in 2000.
go at your own pace = no one gets pushed = everyone underachieving.
It's like going to the gym with someone better than you. You tend to push yourself harder than when you go solo...
and if this happened in north america...a lot of kids will major in FIFA and social media.
It's like going to the gym with someone better than you. You tend to push yourself harder than when you go solo...
and if this happened in north america...a lot of kids will major in FIFA and social media.
Me too. I suspect there will be some adjustments as the real world bumps up against the theory. I hope the proponents will be flexible enough to adjust things as they go along. I should read the article, but I suspect the government is going to be closely monitoring the program to ensure it doesn't turn into a disaster.
On the other hand, it worked for me. It was just for one grade - grade 8 ... but I changed from a badly performing student to highly performing one. Got me into the science focussed high school (I was outside its catchment area, so I needed good marks to be accepted) and from there to university. All because in grade 8 I was finally able to move at my own pace.
I was being held back by the class, so got bored and got into trouble. Grade 8 I could stretch myself and be challenged. It took good teachers too, as they needed to reinforce the achievements. It is not for everybody, but don't write it off with these blanket statements.
BTW strange to read a news story about something happening in my country on MacRumors while there's nothing about in the local media...
Exactly.
Would Steve Jobs, who loved calligraphy and beautifully written books have those skills be lost by a generation of zombie kids who can use an iPad but can't even write in cursive?
Handwriting is essential to young children, so the fact that they don't have notebooks makes this "school" sound like a joke.
It's not bold or forward to deprive children of that. It's a step back.
Better lock down YouTube on these things.
My 5 year old could not read/write but he managed to get close enough to enter search terms in his iPad's search box (which he found by experimentation), leading to YouTube and ended up with various things he'd watch. To his parent's amazement. "He can't write, how the hell did he search YouTube???"
The thing is even if you seriously misspell words, Google auto corrects that and my young son was able to see many things of great interest to him that we thought he was most definitely too young for.
My 5 year old could not read/write but he managed to get close enough to enter search terms in his iPad's search box (which he found by experimentation), leading to YouTube and ended up with various things he'd watch. To his parent's amazement. "He can't write, how the hell did he search YouTube???"
The thing is even if you seriously misspell words, Google auto corrects that and my young son was able to see many things of great interest to him that we thought he was most definitely too young for.
Let's hope you are wrong. The Los Angeles school district just bought one iPad for each student. They are not dumping pens and books, the iPad is an addition but the plan is just "See how this works" and possibly move to getting rid of the books.
LA school ran some pilot projects with iPads and other tablets latst year and fond the iPads actually got use (Some other tablets turned out to be less us full and were mostly left in the closets)
So the pilot projects went OK an now in a couple months we will see tens of thousands of these iPads use in LA.