My quick thoughts on the readings

Before I post some comments on all of your entries, I wanted to just make a few quick comments myself, about reading these pieces.

Dewey: I love reading Dewey. His writing and his thinking feel so graceful to me. Not exactly sure why that is the word I chose, but, it’s what comes to mind. He is alternately easy to follow, yet deep and complex in his thinking.

I love the points he makes about the importance of following the child, of using the child’s natural curiosity and interest in the world as a way to “structure” learning, that you can build true learning opportunities around the things that kids are naturally interested in, and that you can do the necessary “foundational”, rigorous, disciplined type of thinking and work all in that context. His points about the difference between school as a place where kids listen versus school as a place where kids work.

The Mathews piece about the lack of a public in the public schools did not do a huge amount for me, though I think his basic point is a true and good one. This idea of schools belonging to us and the importance of all of us caring and participating seems profoundly important to me.

Meier, I think, makes similar points, though I think she does it in a more engaging and vivid way. I was just more drawn in to her piece than the other one.

Both pieces strike me now, differently, I think, than they did in prior readings (years ago). This is because I look at schools now not only as an educator but as a parent. One of the things that both pieces either talk about or allude to, I think, is about people "choosing" (or not) to send their kids to public schools. That is, if the schools are public, and they are for all of us, then we need to send our kids there, and at the same time get involved and work to make sure they are serving/meeting our needs.

Here, in Maine, this is not that much of an issue, because the public school is usually pretty much the only game in town. But, having lived in a number of places, and having seen this issue come up in a number of contexts, I think one thing that happens is that people, for all sorts of different reasons, choose not to send their kids to the local/public school. This weakens the public system, and is, I think, one of the things these two authors are thinking about. I feel lucky that the schools here are decent, and that I feel good about my kid’s experience there.

But, all over the country, parents are bailing on the public schools, for various reasons, and this is a major problem that will only contribute to the weakening of the system, in the ways I think Meier and Mathews are talking about. Meier’s piece is called “In Defense of Public Education” and Mathews is called “The Lack of a Public....”. One of the ways I think about these two pieces is as an argument for the public – that would be those of us with kids who can go to public schools – to participate, to use the schools. Use it or lose it. Maybe one of them said that in their piece.... now I can't remember...

Here's a question, then, are people then "irresponsible", if they choose not to send their kids to the public school? are they not taking their responsibility as a citizen seriously enough? it's one of those tensions, isn't it? We have to decide between the individual (our own child) and the larger whole (the whole society, or the larger school system, depending on how you look at it).

Mike Rose. I just love reading his stuff. In this chapter, his descriptions are just so rich and wonderful. Such great detail, and the voice he uses to write it is so generous, so full of respect and able to create a sense of dignity and integrity around the whole enterprise (by which I mean the classrooms and teaching and learning he documents).

As I read, I kept making connections in my mind to aspects of what we do in EDU 301: Content Literacy. So, I walk away from that reading wondering whether I should perhaps start using it in that course. It is an example of much of what I feel like I try to get at and convey in Content Lit. Something for me to ponder, as I think about teaching the course in the fall.