My Wikipedia research didn't prove to be as fruitful with this topic
as I had hoped. So, unfortunately, dear reader, this blog will contain mostly my own thoughts on the subject. (Already I feel your pain).
However, I did learn a thing or two this week. It appears that India and China are centuries ahead of the rest of the world when it comes to education. Both had a long standing academic tradition. India's was destroyed by the imposition of a British system. China fared somewhat better as a colony but I imagine it lost a lot during the infamous Cultural Revolution, where the old classics and the art was looked upon as being bourgeoise and destroyed.
However, that being said, I think that there has to be an emphasis on rote learning in China, especially when it can take 8 years before you know enough Chinese characters to write a letter home.
This is where I see the main difference because I feel (with no facts what so ever to back it up) that America's education reform of the 60's and the 70's moved away from learning by rote and into new territory. Now we are even venturing into brain research to inform our teaching practices. So, I guess I would say that "Western" (meaning American) learning is more about the process than the facts.
Also, I think we have moved further away from corporal punishment in the classroom than most countries. In fact, I think we have taken the lead in this regards and our model is slowing moving in to other countries education systems.
(Although, I guess that student/teacher relations in China also changed significantly during the Cultural Revolution. One would think that they would have to, given the amount of power that students weilded under Mao. For those of you who don't know, some teachers were actually beaten up by their students during this time. See Son of the Revolution by Hen Liang and Judith Shapiro.)
Tuesday, February 20, 2007
Thursday, February 15, 2007
Different Education Systems
So many blogs ... so little time.
Recently on the group blog (Feb. 4), I posted a question about the differences between education in the East and in the West. A fellow student's comment has got me thinking about this in more depth.
I've had more training in Anthropology than most but I doubt that this answer will be comprehensive without further research. However, here are my initial thoughts on the subject.
I think the minute that we in America use the term "Education", it implies books and schools.
However, that makes it hard to compare with education systems that are vastly different. Also, the trend, perhaps to keep up with the rest of the world, is that "Education" fits the schools and book model.
Other education "systems" that I could think of that have been used over time are as follows. Hunter and gather societies often just let their children "play at being adult". The behaviors they needed were the same as adults, so they learned by copying their parents or other adults in the community. Everyone still uses this method of education for the basics before children start school. An example of a hunting and gathering society that used this was/is the BaMbuti Pygmies as written about in the book The Forest People by Colin Turnbull, first published in 1961.
Another popular education was the "education" males received when they were inducted into society in the most painful way possible. The circumcision rituals were when the boys became men of the tribe and learned about their place in the society. There is no equivalent learning to this in modern society except perhaps for military boot camps. Incidentally, these rituals were often decried as barbaric by "modern" society, and since "modern" society values the individual over the group, the removal of these ceremonies rips apart these societies at the seems. Perhaps the most important lessons learned here were the "order of things", with the tribal elders at the top of the chain of command.
Another type of education was story telling or oral history. Of course, I have to say something about the Icelandic saga tradition, in which listeners not only learned the values and morals of the days but also the genealogy of the island. A recent example of this type of learning that I can think of was Roots by Alex Haley. He could trace his lineage back to West Africa in much the same way that ancient Icelanders could.
Apprenticeship is still a form that we are familiar with in our society. This type of learning was used for complicated subjects. In this category, I would place shamanism, because I believe that this is how this type of religious training is passed. However, the example that I like better is the training of the Polynesian navigators, which you can read more about in East is a Big Bird by Gladwin. Also, in this book, there was an interesting comparison to the knowledge that a navigator needs to have and the knowledge that is stressed in our schools. Gladwin mentioned that learning to be a good navigator is like being able to be a truck driver. It is about reflexes and complex moves that have to be copied. Then there is the knowledge about the stars and nature that has to be learned so that the ship can know where they are. In this category, I am also reminded of a story I heard about the Australian Aborigines. The young were rounded up by the missionaries so that they could attend school. The parents were very upset about this, understandably, but I think one of the reasons they gave was that it would interrupt their "education". The children needed to learn the Aborigine way of life and they couldn't do that while they were in the classroom. So, I think that this habit of missionaries to "educate" the young may also have wrecked a certain amount of damage on smaller cultures.
Well, that's my two cents for this week. Next week, I think I'll ramble on about the differences that I learned about between schools in the East and the West.
Recently on the group blog (Feb. 4), I posted a question about the differences between education in the East and in the West. A fellow student's comment has got me thinking about this in more depth.
I've had more training in Anthropology than most but I doubt that this answer will be comprehensive without further research. However, here are my initial thoughts on the subject.
I think the minute that we in America use the term "Education", it implies books and schools.
However, that makes it hard to compare with education systems that are vastly different. Also, the trend, perhaps to keep up with the rest of the world, is that "Education" fits the schools and book model.
Other education "systems" that I could think of that have been used over time are as follows. Hunter and gather societies often just let their children "play at being adult". The behaviors they needed were the same as adults, so they learned by copying their parents or other adults in the community. Everyone still uses this method of education for the basics before children start school. An example of a hunting and gathering society that used this was/is the BaMbuti Pygmies as written about in the book The Forest People by Colin Turnbull, first published in 1961.
Another popular education was the "education" males received when they were inducted into society in the most painful way possible. The circumcision rituals were when the boys became men of the tribe and learned about their place in the society. There is no equivalent learning to this in modern society except perhaps for military boot camps. Incidentally, these rituals were often decried as barbaric by "modern" society, and since "modern" society values the individual over the group, the removal of these ceremonies rips apart these societies at the seems. Perhaps the most important lessons learned here were the "order of things", with the tribal elders at the top of the chain of command.
Another type of education was story telling or oral history. Of course, I have to say something about the Icelandic saga tradition, in which listeners not only learned the values and morals of the days but also the genealogy of the island. A recent example of this type of learning that I can think of was Roots by Alex Haley. He could trace his lineage back to West Africa in much the same way that ancient Icelanders could.
Apprenticeship is still a form that we are familiar with in our society. This type of learning was used for complicated subjects. In this category, I would place shamanism, because I believe that this is how this type of religious training is passed. However, the example that I like better is the training of the Polynesian navigators, which you can read more about in East is a Big Bird by Gladwin. Also, in this book, there was an interesting comparison to the knowledge that a navigator needs to have and the knowledge that is stressed in our schools. Gladwin mentioned that learning to be a good navigator is like being able to be a truck driver. It is about reflexes and complex moves that have to be copied. Then there is the knowledge about the stars and nature that has to be learned so that the ship can know where they are. In this category, I am also reminded of a story I heard about the Australian Aborigines. The young were rounded up by the missionaries so that they could attend school. The parents were very upset about this, understandably, but I think one of the reasons they gave was that it would interrupt their "education". The children needed to learn the Aborigine way of life and they couldn't do that while they were in the classroom. So, I think that this habit of missionaries to "educate" the young may also have wrecked a certain amount of damage on smaller cultures.
Well, that's my two cents for this week. Next week, I think I'll ramble on about the differences that I learned about between schools in the East and the West.
Monday, February 12, 2007
Technology and the Decline of the English Language: Feb. 8, 2007
Technology and the Decline of the English Language: February 08, 2007
"Isn't this sad? People who have been taught nothing about their own language are (contrary to educational expectations) spending all their leisure hours attempting to string sentences together for the edification of others. And there is no editing on the internet!"
Lynne Truss
Eats, Shoots & Leaves
(page 17)
This was the rant of Lynne Truss was about the numerous incidents of bad grammar that have simultaneously occurred along with the explosion of writing now available on internet.
No doubt she would also have had a field day with my recent post on Steve Jobs' speech where several times, I refer to his achievements with Job's. Then there is the infamous post on the group blog where I misspell guarantee while trying to sound like an intellectual.
In this technology age, where "everyone's a writer!" there is a definite down side, which is the spread of bad grammar and bad spelling. Now I am definitely not a grammar stickler but I think she has a point. While it is exciting that more people are indeed writing for fun, it is also disheartening that the quality controls are not there.
I've noticed that some systems DO have a spell check that can be used before posting, which would help correct the spelling errors, but I have also noticed that they are "optional". Being lazy, I can't even count on myself to take the extra step.
Since we are an on-line English class, we need to try to set a good example. However, isn't that the whole problem? If we knew it was wrong, we probably would correct it. Right?
Perhaps the internet DOES need a good editor?
Will the internet eventually erode the standards of good English if things continue as they are now?
Is punctuation important?
She gives this popular example on page 9 of her book.
A woman, without her man, is nothing.
A woman: without her, man is nothing.
Finally, I am left to wonder how DOES one do MLA citations in a blog? Am I committing yet another faux pas? Where is that editor when I need him? Or her? or ... it?
Lynne Truss
Eats, Shoots & Leaves
(page 17)
This was the rant of Lynne Truss was about the numerous incidents of bad grammar that have simultaneously occurred along with the explosion of writing now available on internet.
No doubt she would also have had a field day with my recent post on Steve Jobs' speech where several times, I refer to his achievements with Job's. Then there is the infamous post on the group blog where I misspell guarantee while trying to sound like an intellectual.
In this technology age, where "everyone's a writer!" there is a definite down side, which is the spread of bad grammar and bad spelling. Now I am definitely not a grammar stickler but I think she has a point. While it is exciting that more people are indeed writing for fun, it is also disheartening that the quality controls are not there.
I've noticed that some systems DO have a spell check that can be used before posting, which would help correct the spelling errors, but I have also noticed that they are "optional". Being lazy, I can't even count on myself to take the extra step.
Since we are an on-line English class, we need to try to set a good example. However, isn't that the whole problem? If we knew it was wrong, we probably would correct it. Right?
Perhaps the internet DOES need a good editor?
Will the internet eventually erode the standards of good English if things continue as they are now?
Is punctuation important?
She gives this popular example on page 9 of her book.
A woman, without her man, is nothing.
A woman: without her, man is nothing.
Finally, I am left to wonder how DOES one do MLA citations in a blog? Am I committing yet another faux pas? Where is that editor when I need him? Or her? or ... it?
Tuesday, February 6, 2007
Writing "Technology" and Education - February 05, 2007
As you can tell from my last post, I am enamored of "writing" as the first "education technology".
(I am also an admirer of E.T. Bell's book Men of Mathematics, whose stories are in this post).
For after all, without writing, this marvelous thing called the internet would not be very interesting .... or perhaps it would, but then it would be very loud, relying of the spoken word.
So, let's do a quick review.
First, writing on clay - some obvious disadvantages to this one.
You have to let the clay dry and then fire it. However, then it is almost permanent.
Interesting example, there are only four books (codices) left written in Mayan, but there are
a lot of vases and clay artifacts with Mayn writing.
Of course, you can always write on sand, like Archimedes did. Of course, this is just a temporary fix.
Some Roman soldier is bound to come alont and mess them up. (And yes, his famous last words were probably Μη μου τους κύκλους τάραττε ("Don't disturb my circles")
Then papyrus ... not too bad but I think you have to pound the papyrus and then you have to watch out for mold.
Then vellum - that leather that people used to write on, making each "book" a labor of love.
Interesting fact, if you get vellum wet it returns to the shape of the animal.
Then, of course, paper and the printing press come along.
But until they became inexpensive enough, there were chalkboard slates in schools. They, of course, had the disadvantage of only holding so much information on them at one time. This is brilliantly illustrated by the story of Carl Friedrich Gauss. He was assigned busy work, to add up all the integers from 1 to 100, which he did without erasing his slate once and quite quickly as well. Slates were useful in showing who was a genius in a class.
And then there is the mail system. Used to be quite laborious to get a letter or goods sent by horses. However, the mail system is still an incredible invention in its own right, allowing people far removed from each other to communicate and collaborate. A good example would be the correspondence of Fermat and Pascal which gave us the beginnings of probability theory, as they worked on the problem of how to split up a poker pot if the game is interrupted.
Finally paper becomes cheaper and books are mass produced. First, books were sewn and you can still find some of these gems. Now however, most are glued to their covers.
Now, of course, there is the internet, encoding the writing with electricity and vastly improving upon the speed in which it is delivered, within seconds instead of days.
However, it all goes back to the writing system as the first technology used in education.... and/or time travel ....
(I am also an admirer of E.T. Bell's book Men of Mathematics, whose stories are in this post).
For after all, without writing, this marvelous thing called the internet would not be very interesting .... or perhaps it would, but then it would be very loud, relying of the spoken word.
So, let's do a quick review.
First, writing on clay - some obvious disadvantages to this one.
You have to let the clay dry and then fire it. However, then it is almost permanent.
Interesting example, there are only four books (codices) left written in Mayan, but there are
a lot of vases and clay artifacts with Mayn writing.
Of course, you can always write on sand, like Archimedes did. Of course, this is just a temporary fix.
Some Roman soldier is bound to come alont and mess them up. (And yes, his famous last words were probably Μη μου τους κύκλους τάραττε ("Don't disturb my circles")
Then papyrus ... not too bad but I think you have to pound the papyrus and then you have to watch out for mold.
Then vellum - that leather that people used to write on, making each "book" a labor of love.
Interesting fact, if you get vellum wet it returns to the shape of the animal.
Then, of course, paper and the printing press come along.
But until they became inexpensive enough, there were chalkboard slates in schools. They, of course, had the disadvantage of only holding so much information on them at one time. This is brilliantly illustrated by the story of Carl Friedrich Gauss. He was assigned busy work, to add up all the integers from 1 to 100, which he did without erasing his slate once and quite quickly as well. Slates were useful in showing who was a genius in a class.
And then there is the mail system. Used to be quite laborious to get a letter or goods sent by horses. However, the mail system is still an incredible invention in its own right, allowing people far removed from each other to communicate and collaborate. A good example would be the correspondence of Fermat and Pascal which gave us the beginnings of probability theory, as they worked on the problem of how to split up a poker pot if the game is interrupted.
Finally paper becomes cheaper and books are mass produced. First, books were sewn and you can still find some of these gems. Now however, most are glued to their covers.
Now, of course, there is the internet, encoding the writing with electricity and vastly improving upon the speed in which it is delivered, within seconds instead of days.
However, it all goes back to the writing system as the first technology used in education.... and/or time travel ....
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