CC Week 15
Wednesday, January 20th, 2016
Hello families!
We have a new family starting this week, and this will necessitate some adjustments in the classrooms, as Mrs. Smith's class is now too big to fit in the little library. If y'all will help the kids keep the noise level down during art, that would be great. Thanks for your flexibility as we try to find the best use of the space God has given us!
Foundations to Challenge
“Our culture is obsessed with technology and entertainment. As classical, Christian educators, we need to be thoughtful about our education methods. In our generation, a tide has been turning—a tide that has eroded the foundation of true education and replaced it with a learning model as ineffective as shifting sands. I call this replacement model ‘edu-tainment.’ What do I mean? Let me expound. Unlike the proven classical model, which teaches through modeling, dialoguing, and critical thinking, edu-tainment attempts to educate using flashy tools and games that grab a student’s attention. However, much like television, the tools and games of edu-tainment leave students in a passive state of merely receiving stimuli. No real transfer or processing of knowledge—skills critical to a successful learning journey—takes place in students’ minds.
“Classical educators have referred to this approach as “filling a bucket”—pouring information into or around students (the bucket) until they can’t take anymore. Students become passive receivers—a bucket that overflows without retaining. In the long term, this filling-focused approach is unsatisfying and unsuccessful for students, leaving their spirits disengaged and their minds disinterested in life’s great learning adventure.
“In contrast, Classical Conversations programs, tutors, and parents strive to light the learning fire, to engage students in the process. We accomplish this primarily through modeling, working along side our students with extensive dialogue and encouragement. The final result—“final” because it takes a while!—is engaged students able to work through their studies independently and confidently because they have had a sound model and encouraging mentors.”
Heather Shirley, “Edu-tainment vs. Stick in the Sand”