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Tuesday, September 2, 2008

So Far, So Good

Just got back from a 2 mile run. I know that isn't much, but I hate running and I haven't moved that fast in a long time. Anyway, I thought I'd blog a bit to celebrate.

As I mentioned, I have my first two education classes this semester. I've read both of the textbooks already (insert nerd joke here) and I think I'm really going to like one, and really hate the second. The first is all about how to better integrate the knowledge coming out of laboratories with the day to day functions of the classroom. It discusses recent breakthroughs in neural networks, epigenetic theory, and a host of other interesting fields that may one day be useful to teachers. Hopefully, that day will come sooner than we think.

That book is entitled How People Learn.

The second class is more touchy-feely. It seems to be about how cultural differences embedded in society affect the achievement of students in the classroom. I certainly understand how this knowledge will prove useful to me as an educator, but based on the textbook, the class seems to go far beyond that. There is definitely a subtext of massaging and molding the culture via education to curb some larger social ills, and I don't think that is the primary job of schools.

But we shall see. Perhaps my opinions will change throughout the semester. For now, I have to pack my lunch in my A-Team lunchbox and head off to campus.

1 comment:

group-think said...

What's the title of the first book you mentioned?