Ed Brenegar III writes about portfolio based assessment and I think that
is a direction that public education is moving. However, ultimately the
motivation to develop a love for learning is not going to come from
outside assessors. In fact, I don't think we need to develop a love for
learning. I believe that we are natural born learners ... all of us. (And
I really don't want to get into the intrinsic motivation thread, which
gets pretty circular.) The job of school should be kind of like the
physicians' oath ... "First do no harm..." And there is evidence that we
are in violation of that 'oath'. Teams of assessors and psychologists
approach our children to sort and select them. Things like listening,
communicating, discovering, exploring and wondering become assignments
done to please someone else instead of natural joys done for their own
sake (or for the pleasure they bring). My 2-year-old daughter begs me to
read with her. Ten years from now, I will be begging my daughter to read
thanks to a schooling system that forces kids to read dry, dull,
irrelevant stuff and grades them on their 'comprehension'.
Grace & Peace,
Scott Ott, Public Relations Specialist
sott@nkcsd.k12.mo.us
The North Kansas City School District
http://www.nkcsd.k12.mo.us
"Do not be conformed to this world
but be transformed by
the renewing of your mind."
--Scott Ott <SOTT@nkcsd.k12.mo.us>
Learning-org -- An Internet Dialog on Learning Organizations For info: <rkarash@karash.com> -or- <http://world.std.com/~lo/>