Sometimes in our discussions about what is right or wrong, good or bad, I
am reminded of an observation by Parker Palmer (1997): "Whipped from one
side to another, we fail to find a synthesis that might embrace the best
of both approaches" Palmer was referring to our tendency to see things as
either/or: Schools teach critical thinking -- or they don't. Students are
either taught via rote methods or they engage in problem solving. Yet, it
is really almost never a case of either/or. Some things are best learned
by "rote," for example, multiplication tables. But how and when to use
multiplication is something that must be learned through experimentation,
practice, and critical problem solving. Other things are best learned
"hands on." I'm thinking of our health care technologies program when
students learn to give injections. There are still teachers and classrooms
which reflect a one-size fits all approach to learning, but I honestly
think they are mercifully fewer now than a decade ago. Most all of the
faculty I work with understand the need to have a repertoire of teaching
and learning strategies from which to draw to meet the different learning
styles of their students. Some have a much larger repertoire than others.
At least in California, there is an emphasis throughout the elementary and
secondary systems on critical thinking, problem solving and types of
assessment that are not just quantitative, but also qualitative. This
focus has been more successfully applied in some districts than others,
and I doubt any district or classroom teacher feels as though they have
mastered it, but when one looks beneath the surface and for a period of
time, not just a single observation, I think it is likely that one could
identify a range of methodologies.
It is tempting to generalize or simplify things into one behavior or
another, but I think if we look very closely, we will see that things are
not usually so neatly pigeonholed into this category or the other. When
we do generalize, we miss all the subtle complexities that may have given
us much needed insight. Learning, for me, has never been one wy or the
other consistently over time. It is so contextual.
I'm probably not making sense at this point, but I felt compelled to add
my thoughts to the mix. Most of you know how I can't pass up a chance to
comment on education!
Harriett J. Robles
hjrobles@aol.com
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