Intelligent Life

The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has its limits. - Thomas Edison
"The surest sign that intelligent life exists elsewhere in the universe is that it has never tried to contact us."                  Calvin and Hobbes  (Bill Watterson)

Sunday, December 19, 2010

Edu-Babble or Remedial Education?

December 18, 2010
Kenyon Wallace presents an interview in the National Post with teacher and now author, Michael Zwaagstra of Manitoba. Michael has just published a new book co-authored with two of his former professors at the University of Manitoba's Faculty of Education, Rod Clifton and John Long. The book is entitled, What's Wrong with our Schools and How to Fix Them.


Michael had a feeling that the "progressive education" he was taught in the Faculty of Education, University of Manitoba may be more "edu-babble" than reality when he stepped in front of a class of uninterested teenagers. 


The article points out that the "progressive" idea of simply being a "guide on the side" just did not fit with what he thought made sense. 


When he took courses outside of the faculty of education, he felt empowered because he was actually learning about the subjects in question whereas the de-emphasis on conveying knowledge did not seem to accomplish anything tangible.

[Editor: As a former teacher, I agree wholeheartedly with the author as reported by Mr. Wallace. The idea of child-centred learning sounds WONDERFUL but when it means that the child should decide exactly what he wants to learn, it rings hollow. 


I had the daughter of a "consultant" for our board of education who did not receive a good mark because she did not finish her project. This consultant stated to me that as long as she knows how, is it really important to finish the project? I was shocked that someone was appointed to her position and did not realize that people need to know stuff and finish things.


Do we not want doctors who know where the body parts are and how to safely extract or fix injured parts? 
Hmm! Where is that heart anyway?



Do we want lawyers who know HOW to find out information but know nothing about how the law works? Do we want drivers who know WHAT those highway signs mean or just "how to find out" what they mean? 




Do we want engineers who actually have KNOWLEDGE of stresses and how to build bridges that don't fall down or do we want them only to know HOW to find out?


Do we want cashiers who can actually give the right change or just find out from someone else what the amount should be?


In the real world, do you want a road-builder who knows how but never finishes a highway, a doctor who orders several tests in order to diagnose your medical problem, and then never fixes it? Surely this is ludicrous. But it was the state of the profession in Niagara during the 80's and 90's. 


I did see some hope for change when tests were introduced at Grade 3 and 6 to test WHAT the students knew about math. Even tho they needed a lot of revisions to be more accurate, it was a start. I profess ignorance of what the current philosophy of learning is in Ontario.]


The article points out that after ten years as a teacher, the ideas he was force-fed do not work. He concludes that "we will continue to fail our kids if we do not change the way we teach and the way public education systems are administered."


The book mentions a number of controversial practices such as "no-fail" and "no-test" philosophies, the "spread of edu-babble in curricula" and the reduction of the teacher's authority in the classroom.


He points out that there is something fundamentally wrong with teachers having to make students experiences "fun" instead of teaching facts which are the building blocks of knowledge. [Imagine a student not having to know how to add, subtract, multiply and divide but just "how to use a calculator". Nothing wrong with learning their use but will a person always have a calculator with them when they need to do math? Will someone KNOW if an answer is wrong even if calculator-generated if they don't know HOW to check it with pencil and paper?]


When students' education is tailored to them, how can the student be evaluated on what he has learned? The quality of textbooks, he points out, has been "dumbed down" recently in order to follow the curricula handed down from on high. 


The article also points out that the consolidation of power at the administrative level in school boards has accentuated the problem because the teacher is micro-managed from the top and evaluated on what they have been told to do. But where is the measurement of the final product, student learning?


In his own classroom he tries to balance the good parts of the "progressive" philosophies with direct instruction.


It is also mentioned that in Edmonton, schools are allowed to specialize in music, sports or drama with principals given considerable control over budgets. "Alberta's standardized testing system ensures that students are learning common material."


Mr. Zwaagstra is a research associate at the Frontier Centre for Public Policy and a city councillor in Steinbach, where he lives with his wife and four young sons.


Editor: If this philosophy is continuing in 2010, 2011 and beyond, will we be graduating students into our labour force who know HOW TO but never TO FINISH, a job?

Tuesday, July 13, 2010

Praise for Governor General, Michelle Jean

[An email I wrote to the current Governor-General, soon to be past.]


Governor-General Michelle Jean

I can only hope that you actually get to read this, personally.

I had my doubts about your appointment in the beginning due to my perception of you being in the CBC, to many, a left-wing mouthpiece and of course your husbands former involvements.

I want you to know that you changed my attitude very quickly by your decorum, your support of the elected government of Canada, your grace and your encouragement for our native Inuit peoples and I might say a slight flaunting of misguided world opinion regarding seal hunting. I was proud of your consumption of the seal meat and not bowing to the politically-correct world view.

You displayed no bias party-wise but acted as a true representative of the Queen of Canada, above politics.

I heard no comments about spending excesses as we have with some other Governor-Generals.

You made me very proud of you as a former Haitian to have risen to the arguably highest office in Canada. You performed your duties with honour and dignity. You made me proud of you and proud of Canada. And it did not hurt at all that you acted as a beautiful person inside and out.

Everywhere you went or every action you performed made me prouder of you and of our great country!

Thank you for being such a wonderful representative of our country and of the Queen!

May you long enjoy your after-GG life!

-- 
-Charles Pedley
Creator of Schoolgenius.com
Where genius is nourished, not just born.

Former Teacher
Two Degrees, both above zero (:-)
====================
905-228-2161
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GIFT THAT KEEPS ON GIVING at
www.schoolgenius.com
Over 200 programs for less than $25 !!!

Thursday, January 28, 2010

Additions to SchoolGenius.com Website

Hello!
We have made a great many additions to our SchoolGenius website. In the spirit of our motto, "where genius is nourished not just born", we have added many stories and links about people who were considered failures and became successful.

My favorite was a movie that my wife and I watched called Gifted Hands. It is the story of Ben Carson who was considered by his classmates, his teacher and himself, a failure. Ben went on to overcome this viewpoint and at age 32, he became the Director of Pediatric Neurosurgery at the world-famous, John Hopkin's Hospital in Baltimore.

That is success and the movie is wonderfully insprining! If Ben can do it, maybe so can YOU!

So please checkout Ben's story and that of many others considered failures at SchoolGenius.com.

I believe YOU TOO will be inspired by their stories!
-Charles

Friday, May 22, 2009

Remembering Those Who Sacrificed...

Please excuse the author as he obviously did not check his spelling.
Is it "sacraficed" or SACRIFICED?

“Remembering Those Who Sacraficed
For Our Freedom”


From the Desk of:
Greg Writer
CEO
Children's Educational Network

Dear Charles,

As we head into the last weekend of May and make plans for the three-day weekend, I ask that you take a moment to remember what this weekend is truly about – remembering. The root of Memorial is memory and on this day, remembering something special about the soldiers, their families along with their loved ones and the sacrifices they continue to make to keep this country great.

This weekend is also about the remembrance of our fallen heroes from all of the past conflicts and wars. It is a day to think about the families that will forever grieve for their lost loved ones but also a day to be thankful to those who have served and made the world a safer place not just for us, but also for our children and future generations.

From the Civil War to Vietnam, from Kuwait to Iraq, the men and women in uniform have protected our country throughout the generations for peace and freedom. I ask that you honor these extraordinary Americans for their service and dedication and observe a moment or two of silence, fly a U.S. flag, watch a parade and if you get a chance, thank a soldier.

These men and women deserve our ongoing gratitude and prayers for protection.

May God bless you and watch over our soldiers for their selfless acts, as they stand watch and protect this great country.

Have an outstanding weekend!


Greg Writer
CEO & Founder
Children's Educational Network

Wednesday, May 20, 2009

For parents with young daughters...

"Here's A Must Watch Video For Parents With Young Daughters"


From the Desk of:
Greg Writer
CEO
Children's Educational Network

 

 

Today I received a email from a really special friend of mine and I thought I must share this video!

So in honor of the next generation of mothers please be inspired and watch this video from a Mom making a HUGE difference in the lives on young girls around the country!

I know you will enjoy this and please support Debra's efforts and be sure to leave your comments.

Thanks and have an outstanding day!


Greg Writer
CEO
Children’s Educational Network


Wednesday, May 6, 2009

The Impact Event - Orlando

I just came back from The Impact Event in Orlando Florida
where I was recognized as one of the top 100 People in America
making an Impact!
Thanks to my incredible assistant nominating me :!
See the post on our Kid Safe blog at:
http://kidsafe.com/greg-writer-selected-as-one-of-the-impact-100
The event was hosted by Ken McArthur, a long time Internet
marketer, and was packed with some of the top online income
earners in America!
I met some great people...and learned a few new ideas to earn
$ on the Internet, that I will share with you soon.
The reason for today's email is I met Alicia Dunams and she is
an expert on helping people get a book written and published.
And I am not sure about you but I have always wanted to write
a book but did not quite know the insider tips and secrets to
get it done effectively.
Well after spending many hours with her I am convinced she has
golden ticket to get this done fast and efficiently.
So I asked here if she could hold a teleseminar for my
contacts to share some of the tips that everyone who wants to
publish a book should know.
She said no problem...
But because she is very high demand for her services she can
only do this call tomorrow!
I know this is short notice but if you have book idea inside
of you, YOU do not want to miss this call!
Here's the link to check it out:
http://www.webcontactpro.com/app/?af=980585
Hope you enjoy!
Thanks
Greg Writer
PS You also may want to check out what I am doing at my new
site http://www.InternetOilwells.com. I made a pretty cool
video you may want to check out!
Children's Educational Network

The Other Side. Is Evolution a New Religion?

Education?

Is Education what it was intended to be or has it become a religion?

I present here some links to Intelligent Design websites. I do so only because EVERYONE is taught about Evolution but FEW if any are ALLOWED to TEACH about the ideas about Intelligent Design.

Doesn't it strike you as odd, that scientists, and quasi-scientists like Dawkins DO NOT WANT to ALLOW ID to be presented alongside evolution??

If Evolution is purely science, should it not stand up to the questions and "but's" that intelligent people have raised about it?

Isn't an important element of education to hear BOTH SIDES of an argument and then select what you believe is most accurate?

Or have we degraded to the evolution religionists who COVER THEIR EARS and DO NOT WANT TO LISTEN to anything else except what they have been taught?

Could CENSORSHIP be leveled against the adamant evolutionist community? What else explains their lack of listening to the other side? Do they want to protect impressionable minds from being deluded? Or do they want to delude impressionable minds?

Intelligent Design is simply the idea that there is so much order and complexity in the universe of life that it is possible that life shows a design not simply an accident.

I can not as a former teacher agree that evolution is all about science. I have heard Duane Gish at McMaster University present ONLY SCIENTIFIC QUESTIONS THAT SEEM TO BE A REAL PROBLEM TO EVOLUTION. He DID NOT MENTION RELIGION ONCE!

But as soon as questions were allowed, ALL OF THE ARGUMENTS AGAINST HIS QUESTIONS assumed that he mentioned religion. HE DID NOT.

NOT ONE of these objectors EVEN ATTEMPTED to answer the questions that HE RAISED in the presentation.

There was so much blindness, seemingly lack of paying attention to what he said, that it was shocking to me.

How in a university community could people who want their students to LISTEN carefully present such a poor example of LISTENING???

The only reasonable answer can be that there is such a prejudice and bias AGAINST religion that many think they hear "religion" when NONE is ever mentioned.

That is why the other side should be aired. Some are blind to anything except what they believe. If Galileo or Copernicus were in that lecture hall in a time warp going back 500 years or more would these same people who did not hear Mr. Gish also not have heard Galileo or Copernicus?

Unfortunately I see the same lack of listening on the part of many evolutionists.

So if you are open-minded at all, please at least look at the other side.

Should Evolution be Left to The Scientists?


Evolution in Education 2

Evolution Controversy

Notice:

Many of these articles are from newsletters that are sent to me. I include them because they are informative. I leave everything the same except the blurb at the bottom which was directed to me. I would suggest that if you like any of them you may wish to go to the website and subscribe to get your own copy.