Content-type: text/html Downes.ca ~ Stephen's Web ~ How the “industrial era schools” myth is a barrier to helping education today

Stephen Downes

Knowledge, Learning, Community

When I went to school in the 1970s the school was experimenting with small classes, open concept classes, electives, and a bunch of other things. Yes, I am a beneficiary of progressive education. So it has always been clear to me at some level that we've moved beyond 'industrial age' education. And in other, equally important ways, we haven't. I wouldn't consider Betsy DeVos eloquent or informed on education, but she's not totally wrong when talking about traditional schooling, and where she's wrong, she is by no means first, or alonme, in being wrong. That said, it remains true that "to the extent that rote memorization or call-and-response teaching persist, that persistence is related to the institutional and cultural dynamics of schooling" and we would do well to remember that these dynamics (such as the perception of 'school as socialization') are still at play today.

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Stephen Downes Stephen Downes, Casselman, Canada
stephen@downes.ca

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Last Updated: Apr 26, 2024 03:24 a.m.

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