Re: Unteachableness?

[Stephen Newmann <newmann@msmary.edu>]

I think, Cynthia, that Montesorri was "on to" this sense of the 
reasonableness (unreasonablness?) in our demands on students when s/he? 
devised her/his system of educating.  Carl Glover has spoken here and 
there about Kairos (the appropriate moment).  A difficult concept to 
implement in our clock based culture.  --stephen

On Sat, 3 Feb 1996, Cynthia Haynes wrote:

> I wonder why we perceive students as unteachable when they are 
> conditioned at a very early age, and through most of their primary and 
> secondary education, to LEARN and PLAY at such bizarre times.  For 
> instance, we tell them, "OK, now for the next 50 minutes you have to sit 
> still and learn or we'll discipline you."  Then the bell rings, and we 
> tell them, "OK, now go out and play for 50 minutes and if you don't, 
> we'll discipline you."  Then the bell rings, and we tell them, "OK, for 
> the next 50 minutes you have to sit still and learn..." etc etc.  Makes 
> me wonder more about ourselves than about them.
> 
> WE should also consider the factor of their resistance to learning.  
> Roger Cohen coined the word "aliteracy" referring to "young adults who 
> know how to read but choose not to" (qtd in _13th Gen: Abort, Retry, Ignore, 
> Fail?_, p.132).  There's also no necessary link between what WE term 
> apathy and unteachableness (if that's a word).  As the authors of 13th 
> Gen put it: "Older people could swear that nothing's on [students'] 
> minds, that they just 'don't care' (elder translation: selfish, 
> apathetic, uninformed).  It's all a matter of perspective.  As the 13ers 
> see it, what elders care about is 'history' (13er translation: dead, past 
> tense, NOT!)" (132). As two teenagers in a mall scene put it, "Oh, that 
> was so five-minutes ago." (from *Buffy the Vampire Slayer*).
> 
> NOTE: I guess I'm also guilty of 'aliteracy' in this thread...I must 
> admit I've barely skimmed some of the messages, but Neal's post got me to 
> thinking...so, forgive me if these comments aren't particularly relevant 
> to the previous postings on this thread :)
> 
> Cynthia Haynes 
> 
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