So lets talk about reinventing education

[CosmicCowboy]

It seems that we all agree that the current system is ed up.

I'm thinking something on the line of a cloud computing based learning tree. I'm talking an individualized plan that starts at PreK. Let the best teachers in the country do a complete lesson plan for every possible subject that can be tailored to the individual. Kind of like the movies where you can choose alternate endings...question them as they proceed and if they have a complete grasp of that phase then move on to the next. If they don't understand the concept then go back and go into greater detail till they get it. Let each student move at their own speed.

Have mentor/tutor students (in each subject) from your high achievers that are rewarded/paid to help slower students.

Physical "teachers" become more like counselors/facilitators.

[admiralsnackbar]

It seems that we all agree that the current system is ed up.

I'm thinking something on the line of a cloud computing based learning tree. I'm talking an individualized plan that starts at PreK. Let the best teachers in the country do a complete lesson plan for every possible subject that can be tailored to the individual. Kind of like the movies where you can choose alternate endings...question them as they proceed and if they have a complete grasp of that phase then move on to the next. If they don't understand the concept then go back and go into greater detail till they get it. Let each student move at their own speed.

Have mentor/tutor students (in each subject) from your high achievers that are rewarded/paid to help slower students.

Physical "teachers" become more like counselors/facilitators.

I think you'd have to get kids in physical classes to learn reading and basic math concepts, but otherwise, I think it's a great idea: low over-head, student-centric education. The only other thing I'd add is the need for moderated online forums since half of retention and inspiration to learn more comes from discussion. And the mentor-students are another great idea for saving money.

I can imagine academic fraud might become an issue, but perhaps nothing so glaring that technology couldn't be developed to stanch it.

Anyway, all in all, this seems like a very feasible, cost-effective solution to many of the problems we were discussing in the other thread. Nice work

[CosmicCowboy]

I think you'd have to get kids in physical classes to learn reading and basic math concepts, but otherwise, I think it's a great idea: low over-head, student-centric education. The only other thing I'd add is the need for moderated online forums since half of retention and inspiration to learn more comes from discussion. And the mentor-students are another great idea for saving money.

I can imagine academic fraud might become an issue, but perhaps nothing so glaring that technology couldn't be developed to stanch it.

Anyway, all in all, this seems like a very feasible, cost-effective solution to many of the problems we were discussing in the other thread. Nice work

I thought about the fraud issue. You could beat that by having supervised tests at class completion.

[admiralsnackbar]

I thought about the fraud issue. You could beat that by having supervised tests at class completion.

I thought about that, too, but then you have to figure out what you're going to re-purpose those spaces for when they aren't being used as school sites since they would cost money to build/maintain just like new schools would. You could rotate different classes' test-dates so a larger amount of the population could test in the same facility, but if we're designing an ideal educational environment, education shouldn't have to wait on availability of testing space.

[Winehole23]

Previous discussions with a similar emphasis:

http://www.spurstalk.com/forums/show...ight=education

http://www.spurstalk.com/forums/show...ucation&page=2

http://www.spurstalk.com/forums/show...ight=education

[Winehole23]

Have mentor/tutor students (in each subject) from your high achievers that are rewarded/paid to help slower students.

Great idea. This seems like a biggie to me. Students with proven mastery can show other students what they know in real time. Why not encourage them to?

[Wild Cobra]

As long as the teacher's unions are more powerful than the parents, talking about reform is a joke. They will never allow it. It has to start by somehow separating the good and bad teachers.

[admiralsnackbar]

Great idea. This seems like a biggie to me. Students with proven mastery can show other students what they know in real time. Why not encourage them to?

While simultaneously earning themselves money and saving taxpayers the cost of hiring teachers or professional assistants. It really is a fine idea, and it worked pretty damn well in science and math courses at my college.

[Winehole23]

Physical "teachers" become more like counselors/facilitators.

I lot of good teachers are that. Technical competence is nice, but it doesn't necessarily translate to success in the classroom.

[Blake]

Have mentor/tutor students (in each subject) from your high achievers that are rewarded/paid to help slower students.

In theory I like it, but just because a kid can ace a calculus exam does not mean he/she will make for a good mentor/teacher.

[Winehole23]

It has to start by somehow separating the good and bad teachers.

I don't see why. I see the problem as federal control over the process. Power needs to return to the states, the schools and the communities. Then they can rearrange the schools to suit them however they like.

[admiralsnackbar]

As long as the teacher's unions are more powerful than the parents, talking about reform is a joke. They will never allow it. It has to start by somehow separating the good and bad teachers.

No Child Left Behind was ins uted -- at least in part -- because it is so hard to demarcate the line between effective and ineffective teachers.

I think if an online school could be developed into an accreditable program, the sheer savings would force most politicians to support such a solution considering it would cost less to pay thousands of teachers and groundskeepers unemployment benefits while running the e-school than it would to continue to maintain schools.

[Winehole23]

In theory I like it, but just because a kid can ace a calculus exam does not mean he/she will make for a good mentor/teacher.

That's no reason not to encourage them try IMO.

[admiralsnackbar]

That's no reason not to encourage them try IMO.

And over the course of class discussions, the teacher could determine who has a grasp of the material as well as a knack for communicating it to his/her peers.

[Wild Cobra]

Why don't we just abolish the Department of Education, and turn teaching back over to the states and communities like it was when I was in school?

[ploto]

Students with proven mastery can show other students what they know in real time. Why not encourage them to?

They already do it for free.

[Winehole23]

Why don't we just abolish the Department of Education, and turn teaching back over to the states and communities like it was when I was in school?

Because Republicans don't have the guts.

[George Gervin's Afro]

Why don't we just abolish the Department of Education, and turn teaching back over to the states and communities like it was when I was in school?

So the process can become even more politicized..great idea WC..

[admiralsnackbar]

They already do it for free.

For one thing, you give kids with brains but no motivation to excel scholastically a profit motive to do well by making money doing something they have to do anyway.

********

EDIT: not the best sentence, but you know what I mean.

[Winehole23]

They already do it for free.

Certainly. It makes sense to emphasize this too. Students help each other already. But discussion of the role (and very possible importance) of students in the process sometimes gets lost in the melee.

[Parker2112]

It seems that we all agree that the current system is ed up.

I'm thinking something on the line of a cloud computing based learning tree. I'm talking an individualized plan that starts at PreK. Let the best teachers in the country do a complete lesson plan for every possible subject that can be tailored to the individual. Kind of like the movies where you can choose alternate endings...question them as they proceed and if they have a complete grasp of that phase then move on to the next. If they don't understand the concept then go back and go into greater detail till they get it. Let each student move at their own speed.

Have mentor/tutor students (in each subject) from your high achievers that are rewarded/paid to help slower students.

Physical "teachers" become more like counselors/facilitators.

Or why dont you just take any kid who look like they might turn out to be terrorists out back and shoot them? it was good enough for you yesterday, cc...

NO, but seriously, you miss the mark on education. A tremendous amount of learning comes from interaction with teachers... learning to communicate orally is critical.

not to mention, the more you centralize the education process (like no child left behind did with standardized testing: what a disaster) the more you allow centralized authority (like the dreaded federal gov) to control the curriculum and the standards.

Think: how many local districts/states will be able to afford the setup required to get the "cloud" up and running? It would take borrowing more money/inflation/federal funding to get this up and running for kids. At a time when states everywhere are in the red, this idea is terrible.

[MannyIsGod]

As long as the teacher's unions are more powerful than the parents, talking about reform is a joke. They will never allow it. It has to start by somehow separating the good and bad teachers.

woah woah woah

I hate teachers unions but more powerful than parents is a complete crock of . Parents are apathetic as in general and they take very little interest in what happens with their children.

That parents are powerless is a conscious choice.

[CuckingFunt]

Schools can't be fixed by just fixing schools. A whole host of other social/socioeconomic issues would have to be addressed at the same time in order to have any chance of creating real change within the school system.

[CosmicCowboy]

The beauty of an e-school is that it can have totally open borders. Done right, 25 year old high school dropouts that have "seen the error of their ways" could go back to e-school from home when they aren't doing the dead end manual labor job they got stuck in.

Anyone could go back and "brush up" on their math or chemistry skills for instance, or try to learn a new language if they wanted to...

[Parker2112]

CC, I thought you were conservative?