Comments on: Deschooling and conflicts of interest

By: Leigh

Leigh — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 09:32:20 +0000

Yeah, 13 years schooling is a lot to let go of, as well as the entire university structure. One teacher pissing in the wind will never work, unless they’re charismatic. .. that why the book is called deschooling society. Its the whole hog, not a linear process.

One thing I’m doing is adjusting my language. Try removing the word student (or learners) from your vocabulary. See what new sentences and thinking you discover.

By: Just Enough and Nothing More » Blog Archive » Is It Possible to Completely Deschool in Our Society?

Fri, 18 Dec 2009 23:03:45 +0000

[...] This is the result. [...]

By: Learning is bigger than schooling | TechTicker

Learning is bigger than schooling | TechTicker — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 21:05:41 +0000

[...] to deschool society. My involvement within an institutionalised educational setting has rendered it impossible for me to deschool completely, however Lisa’s break from UNSW a number of years ago has given her the space and time to [...]

By: Mike Bogle

Mike Bogle — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 12:07:10 +0000

@Sarah Stewart: I’m sorry about the oversight on the party Sarah, I completely forgot about that video message. Her invitation was definitely sincere then – it just got lost in the shuffle between then and now

As far as the Edublog nomination – I did get one actually, it’s for Best Educational Technology Support Blog. Is this what you nominated me for? I’m a bit unclear on how the whole process works I must admit, but I’m honored to have made you list regardless

@leighblackall: Interestingly from what I’ve observed, one of the greatest sources of traditionalism for existing educational structures, processes, and social hierarchies is in fact the students – not necessarily the staff. I know staff who have actively tried to open up learning opportunities in their classrooms in order to empower students to visualise and direct their own experiences, only to find that the students are REALLY uncomfortable with the idea and want to be told what the lesson plan is, what the grading scale is, and what they’re being held accountable for.

Clearly after that many years of reactive, behavioristic learning in formal education systems, students are conditioned to look outside of themselves for all aspects of their learning – what they learn, how they learn, and whether they are learning it “correctly.”

It’s critical that change be realised from the earliest points of schooling, when young minds still freely and openly question the world around them and haven’t been dulled or silenced from external stimuli.

But for those students who have already been indoctrinated to existing processes, I think we need a different tact that involves helping them rediscover that they as individuals can decide what they want to learn, and that they don’t have to wait for someone else to do it for them.

I used to think that the change that is required lay at the root of existing systems of schooling, but I’m beginning to realise that it’s even more widespread and deeply rooted than that – it’s as much about breaking down mental walls in the minds of students as it is about subverting formalised processes and classroom structures.

By: Sarah Stewart

Sarah Stewart — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 21:38:39 +0000

I am feeling a tad upset – your beautiful daughter promised to invite me to her birthday when I spoke to her on webcam last year – and she’s forgotten

Hope you all have a fabulous day and a wonderful Christmas!!

BTW, not at all sure why my nomination of your blog didn’t get through the Edublog screening process?!

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Sat, 12 Dec 2009 21:30:09 +0000

[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Leigh Blackall, Mike Bogle. Mike Bogle said: New blog post: Deschooling and conflicts of interest – http://techticker.net/h2 [...]

By: leighblackall

leighblackall — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 21:23:15 +0000

While inside, there are things we can do to empower “deschooled” practice. Get researchers and teachers to publish their work on popular internet so that informal, self paced, networked learners have more opportunities, and so that more teachers become exposed to such learning and reconsider their roles. Take away the LMS as a primary tool and we will have taken out a key blockage to this popular engagement and the potential of forming educational webs” as Illich described. Of course you must read Deschooling Society, as well as Tools for Conviviality, and Energy and Equity. Glad you’re joining the conversation. I have blogged a lot about Illich’s ideas if you were interested in how I work from the inside.