tlie tIradi tions
__--------__
oo.
t--educsa6
me hthl
itsel-f.
a--sarn,
th
of education.
.nlaJ
rp--- aa'ate'
for
respect
for a little
fad: and a call
A response to the lates'
a once-and-for-all
Maybe there cannot be
A debate which has raged for some five thousand years,
solution,
and the same complaints,
on more or less the same issues
focusing;
new gimmick,
S
is not likely to be resolved by
however neatly packaged, and however firmly "proven."
CX L
VY
6y'V
cJr
-
-I
(U~v~vCA
political
That each of us, with our own set of philosophical,
and theoretical biases should promote our own view of the good
life (and its concomittant picture of the good education) is
making
a buck
r
-u '~I=-.rkK
guaranteed-or-your-money-back
idae
nd publishers intent on
.on.e~
education
4
rzeL
is understandable,
ianx
That ia~dEma
understandable and probably all to the good.
_nZ
invent~~ new
--
-eb
ah
if less admirblle.
That those who
make public policy should be so gullible; as to think they can
implement any of them by fiat and thus "solve" the dilemma
a
is/sadder matter.
Pt
4tL-a
-lrc
theybJ
uche-
1
5iill
an
0
ae-tested-and finally laid to-rest-by-omo-bJective- Scientific
teat
is even-tragic.,
In asme senses, yes.
Is it a peculiarly American idea?
i, certain
It
Intensified by two particula ly American views:
(i) our overexpectations with regard to the role that public
education can serve as the arbiter of equity and opportune ty,
and (2) our faith in empirical, Scienti ic Objectivity ("hard
data"
is
the current lingo).
-
we
av- d
akne
_dging
the philosophical, theoretical oi police l/moral nature of our
n
decisions we i...n....
m
md
:zh-IS
ez
aIperfect and universally
i
applicable solution.
It seems natural to Americans to believe
I
L
-2that there must be a way to determine the right method and even
tlr
:oals--if only we ame
r:ivIht;
Anal(i then, by golly, we'll
objective and scientific enough.
be able to implement it, assembly-
and ddterm inedL
Presumably,
izqt
oihs a
d.mrh..le
.h.s
.nme
line fashion until we get 100% success.)
i
when i -t
eee-s-to
the big lesson of the educational reforms of the
was that fads and fashions were not healthy for
'60s
No
education.
more wild and woolly experimentation, said a weary publiclh4
Let's try instead a more cautious approach with greater respect
for tradition.A Even to this enthusiastic progressive educator,
it wasn't an altogether unwelcome appeal.
I was tied of reading
hea t all the marvelous new quickie success stories based upon
4Au4i 'Ir
_
one
tic'
cJ
ivuyk1'
iM~crlw.P
1
aJ
nc
e+h
or another current single-track idea.A But the attack upon
innovativeness
turned out
to be mostly aj slogan
for
ExarKxxee
particular brand of innovation.
The "in"
sometimes
1^
N
c"
ra',
Avbo
J
innovation of the '80s is mastery learning,
y
also called
A fancy new magazine hew appears with monthly testimony to
its unfailing success.
Various city and state education
departments are busy reorganizing to implement this new cure-all.
It comc
with all the usual Scieltifically-guaranteed evidence
in the
;ame
statistically jargon-fii form.
and theoretical bases are laid out in
--10 universal truths.,*' c
.
.lT
Pamea-i--=ak
Its philosophical
- -um
t--&-~-=t
m-a:"
ta
nm3
-
n-
lfmitr
underlying philosophical and
theoretical assumptions about human purposes, human learning
and political ends remain me.- hidden, a--- mptin
Whrt
a
s.ep4uf
the
n
p+.oi
that-are
of the rat "mastery" movementA
U'(
* Ironically, the "test" we have accepted as the arbiter of "success"
mandaks prevents us from eexr finding what we are seeking, since
not only can't 100% ever "succeed", but-the mxxaxf learning curve
must always remain unchanged.
v
k-
.rpiX"
Od ntfll o 'b "c
c/ipt4IQ
iP
..
l .._ ..' ...
'fin
l
I-----------------------I
-
-
-3-
th:ia.;
(1)
anything worth learning > can be reduced to specific
discrI±ot "bits" capable of being directly taught in seriatum
facJ, ion.
sufficientlyt-broke-n dnjO
n-e
That these "bits"
(2)
that virtually any student
..Sr+±pisza
a* ...p- -simple
nato
(3) That we hwe sufficient knowledge
can be 100% successful.
y about what most of these specifics areas well as the
-awrw
(4)
sequence in which they should be learned.
particulars and the sequence are the same
(5)
thespeed varies).
That
That both the
for all learners (only
each step can be
uxa
kakxmatax
.- .I4K*s""
stated in a form accessible to quick and easy
yb-wnry--through multiple choice, true/false type tests.
fpie- (generally 2-3 ge)•
a small
(0) That
ofntest items can
distinguish the degree of mastery attained.
(7)
That the
successful mastery of several hundred such testable bits can
be assumed to be proof of mastery over the largersubject matter
or skill.
'Iro-*-ke-meedy ne example of the use of this theory--in
read n1--nmight demonstrate some of its presumptuousness
++ Jppax-=.arver-.
-czri...g
in areas sucK
science, art or music
as social studies,
where similar mastery programs are now
rapidly being developed).
To begin with,
(uH
!
one must assume that
he age- p
dispute
over the way reading is best learned has"been resolved.
the past 150 years of American education has
That
experienced a regular
clock-work shift between phonics and what we might now call
a "psycholinguistic approach" might tempt slne to feel the conclusion
a bit hasty.A But for the sake of argument, we zauxpxurtaxkkix
merely note that the mastery approach assumes there is a definitive
answer to this questions
,.
,
pttbli4h-r-vl
r(
t i- rlJL
-btememu-t-f;tibo
phonics wins.
rourlcl
Jut moreshan that-aoaL
&1rkod.
ctN\ nw\fUC'->,
-oh
rnl6
r4)Ar
fviw-
c hoot
o3eetween one of the dozens
of very different phonic systems that noi
claim legitimacy (some
stressing individual sounds, some syllables, some word families,e
and each with its different organization !of the !
a).
Not only
doa
we have to agree which system is the right one--for all children
and all teachers,
children nood to
-i
/ ,-. A.--
ge,
t at the order in which
matter this data fixed~
.tan.btaught/test~d/taught
t a_
-of course,
h prescribed..iem
that
.e
-4-
proponents argue for each child proceeding at his/her own
(Som"
early masters
pace and others for khaitigxhka divertinjtt
\1
into enrichment activities until the slower ones catch up.)
relations,
,?st,lhe learning of some hundreds of sound/symbol
I
- introduce a series
the mastry learning proponents then st*
of varied other related decoding skills--rules about syllibication,
reco;;nition of root words, prefixes, suffixes, compounds, etc.,
Following
which presumably relate to learning to read fluently.
this come more "complex" skills, similarly broken down into
discreetly teachable lessons on matzphaXkI
rdieng
r
inferential
x
critical reading,
and other modern jargon
-hi-,
for making sense of what's written (comprehension).
are lined up sequentially and taught/tesited/taught
two w 'ek
with sure success tee
segments,
as the sequence is followed in full
kindergarten
college?
To men ion one trivial
taking
a more/ valuabl
N
-
from
eventually,
through
s
uccess i
is
ap arntlyever
e/sence of
issues
The
t makin
i
that learning
mistak
is often
al experi nce than being ri ht
orh learnin
educat on is
proponents .assume
education 1.
and that in f
educati
n/for granted are
oni
relet ed to he unthikable.
N
ans .r, and
ne that
an be ta
nset:itli
m9madd
in
--
through 9th grade (and why pot,
th- t on
involve~
These too
life?)
erin
glibl.y
\,
guaranteed as long
.;-
The philosophical assumptions ta
stag
.u
u
hrases-
/
hing tia
hasn't dot a "ri
diect
by a teacher,is
o believe that
Thos
cone iving
of
he
I
a a crucial
sibility of,
ambiguity and tenta iveness a
wri ten out of
with ori' youth
Ii
.... .. . ....
...
t"(
-
contact
-5-
I
,
>, o J
-Pa h+,.
. .
it sweep$ away without comment all those difficult issues
raised by learning psychologies such as Jean Piaget concerning
the distinctions between a child's logic and an adult's, or
between surface knowledge and the assimilation of a new schema.
Contemporary research in biology and psychology, with its
increasing emphasis on the complexity of the manner in which
the human brain organizes,
stores and retrieves information,
-,
tb .-i-mn,,~
is not rebutted but treated as
afja-x ci
unneccessary baggage.
A-
le r
Zaai.--.nci
,
.
-c
.
.
rn--f
-
....
one,
.-
and the connectedness
dRea ta~
pieces of
i
.
-
I-dcrying out.
rooted rin's
14ikt
. .
J41c
1u\J
t.
of
-we offer
r
iI-Awd
Ir'J
assembly-line fashion. in the hopos
A continuous stream of "successful"' soores on literally
thousn:,ds of little tests willAkeep chid4e
quiet; and contented
'The cliche, underlying such programs that learning
requires constant
success and avoidance
as though the!
essential
to human
N
v.othing
edicab
oinl
a
value,' thus
of th
or is swallowed whole,
'
clearly disp
yen (or disprovable).
"right" a swer is
isposinr
1 component of a good
of those who would
duc tion is -
argue
-a.-e
m4o
possibility of unsettle~ssues, ambiguous tr
and unresolved a
ideas.
deductive reasoning
N.;\
swiftly
e
making
-j
mi takes ae i_
were
that hasn't got
that a cr
conceiv
that lEoar
f
lph(
The single-t'r~c
at lies behind th..
a
Lbo
- a.&c..4..i.
-i-
simple-minded
mo
11 -
C_)
/L
-
-c
- --
/
-6-
Tl i
supra-rationality
in
this
e~
m
contemporary scientific
tandi
morkery of ourpunde
a
fadd makes
latest
implicit
In the name of Scientific Objectivity and Hard
i54s.NM.sxauat
Data we have not only robbed'science of M-
Empircal
excitement
and intri;ue, but alas also robbed chil ren of science.si
/xalsc
IZrexlikx
xxx
txaixrat
We k InXxi YaN dxaica[mmsxfikiZatXxtsxtaxa
x
Zx±If fig
amxmiEaixixKKXNrr
llyliimx
smcbxhu
ixs
c
/
.
Will the famous humanities/science schism be usefully
brided by children raised to think bot
humanities
a
of azakiticg easily digestible
Can either science orthe himnities be furthered by
skills?
the
can be reduced to a
science and the
idea that. everything worth thinking about has a "right"
"net-
And
answer?
kxadxxaxtxWxaxahax
We ar
formed by the proponents
child rrnshoul
/
saxp
th
,iffiitxx
only be exposed
a~dxxxia This click
that making m
eductiJonlal exper ence, and
i
mistakes
tilize,
being
to succ sses..
fxtkisxxaain±xx
rxafxixtaxiakxizx xEakaEiEnax anxdagsXa
xtixaxi x
thal one forgets
new method that
of
a
"right."
t
e begins
takes js
to so
d
often a
so obvi us
equally
kkgxtkaxxakxaf tn wing
aluable
ow to
e risks may be even more important than
-I
ifle/asChdifferent
questions of the universe,
and our
Giambattista
answers are shaped accordingly,"
century
philosopher.
us cause
securely
"rirht;
arswers?"
amb
i vco, a famous 16th
Has the history of the 20th century given
lor dismissing such wisdom.
axari
toydogmatic
L~
"Ne penetrate...meaning...by
friend,
said
in
the
Have we reason to turn more
the infallibility
'passion'
of
of a
on4
'lover',
o
a
n'
r
intimate, not by rules, imaginary universal keys which
open nothiuni,;,"
says Isaiah Berlin in describing one of the great
controversies in philosophy that has long bedeviled humankind.
At
least let us maintain an alternate tradition of learning, one that
still sees it as a "passionate search by lovers and friends"
ueewakt
the diversity of the universe.
Such a tradition belongs not
meret in
the schools
attended by the affluent and powerful,
also taxtkIasxxaxranazxkjx
in our public schools.
,
but accessible
,
--
'i
-7-
IT
it
has turned out that such an education is more difficult
to produce
than we imagined,
sh'-l
-
it
up?
To understand
what human beings have made of the world in which they find themselves, to satisfy s
m
yearning to bake sense of, organize,
clarify
and
experience, more fully
a prepackaged:
kitswith
any less worthy?
because
it's
'
dosoe n
ai
machine scoreable
oa.
nt3,
tests 4cLs
t m.&
eet
Shall we call something else education merely
easier to make
it
work?
-- ~e-MP-~m---
isxxxxkis--_
Let 100 flowers bloom$
Who knows, maybe different flowers
bloom not only at different speeds, but in different but
equall
glorious hues,
c,,c
patterns, sizes
.
X
k
1)4ACT
_cr)S
Y (j
U,, .N
.
Ci.
shapes and seasons.)
lt
a,
3
~,yl ~~
I"~J""i n~b
)hLd~c~P1
I 't
or
V1"
3
..
CC\
r