Author: Educational Journal

Education is the essence of peace!

DUBAI – Global Education & Skill Forum 1

~ Educational Journal ~ Leave a comment

It has been some weeks now that I have had the honour to participate in the Global Education & Skills Forum: I am one of the VTA’s now, Varkey Teacher Ambassador, being part of a group of 250 people that have made it under the last 50 teachers in the Global Teacher Prize during the last 5 years. The experience was a fantastic one. I have met many different people from all over the world. Teachers who want to do the right thing, just like I want to do it too. 

The first two days, we had our VTA summit. We got to know each other and spent some time to find out about each other’s projects and achievements. Very nice and inspiring. The second half was the Global education & Skill Forum summit. There too, many more people from all over the world, fantastic location and just the right weather. 

The sessions were very interesting, half on EdTech and the other half on general education. Interesting. Indeed, great ideas, yet sometimes a bit of beating around the bush. Sometimes, I don’t want to be arrogant, I have the impression that the essence of education gets overrun by the way of how to grade, uniform and meet the standards way of educating, well, teaching. Nobody spoke in-depth about the importance of child development, about the child in the moment of growth and discovery. I thought that that was rather sad. Problems are easy to put on the table, yet the prevention of these, by the sheer understanding of the child, was not put to the forefront.

But anyway, very interesting people, people with influence, leaders and decision makers. All present.

I am very happy that I had the chance to go and I hope I will be able to go again, we’ll see. :

Thoughts cont.

~ Educational Journal ~ Leave a comment

Do you follow the child or is the child following you. Do you support the child’s personal development or is the child following your ideal thought of development ?

Do you help the child to be able to help him/herself or do you help the child to help to maintain the inflicted standards?

What is the aim of education? What does one want to achieve? How can we help to give children the ability to be critical, questioning and solution finders?

What do we do and what do we give to them, pass on and help them to build a solid foundation to be able and confident enough to survive in this world?

…
What is it what we do…?

Thoughts

~ Educational Journal ~ Leave a comment

If we call our adult mentality conscious, then we must call the child’s unconscious, but the unconscious kind is not necessarily inferior. An unconscious mind can be most intelligent. We find it at work in every species, even among the insects. They have an intelligence which is not conscious though it often seems to be endowed with reason. The child has an intelligence of this unconscious type, and that is what brings about his/her marvellous progress.

The Absorbent Mind

Maria Montessori

 

Inside or outside the box

~ Educational Journal ~ Leave a comment


The majority of people would always like to think outside the box. In some way that is their way to be innovative or progressive. Generally, there is nothing against this way of thinking, yet often it is ending nowhere hence to the incapability of thinking inside the box. This might sound a little arrogant but that is not the intention. I just want to pin out the fact, that it is time to start thinking inside-the-box, to set the base to do the outside-the-box thinking. Why are all the solutions always to be found outside the box? Have we actually covered the ground inside it? People hat want to think outside the box obviously have covered all their options inside the box and are convinced that hey will find, whatever they are looking for outside of it. Or is this just a way to gain more time to look for something that is not yet in their vicinity? Why is no one saying that she/he is thinking next to the box. Maybe because that is to close to the inside and hence, not enough time available to do the proper thinking, that is needed to find the solution necessary. Maybe it is another way to say that one takes a step back, or actually outside of a ongoing thought process, to come back again after and having refreshed their thoughts…

Maybe that’s it…

Thoughts continued …

~ Educational Journal ~ Leave a comment

In a world of a technological way of living, where Internet shopping is the most convenient in our fast living world, I see it as our responsibility, the responsibility of the adults/teachers that we protect and preserve the true essence of education,… reading and learning through experiences and the exchange of thoughts and ideas.

One needs to be careful to forelive this attitude to the children that will be our future leaders.

How can we accept, that knowledge starts to sit exclusively within machines that show us the way, in physical direction or mental self-understanding?

How can we accept that children are classified according to the ability of learning?

We need to stop, to let other people tell us what a child needs, when often the one element that is needed is ‘giving the time’ and that is neglected and seen as non-existing?

How can that be?

I think and believe that all children have the same ability to learn. Everyone is different and according to that, time, environment and approach needs to be adapted, prepared and respected. If we allow ourselves to respect and cherish these three factors, that are omni-present, globally existing for everyone, and most of all for free, would change a fair amount of fore-said, decision-made, prejudices and pre-conceived ideas.

Places like little book shops, offering additional writing and reading sessions are getting lost hence to big corporate companies, that give you all the happiness you need for the price of stripping your personality with or better for them.

My book shop goes against this way of living. My team and I know the people, we share a moment together through the process of making the decision, choosing the book that one wants. It is important to have the personal contact. That needs to be and is forelived in this environment. Children see and hear these conversations, wonder and ask questions.

Once again it is the environment that sets the mood and openness of oneself. It is the prepared environment that gives a sense of security and compactness.

Dr. Montessori said: Education is a natural process carried out by the human individual, and is acquired not by listening to words, but by experiences in the environment. The teacher’s first duty is to watch over the environment, and this takes precedence over all the rest.

Chris

All about time and environment

~ Educational Journal ~ Leave a comment

In a world of a technological way of living, where Internet shopping is the most convenient in our fast living world, I see it as our responsibility, the responsibility of the adults/teachers that we protect and preserve the true essence of education,… reading and learning through experiences and the exchange of thoughts and ideas.

One needs to be careful to forelive this attitude to the children that will be our future leaders.

How can we accept, that knowledge starts to sit exclusively within machines that show us the way, in physical direction or mental self-understanding?

How can we accept that children are classified according to the ability of learning?

We need to stop, letting other people tell us what a child needs, when often the one element that is needed is ‘giving the time’ yet that is neglected and seen as non-existing?

How can that be?

I think and believe that all children have the same ability to learn. Everyone is different and according to that, time, environment and approach needs to be adapted, prepared and respected. If we allow ourselves to respect and cherish these three factors, that are omni-present, globally existing for everyone, and most of all for free, would change a fair amount of fore-said, decision-made, prejudices and pre-conceived ideas.

Places like little book shops, offering additional writing and reading sessions are getting lost hence to big corporate companies, that give you all the happiness you need for the price of stripping your personality with or better for them.

My book shop goes against this way of living. My team and I know the people, we share a moment together through the process of making the decision, choosing the book that one wants. It is important to have the personal contact. That needs to be and is forelived in this environment. Children see and hear these conversations, wonder and ask questions.

Once again it is the environment that sets the mood and openness of oneself. It is the prepared environment that gives a sense of security and compactness.