A History of Education in 60 Phrases

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As we develop more and more knowledge about how children learn and about the changing nature and purpose of education, teachers are blessed with sound advice and cursed by how regularly it changes. And so this week's letter, (with the kind permission of Frank McNally of The Irish Times whose format I have borrowed), is a history of education in sixty flip-flopping phrases, conflicting memories, faddish new waves and some sound, enduring wisdom. I'll leave you to ponder which is which. As we do here. Endlessly.

  1. First boy to arrive, open up the cave.
  2. He who would excel in the school of the scribes must rise with the dawn.
  3. It's all Greek to me.
  4. Socratic Circles
  5. Round squares
  6. Squaring the circle
  7. Circle time
  8. The mind, at birth, is but a blank slate.
  9. The mind, at birth, is not a blank slate.
  10. Educating the mind is like the filling of a pail.
  11. Educating the mind is not the filling of a pail, it is the lighting of a fire.
  12. Fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge.
  13. Give us the boy until he is seven; we will give you the man.
  14. Please can I go to the toilet? (You can, but you may not.)
  15. A Beautiful Mind
  16. A Whole New Mind
  17. Five Minds for the Future
  18. The Disciplined Mind
  19. No Child Left Behind
  20. Mind Maps
  21. Mind the Gap.
  22. Growth Mindset
  23. Fixed Mindset
  24. Left brain
  25. Right brain
  26. Is the school around the corner just the same?
  27. An apple for teacher
  28. An Apple for each student
  29. Learning is chiefly behaviourist.
  30. Learning is chiefly constructivist.
  31. School’s out for summer.
  32. Teacher as Sage on the Stage.
  33. Teacher as Guide on the Side.
  34. Backwards by Design
  35. The Socratic Approach
  36. The Discovery Approach
  37. The Socratic Approach without Socrates
  38. The Inquiry Approach
  39. The Reggio Approach
  40. Teenagers nowadays can multitask.
  41. Teenage multitasking is a myth.
  42. I must seek the Oracle at Delfi.
  43. Just Google it!
  44. Education is not a destination it is a journey
  45. Learning to learn
  46. Lifelong learners
  47. Educate me for my future, not my parents' past.
  48. Just teach my child the way I was taught and we'll get along just fine.
  49. Children are the citizens of the future
  50. Children are also citizens in the present.
  51. A 7-year old is not half a 14-year old.
  52. Walk the talk.
  53. TED Talks
  54. Chalk and Talk
  55. Plus est en vous.
  56. Hey! Teacher! Leave those kids alone!
  57. It's about data-driven decision making.
  58. It's about decision-driven data collection.
  59. Less is more (except when it's just less).
  60. Last girl to leave, shut down the computers.


And the truth, if indeed it exists here somewhere, shall set us free. We'll keep looking.

Have a restful weekend,

Brian

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