Sunday, September 11, 2011

C4T #1 & #2

So for my first two C4T projects, I was assigned Mr Crosby's Learning is Messy blog.

For the first post in which I commented on, he used a satirical, metaphorical situation in which a panel of completely unqualified individuals decided whether or not national security was in a crisis. These people were all like-minded individuals, and they almost always had thoughts that were contrary to what actual experts believe. The true experts were even in the audience, but they were helpless to prevent the faults of what this board was doing, even though it was just beyond their grasp. They were even able to ask simple questions that may or may not be answered! He used this fictional scenario to point out that many of the people who are deciding the fate of education have no background or investment in the subject at all. These people are typically just people of power or individuals who simply have a strong opinion on the subject, and the true experts just have to sit in their agony and watch as the situation unfolds, helpless to prevent it.

In response to this, I said that I agreed with him when he said that educators or people who have a substantial knowledge on the subject should be the ones deciding where education is going. I also stated that educators were the ones that truly deserved to decide because they are the ones with true experience in the matter.

For the second post, Mr. Crosby outlined how he handles his first week of class. To summarize, he lets the children sit where they want on the first day. On the second day, and every day after that, he has four rules for the children to follow.
1. You may not sit with anyone who you have already sat with.
2. You may not sit at a table in which you have already occupied.
3. All tables must have at least one boy and one girl.
4. You should try to help by being willing to move so things can be worked out if someone is having trouble finding an appropriate seat.
After these first days are finished, he typically keeps the seating arrangement the way it is. During this first week, he also has talks with the children about how it feels to be left out and why they should always try to involve their peers.

I think that what Mr. Crosby does is pure genius, and my comment reflected that. He is doing these kids a wonderful favor because it is helping them for "real-life" scenarios. In the workplace, at any point in time, you may have to cooperate with people that you know nothing about and may not necessarily like.

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