Whatsworthknowingfireside

Slide 1: Teaching as a Subversive Activity Neil Postman and Charles Weingartner What’s Worth Knowing?

Slide 2: The authors pose this scenario. "Suppose all of the syllabi and curricula and textbooks in the schools disappeared. Suppose all of the standardized tests - city wide, state wide, and national were lost. In other words suppose that the most common material impeding innovation in the schools simply did not exist.

Slide 3: They continued…………. Then suppose that you decided to turn this "catastrophe" into an opportunity to increase the relevance of the schools . What would you do?

Slide 4: The author’s ask us to consider We have a possibility for you to consider: suppose that you decide to have the entire "curriculum" consist of questions. These questions would have to be worth seeking answers to not only from your point of view but, more importantly, from the point of view of the students.

Slide 5: And to consider further…….. In order to get still closer to reality, add the requirement that the questions must help the students to develop and internalize concepts that will help them to survive in the rapidly changing world of the present and future.

Slide 6: The authors pose this question. Obviously, we are asking you to suppose you were an educator living in the second half of the twentieth century (ed. first half of the 21st century). What questions would you have on your list?"

Slide 7: What’s worth knowing / learning? I asked their question to the wonderful and very experienced teachers from all parts of the globe at Fireside Learning. What follows is what they listed. Stay tuned for the author’s own student’s list.

Slide 8: What’s worth knowing / learning? "Who do you think you are?" "How do you know?"

Slide 9: What’s worth knowing / learning? Who decides what is important and what others need to or have to know?

Slide 10: What’s worth knowing / learning? How do we contribute to our learning communities What qualities of participation lead to thriving learning communities?

Slide 11: What’s worth knowing / learning? How can we find and develop the communities of learners that nurture our growth, support us, and push us to expand?

Slide 12: What’s worth knowing / learning? How come we see some people as like us, and some separate from ourselves, from others?

Slide 13: What’s worth knowing / learning? What is the true purpose of education and how does this contribute to the community of life on the planet today (and into the future)?

Slide 14: What’s worth knowing / learning? What would you say to the governor of California (and other such officials) who target schools (and state parks) as the areas of choice for state budget cuts? How is this justified???

Slide 15: What’s worth knowing / learning? How does life reproduce? Do you think there are different questions for different stages in life?

Slide 16: What’s worth knowing / learning? What is happiness? Why is it important? "Why learn/study at all?"

Slide 17: What’s worth knowing / learning? What does life need to sustain itself? How do we live our lives in order to maintain maximum physical and mental health over our lifespan?

Slide 18: What’s worth knowing / learning? How do we live our lives in order to maintain the health of our planet?

Slide 19: What’s worth knowing / learning? How can we be properly human in this universe? How did people come to populate the earth?

Slide 20: What’s worth knowing / learning? “Why do things get dirty?” Why do we have wars?

Slide 21: What’s worth knowing / learning? How can we be an autonomous individual in a democratic society ?

Slide 22: What’s worth knowing / learning? What is the right level of compassion for us to have, as we go through life?

Slide 23: What’s worth knowing / learning? "When the snow melts, where does all that 'white' go?"

Slide 24: EFL Classroom 2.0