-------------- Original message --------------
> Date: Fri, 16 Nov 2007 19:44:36 -0800
> From: Richard Karpinski
> Subject: [Squeakland] Re:Can the American Mind be Opened?
> To: squeakland@squeakland.org
>
> Thanks, mmille10, for an interesting discussion. I recall an
> allegation that ninety percent of everything is crap. Further, I
> personally recall that if even ten percent of my classmates were
> interested and engaged in any particular class, then it was a
> delightful exception to the general rule.
>
> Indeed, it is my understanding, perhaps shallow and incomplete, that
> the constructionist/constructivist intent behind OLPC is to counter
> that trend toward useless education by getting students engaged in
> individual or team projects. With the engagement comes attenti on and
> intention which together make the learning both deeper and broader a s
> well as very much faster than the typical classroom setting
> accomplishes.
>
> One hopes that every level of education fosters a love of reading,
> thinking, conversing, and acting in its participants, no matter how
> often that turns out not to happen. Literacy, numeracy, and critical
> thought all demand bi-directionality. One must not only read but also
> write, not only be able to calculate but also choose to calculate
> about new topics, not only think and reason but also act in support
> of those conclusions.
>
> Otherwise, one is a mere observer without a life of her own worth
> living, worth the air breathed and the space taken in the bio-sphere.
>
> Fortunately, in the first world at least, we have convenient access
> to tremendous educational resources outside the formal ins titutions
> putatively dedicated to that purpose. That access is exactly wha t we
> hope to spread into and outside of the formal institutions of
> education outside the first world, is it not?
>
> No wonder politicians are a bit leery of enthusiastic support for
> this effort in their own domains. It could foster uncontrolled
> activities by students and even teachers. Pretty scary.
>
>
> Richard Karpinski, Nitpicker dick@cfcl.com
> 148 Sequoia Circle, Santa Rosa, CA 95401
> Home +1 707-546-6760 Cell +1 707-228-9716
> http://cfcl.com/twiki/bin/view/Karpinski
>
> ps Put "nitpicker" in the subject line to get past my spam filters.