Peter E. Pflaum - Golden Globe - The Synergy Network http://www.wiredbrain.net/ pflaump@cfl.rr.com RE: How do we know what we are talking about? To try to make the structure of knowledge more that a matter of opinion is more or less impossible. BUT there is the ancient wisdom But my opinion is better than most. Why? Because it makes sense. Because it reflect objective reality. A good theory explains a lot. Makes what appeared separate - operate on the same principles. My theory explains education. business, social problems, politics, psychology, economics, philosophy, human relationships, and how to behave - it may give us the answers on who to manage the planet so we don't destroy our grandchildren - I think that matters. It also is old - nothing new - it's as old as civilization. Most cultures that survive believe the same thing - it's in the bible - the Koran - Plato - Aristotle - St. Augustine - The Sufi way - Zen - Biha'i - the Society of Friends - the Seneca - the Hopi - The Aborigines - The freemasons - The church and the Declaration of independence - some simple clear principles - don't you see - What are they ? (I have a longer paper - on request) No free lunch. (It takes work) Entropy increases. (It take goals, missions) Pay attention to one thing at a time (clear the mind, focus, grounded, centered healthy mind and a fit body-) Synergy is the unique human capacity - (it's social, work together - man alone is not much but in groups WOW) You are already perfect - don't be so critical of yourself or other. (Rodney - Come on people - can't we just get along?) Get on with it - only God is certain - To seek certainty or to believe you are certain is ideology - hubris - We can only do the best we can by the light we have in us - and by seeking - being and becoming - if we try. (We are only human) Maybe this is too simple - KISS - keep it simple - we are not as smart as we think we are - we can only keep five things in our head at one time. It's profound not complex. First its a convention of language caries the cultural paradigm with it. If I talk to a Greek or a New Ghanian he understand within a different context than we do. A Russian carries more Greek thought about freedom, liberty, etc. than we do. They don't think you are "free to sleep under bridges" or are free if you are subject to false beliefs and ideas. Freedom is difficult to gain. One has to transcend the local frame of thought (the cultural paradigm). Language entraps us. Second - if we say a is like b, and c. A=b ( plus an unexplained residual plus error) part of the unexplained part is in c so a=b (R & E) + c (R & E) and so forth A= E (summation sign) (x's + R +E) n times where x 's are all the elements we use to define or explain A. The errors build up. Some of the residual is error, bias, statistical auroras (we like what we like, and like what we know we should like, and we like what people we like, and visa versa) etc. If you explain school performance is 80% explained by the education of the parents, the next factor is income of parents, there is no unexplained residual for schools, teacher salaries, books, etc. This does not mean these factors don't matter. (You really need to use rank order systems - because there are not all real numbers - IQ and other normalized test scores (SAT) are not a real numbers two people with 80 don't add to 160 but the results are the same) Therefore, social rather than physical issues contain too much error to give more that a "preponderance of evidence" rather than "beyond a moral doubt". Social and psychological problems are a civil rather than a criminal case. They have to be understood with "everything" we know. Not quite common sense but logical conclusions. Better off students live in better off communities that spend more money on their schools. Poor kids live in poor communities which spend less, where teachers don't want to teach, and conditions tend to be bad. Rich kids aren't better kids (generically or otherwise) the system has a bias toward the rich and powerful and against the poor and powerless. The really interesting case is HEROS - Higher math in East LA, District # 4 in East Harlem - where someone is fighting the odds - see it can be done. It take power and character. Surprise? Why don't we do what we know. Why are systems so stupid? They going on doing what they know (or should know doesn't work - small units of time (credits) - broken up subjects - big schools etc see my smart schools or see Fiske book - or Goodlad, Glickman's article, The Emperor has no cloths - look open your eyes ) It's communism! American Education is to learning what communism is to economics. (Bennett, Bill Devaluing America) stuck - it need a real restructuring! This is the middle level of knowledge and we have a high level of uncertainly. Therefore we have politics. If we knew the right answers we could hire experts and they would fix it. The experts have a poor record in fixing social issues. What have experts done with education? Why have they done so badly? Are they stupid, evil - no the system defeats them. (some are - self-interest - pride - hubris - over certain schools of education teaching what they don't know and can't do, superintendents shouldn't try to run things - have ideas but create conditions where things can happen) So they have to fix the system - right! If your so smart. why aren't you rich? My belief is that the people doing stuff should be allowed to do it. To become a learning community. Second is competition. The free market works better that communism - state capitalism - become bureaucratic and incapable of ration behavior. When we get to the third level. What is the purpose of schools. Who's aims do they serve? What about teaching character - morals etc. We leave the real world. Different groups are using term differently and we often don't know what they are talking about. For some Christians, truth is absolute and right there and they know it. For some liberals "do your own thing" is a moral position. Grades are a limitation on human freedom. It becomes the tower of babble. SO my idea is what works? Schools need a moral value to work. They can't be all things to all people. So again the market. Little schools for true believers in military ardor - black power - Fundamentalist Christian (as long a public funds don't go to the teaching of there beliefs as part of the state supported program - like in Higher education money goes to support the students and Notre Dame and Liberty University, Bob Jones not the theory) RE: VOTE FOR HORACE school board District #3 It is not your job to come up with new ideas. There are plenty of great ideas but they almost all get all messed up in the implementation. First, you have to fix the system so anything can work. There is Goals2000, a good idea gone strange - outcome based education, writing to read, house system, middle schools, year round schools, assessment, testing, special education, Heterogeneous Grouping and curriculum design (SEE Effective School Practices, ADI, Eugene OR, winter 93) and on and on. Your job on the school board is to help create conditions where teacher can do their job. Freedom for professionals. Small schools ( a building is not a school) allows empowerment - then they can figure it out for themselves. (askERIC) From the boring factory (x=grey) to the consultation, involvement, participation of human relations (y=pink) to the fired up - turned on - excited (Z=red) groups. That is what I do in my classes. About 1/3 get really turned on and take charge. About another 1/3 do fine. The last 1/3 don't get harmed in anyway and may benefit in the long run, they didn't try and if you don't try there is little I can do. Now in a small school with a stable population I would get 100% but the unit credit system makes teaching almost impossible. I only have a fraction of a person a fraction of the time. (They do need to do their algebra) This summer it's better, almost all are involved maybe 75%. My job as a teacher (guide) is to create an environment where this can happen. It's fun. Joy is the clue. They are there early and leave late. They are active and animated. It is a wonder to see - all those grey faces in rows (up to 40 in the first day of a class) become a turned on bunch of people all doing their own thing (within the setup, sort of). I let go of command and make a joyful noise. The point system means I don't grade. I have expectation and the work in most cases is clearly better and lasts longer than the traditional system. (The man under the tree with a textbook who talks and gives tests) See also Ted's Horace. (Sizer) I am glad you are reading Smart Schools - See also Grant Wiggins on Assessment (KAPPAN Nov 93) Is This OK? Anyone not want to READ this? Do not flame! ************************************************************ Peter E. Pflaum Ph.D. GLOBAL_VILLAGE_SUFI_SCHOOL 225 Robinson Road, New Smyrna Beach * IN THE WORLD - FL 32169-2176 (904) 428-9609 * BUT NOT OF THE WORLD pepflaum@bellsouth.net * URANUS GOD OF HEAVEN HUSBAND OF GAEA, GODDESS OF A SUSTAINABLE EARTH pflaump@cfl.rr.com pflaump@cfl.rr.com ZEN IS THE ART OF GETTING YOURSELF OUT OF YOUR OWN WAY ************************************************************ PAPERS ON REQUESTED - SMALL SCHOOLS - SIFI METHODS - REFORM