#wfe3 It is week three of the course on Education and its Future. This week has been about what makes a good teacher. There were three aspects: competencies, reflective, and craft, I think.
I liked the lectures as they kept reminding us that as teachers we need to think about why, the purpose and function of what we are doing. This is superbly expressed in A.S.Neill's book 'A Dominie's Log' that describes as a diary his first year as headteacher of a village school in Gretna Green as the First World War starts. Every three pages he reflects on a different aspect of his teaching, his life and his relationship with the children and their relationship with the war...
I had a problem with my education as a science undergraduate, it was the same as that of my secondary school learning, it was book learning, with numerous experiments to illustrate what we had learnt and to train us in the skills of experimentation. At no time was the philosophy of science mentioned, and its history was given as propaganda celebrating the heroes of science.
As I have written I was inspired by Stephen Jay Gould's books to study science, along with my Aunt who was a wonderful biology teacher. In Gould's writings he connects history, philosophy and politics. He makes you laugh and cry, and he explores the nature of being human, and the nature of science. I stood next to him at a conference in the 80s in Cambridge University on evolution, it was called the Tanner Lectures, and I was so shy I did not speak to him!
I have been lucky with my inspirations, and the way I have encountered culture, my one lack is not to have found a group of friends to share these ideas with. Though I have got used to this, and have so thoroughly good internal dialogues, and note taking, and some, but too little essay writing. This lack has been mainly due to shyness and also lack of confidence.
I liked the lectures as they kept reminding us that as teachers we need to think about why, the purpose and function of what we are doing. This is superbly expressed in A.S.Neill's book 'A Dominie's Log' that describes as a diary his first year as headteacher of a village school in Gretna Green as the First World War starts. Every three pages he reflects on a different aspect of his teaching, his life and his relationship with the children and their relationship with the war...
I had a problem with my education as a science undergraduate, it was the same as that of my secondary school learning, it was book learning, with numerous experiments to illustrate what we had learnt and to train us in the skills of experimentation. At no time was the philosophy of science mentioned, and its history was given as propaganda celebrating the heroes of science.
As I have written I was inspired by Stephen Jay Gould's books to study science, along with my Aunt who was a wonderful biology teacher. In Gould's writings he connects history, philosophy and politics. He makes you laugh and cry, and he explores the nature of being human, and the nature of science. I stood next to him at a conference in the 80s in Cambridge University on evolution, it was called the Tanner Lectures, and I was so shy I did not speak to him!
I have been lucky with my inspirations, and the way I have encountered culture, my one lack is not to have found a group of friends to share these ideas with. Though I have got used to this, and have so thoroughly good internal dialogues, and note taking, and some, but too little essay writing. This lack has been mainly due to shyness and also lack of confidence.
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