Trying to control education is a lot like trying to control traffic--you can't. I took my dad to a doctor up on Central Avenue today. There was a bad car accident tying up one of two lanes at a spot where traffic entered from a parking lot. There was nothing I could do but wait my turn. I could have taken the Sprain Parkway but, you never know! Coming home from the Bronx, again traffic got the better of me on the New England. Yes, I could have tried an alternative route, kind of like an alternative teaching method but I have tried the only other option many times before (Hutchinson River Parkway to Whitestone) and that way is invariably worse. Aside from being longer, there is no rhyme or reason to the E-Z Pass lanes and since the bridge is always under construction, there is no telling what I will find when I get there. I will admit that sometimes I get lucky and the alternate route does work, but there is no way to tell in advance. You never know. Alternative teaching methods often have the same results. You never know.
3 comments:
Thanks for your comment today.
I'm originally from upstate New York; born in Syracuse and raised in a little town called Ilion in the Mohawk Valley. My brother and my 95 year old mother live in Albany. He graduated from RPI many years ago and went to work for the state. Never left.
I understand your frustration with teaching. I've been dealing with the bureaucracy from the other side of the desk for years.
Very seldom has any of it been a problem with the teacher. It's always the system.
My Elcie's p.e. outfit is a case in point. You wouldn't know unless you read my profile but she has spastic diplegia. Why do they expect her to force her stiff legs in and out of clothing not once but twice?
Rant over. Good to meet you and come back anytime.
Ann
I guess driving and education are like a crap shoot: You never know what the roll of the dice will bring! Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose. But you keep on playing the game.
I've spent many hours in the car pondering just what you've discussed. Now I have a GPS which sometimes shows me local streets in lieu of hopeless parkways.
As for education, the very best teachers I've had were college professors who lectured. They were fascinating because they were brilliant, knowledgeable, and supremely in command of their topics. I don't have anything against group work and fun activities, and I often use them. But anyone who tells you there's only one way to do things is wrong.
Furthermore, those are the same people who'll come back next year, tell you last year's idea was crap, and bring some new idea that's the only way to do things.
It might even be an old idea with a new name.
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