on non-formal learning

                                                                                                            
#eci831homework: 

In a space/medium of your choice, respond to "what is our role as educators in non-formal learning?" Tag as eci831

I'm thinking the best role an educator can take is to:

1) Get out of the way - shift control - let the students own the learning - no matter how messy. Kids will amaze if empowered    to lead.      - per Alan November

2) Be less helpful - per Dan Meyer 
I think the things we can be helpful with... create more time and space for them - and help them in making meaningful connections with people...



This comment one of my students posted on my blog last year says volumes:


Schools of the modern era seem bent on the "teach/test" cycle of leanring. A cycle in which the motivation to excel comes not from a wish to better oneself, but instead a primitive fear of some "parental" figure. When you determine the intelligence of a  person based on the results of a test designed to faciliate a group, you have just erased true intelligene from the equation. What you have instead is a base statistic of one person's similarity to society. What you have is proof of mediocrity. ....
If we intend to re-learn learning, then we'd better drop the cowl and scroll, and pick up instead the tools of our intent. If you want a kid to learn a story, why not let him write it? i believe that school should be a place of exploration, not memorization. A place where the vibrant minds of our youth can culminate, gather their thoughts, and blow the tops off of convention. Instead of filling our strained little minds with endless gouts of information, fill it instead with the wisdom required to desire learning. The rest will fall into place.                              Tyler Weber you rock.




Seth Godin's post today spoke to this as well - it's not just amping up the capabilities of email - it's an overhaul. Our role needs to reflect that. Professional Development needs that overhaul if we want the mass of teachers to make that change.  I think this course is a good modeling of how that should look. If teachers are engaged in non-formal learning, it becomes much more rich and geniune and engaging for the student.