you blog

Wednesday, September 25, 2013

beyond homo economicus

http://www.japantimes.co.jp/opinion/2013/09/15/commentary/moving-beyond-homo-economicus/#.UkLYg2Q4VBp

Nancy Tilton via The Mosaic School

#whatif moving beyond homo economicus as a society was the next big shift in education?

via Nancy:
Yes, let's move beyond homo economicus (The belief that humans only act on their own narrow self interests). Like this article states, I also agree that, "Humans are capable of far more than selfishness and materialism. Indeed, we are capable of building sustainable, equitable, and caring political systems, economies and societies."

Many of our current systems today are built upon the belief that humans will make selfish decisions if given the choice, but #whatifwe built our society around the belief that human beings are motivated to be altruistic, compassionate, and cooperative?

In schools students are rewarded and punished to learn skills and to treat others kindly. Students are placed in a competitive environment where they must outperform their peers through grades, sticker charts, praise, and attention. This competitive environment thus turns their friends and peers into people to compete against rather than cooperate with. Every person around them is someone who has a grade higher or lower than them (or more stickers, attention, detention, etc.).

The driving idea behind this system is that human beings wouldn't want to learn or cooperate with others if they had the choice. Could this be a self-fulfilling prophecy? This method of modifying children's behavior has been widely used throughout all of compulsory education and it has not yet produced a society of intrinsically motivated altruism.

This author writes, "institutional reform could be aimed at adapting social environments to foster cooperation instead of competition, and to activate our motivation to engage in caring behavior, rather than seeking achievement, power, and status only. In the long run, striving only for the latter leads to imbalance and resource depletion not only on the individual level, but also globally."

Could moving beyond homo economicus as a society be next big shift in education?

absolutely...
but this:

Given that brains are at their most malleable during childhood, beginning mental training in school would help to create a solid foundation for the kind of secular ethics that would contribute to the development of a more compassionate society.

But mental training also has benefits for adults, so businesses, political authorities, and research institutions should collaborate in establishing “mental gymnasiums.”

not sure we need mental training.. if we just create a more natural space.. space of permission... Peter Gray's - free to learn - ness.
the thinking we have to manage/train people anything - is going to bite us in the long run...
spaces of permission with nothing to prove...
a people experiment..
http://issuu.com/monk51295/docs/a_lab_book

Tuesday, September 24, 2013

invent to learn - stager & martinez

see @garystager and @smartinez (me) discuss Invent To Learn and Making the Case for Making in the Classroom
http://fora.tv/2013/09/21/making_the_case_for_making_in_schools

see @garystager and @smartinez discuss Invent To Learn and Making the Case for Making in the Classroom

Making the Case for Making in Schools

fora.tv

Why can't school be more like a Maker Faire? The answer is: it can. Learn how to advocate for making in your school from the authors of "Invent To Learn: M

Tl;dr: Teaching, learning, attention, and the need to be interesting | Digital

Tl;dr: Teaching, learning, attention, and the need to be interesting | Digital

The Internet is a huge, buzzing conversation, not a lecture hall. No one is forced to listen to anyone else. Individual posts might be shorter, but rallies are long: You might write a thousand-word article, or post a ten-minute video, and it generates tens of thousands of words’ worth of comments and Tweets. That’s where the complexities truly emerge, in the back and forth. Overall, I don’t believe that our attention has diminished; it’s just that there’s so much more to pay attention to, and to contribute to as well. And isn’t this a better pedagogical model for encouraging people to grapple with complexity?

This is the intellectual virtue and courtesy of the Internet age: recognizing that attention is scarce and exhaustible, you take just as much as you need.

In fact, you can see this in the evolution of the usage of tl;dr itself. These days, I often see it used not as a way to bite your thumb at others’ comments, but as a way to sum up your own–as a handy guide for the reader who may have other things to do. Cf:

tl;dr Brevity; soul of wit.

http://www.slate.com/articles/life/education/2013/09/paying_attention_is_a_skill_schools_need_to_teach_it.2.html

The world is complex, and it isn’t going to get any simpler. Unless we can create a population that is capable of thinking about complexity in complex ways, it is highly unlikely that the problems of global warming; economic inequality; access to affordable, high-quality health care; or any of the other challenges the U.S. and the rest of the world face will get adequate solutions. Good solutions to any of these problems will be complex, and they will not win support from a population that demands simplicity. Teachers have a responsibility to train complex minds that are suited to a complex world. This is at least as important as teaching young people mathematics, biology, or literature. For teachers, at all levels, attention must be paid to teaching that attention must be paid.
_____________

hmm.. unless - (like i think what Anya is getting at) - those complex ways just got way more sophisticated.. and it's not about sitting for 50 min focussed on something that someone else has decided you take in. the choice aspect is huge..
1. it let's us get very small - ie: at whimsy/grit of each on of 7 bill people - so that each person is self-sustaining in regard to motivation, which is where brilliance comes from
2. it let's us get very large - ie: zooming out to see the big picture (needed to solve these complex problems) we can skim things, we can gather things when needed, ... but we aren't lost in the details..

what if teachers training complex minds.. is part of the distraction.. to solving those problems. what if there is not prep or training today.. because it's all now. no need to store up. ness.

tweets

Michel Bauwens (@mbauwens)
9/22/13 8:47 AM
Distributed Unconferences blog.parliamentofthings.org/thing/distribu…

http://www.hastac.org/blogs/cathy-davidson/2013/09/22/heres-instant-way-jump-start-peer-peer-learning-even-easy-huge-lectu

Here’s the url for Field Notes to Digital Literacies: A Guide to New Theories, Methods, and Practices for Open Peer Teaching and Learning, available right now for your students’ reading and annotating on Rap Genius: http://news.rapgenius.com/albums/The-21st-century-collective/Field-notes-for-21st-century-literacies-a-guide-to-new-theories-methods-and-practices-for-open-peer-teaching-and-learning

The six best things about this “instant” experiment in peer learning:...

Zeynep Tufekci (@zeynep)
9/23/13 7:08 AM
Speaking of what could go wrong... MT @Doctrine_Man How a B-47E dropped a nuke in the South Carolina woods in 1958. fb.me/1y3Hr36YI

Cameron Sinclair (@casinclair)
9/23/13 7:12 AM
Tomorrow will be a very big announcement in NY regarding the future of cities and@archforhumanity // 9am est // @ArchRecord @archpaper

Marlo Thomas (@MarloThomas)
9/23/13 7:15 AM
.@StJude board members at retreat. My brother Tony, second frm left in dark jacket looks just like Dad doesn't he? pic.twitter.com/LiD60EfYmh

Treehouse (@treehouse)
9/23/13 7:15 AM
Official @treehouse Badges Plugin! You can now share your points & badges on WordPress sites with this new plugin :) trhou.se/15lgubH

Education Futures (@edfutures)
9/23/13 7:15 AM
Please retweet: We just launched our crowdfunding campaign for independent research into education futures! ow.ly/p6ftd

Zeynep Tufekci (@zeynep)
9/23/13 7:16 AM
.@sarahkendzior on the low-wage economy. Besides unfairness, collapsed demand is eventually going to bite everyone. aljazeera.com/indepth/opinio…

http://m.ajc.com/weblogs/get-schooled/2013/sep/23/must-schools-be-these-horrible-boring-places-appar/

Seth's Blog: Deleting 'must have' features

Monday, September 23, 2013

how to dance

http://redefineschool.com/632/how-to-dance/

neil gershenfeld - personal fabrication

http://redefineschool.com/632/personal-fabrification/

Sunday, September 22, 2013

social good & collab summits

http://www.plussocialgood.org/Page/SocialGoodSummit & http://colabsummit.com/

http://redefineschool.com/632/social-good/ ?

redefinition

redefinition from monika hardy

tweets

Mimi Ito (@mizuko)
9/6/13 10:07 AM
Call for proposals DML2014 "Connecting Practices" in Boston March 6-8dml2014.dmlhub.net/call-for-propo…

My big education question from this week is: how do we unschedule schools? Kids cannot build their own pace when we're interrupting #edchat

Original Tweet: https://twitter.com/irasocol/status/381199806016024576

syamant sandhir (@syamant)
9/20/13 7:27 AM
‘redesigns of other people’s work is pure folly’ insideintercom.io/the-dribbblisa…

Too many designers are designing to impress their peers rather than address real business problems

Sarah Kathleen Peck (@sarahkpeck)
9/20/13 7:29 AM
What do you love about your city? What will a world class city look like? @TEDCity2_0conference today. instagram.com/p/ee92obLQzv/

Ethan Zuckerman (@EthanZ)
9/21/13 6:35 AM
Reports of ten day, hostages taken at Westgate mall in Nairobi. Horrific news:standardmedia.co.ke/?articleID=200…

Chris B (@a_small_lab)
9/21/13 6:39 AM
Beautiful DIY Cardboard Storage | THE CARDBOARD COLLECTIVEbit.ly/16OozUJ #idea

Bryan Alexander (@BryanAlexander)
9/21/13 6:53 AM
Interesting collaborative concept mapping project, WikiBrains:wikibrains.com

Sarah Kathleen Peck (@sarahkpeck)
9/22/13 8:42 AM
I like being helpful. And useful.

Jon Whitmore (@whitmorejon)
9/22/13 8:46 AM
"In the world of #highered, we are no longer awarding … righteousness points to naysayers of#socialmedia" ow.ly/p49uz

"Imagination is more important than knowledge" … on a Delfonics brand クリアファイル in 2007:http://t.co/RM9NX5EUd9

Original Tweet: https://twitter.com/johnmaeda/status/381803922446639104

scott schimmel - youschool

http://bulldogdrummond.com/blog/4664

http://redefineschool.com/632/scott-schimmel/

Saturday, September 21, 2013

Conversations on Compassion: Chade-Meng Tan, Google's 'Jolly Good Fellow'

James also just spoke at tedxunplaza, sept 16, 2013:
http://webtv.un.org/search/part-1-tedxunplaza-brave-united-in-action/2676009667001?term=TEDxUNPlaza
he starts at about 1:15:00
i am a humanist..

One Love | Playing For Change | Song Around the World

A Declaration of Interdependence \ Interdependence Movement 2013

Parent Arrested from Common Core Meeting for speaking out of turn

http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2013/09/20/is-this-america-parent-manhandled-arrested-while-speaking-out-against-common-core-at-public-forum/

Edu on Tour

pat farenga - play & empathy

http://www.johnholtgws.com/pat-farengas-blog/2013/9/20/play-empathy-narcissism-todays-society

The decline in opportunity to play has also been accompanied by a decline in empathy and a rise in narcissism, both of which have been assessed since the late 1970s with standard questionnaires given to normative samples of college students. Empathy refers to the ability and tendency to see from another person’s point of view and experience what that person experiences. Narcissism refers to inflated self-regard, coupled with a lack of concern for others and an inability to connect emotionally with others. A decline of empathy and a rise in narcissism are exactly what we would expect to see in children who have little opportunity to play socially. Children can’t learn these social skills and values in school, because school is an authoritarian, not a democratic setting. School fosters competition, not co-operation; and children there are not free to quit when others fail to respect their needs and wishes.

I hope you’ll read Dr. Gray’s complete article

Friday, September 20, 2013

tweets

Ethan Zuckerman (@EthanZ)
9/17/13 6:24 AM
.@judemwenda, new @civicMIT student explores civic media and "living documents" -civic.mit.edu/node/4399

very important element in Civic media is that it can use any form of technology. In Russia, in a small town a group of painters converged to raise the issue of potholes that were frequent in their streets. They chose a very interesting medium to convey their message. Not the traditional newspaper advertorial,or the fancy video but rather paintings. But not just any paintings, their canvas was one of the tarmaced roads riddled with potholes. They drew the faces of their elected officials on the potholes. This eventually resulted in the local government filling up the potholes

David Palange (@dapchap)
9/16/13 8:47 PM
@CathyNDavidson Saw Temple Grandin speak today. She asked "What is a normal brain?" Brought me back to This is Your Brain on the Internet.

It's like Instagram for Wordpress. Been waiting for this! Congrats @saddington on the launch of @Pressgram. #IG #WP

Original Tweet: https://twitter.com/kim/status/380174480430993408

Kelly Hoey (@jkhoey)
9/17/13 6:24 AM
Wow RT @endeavoringE: Turkey's ruling party forms 6,000-member social media team to promote its views buff.ly/1a0bxTE via @WSJ

The Justice and Development Party, led by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, is recruiting a 6,000-member social-media team to woo citizens and fight critics, party officials said.

The AKP is gradually bringing young, tech-savvy party members to Ankara to train them in classrooms to act as volunteer "social-media representatives."

The youth will be charged with sharing news and images, mainly on Twitter and Facebook, but also on Instagram and YouTube, that promote the party perspective and monitor online discussions, a party official said.

"We aim at developing a positive political language which we are teaching to our volunteers," said a senior party official responsible for organizing the campaign. "And when the opposing camp spreads disinformation about the party, we correct them with valid information, always using positive language."

@kiostark: "Simply put, MOOCs are designed to put teaching online, and that is their mistake."http://t.co/Pz7OnvSCz7 @brainpickings

Original Tweet: https://twitter.com/auerswald/status/380511412680130560

Did you visit our @ushahidi deployment to map alternative education? Please help us to spread the word!http://t.co/jpZwKTyv7R

Original Tweet: https://twitter.com/ReevoSocial/status/380531963204861953

Will Richardson (@willrich45)
9/17/13 8:03 AM
Thoughts for Parents in Castle View, Colorado by @garystager buff.ly/1gtdA4j #amen #edchat

castle view?

David Weinberger (@dweinberger)
9/20/13 7:19 AM
Woohoo! @davewiner just Open Sourced the code behind his FARGO.io outliner. So, cool!github.com/scripting/conc…

Tony Wagner (@DrTonyWagner)
9/20/13 7:22 AM
Dad tries to do 8th grade daughter's homework for a week and is overwhelmed by the quantity & amount of memorization theatln.tc/18cUIp7

David Warlick (@dwarlick)
9/17/13 12:25 PM
"I don't think China is trying to emulate Finland. It's trying to emulate old U.S..." Yong Zhao inow.ly/237RHx