Two particularly interesting articles from IALA ( http://www.learningalternatives.net/  ) in July – Singapore: Teach Less, Learn More and Democratic Schools.

Teach Less, Learn More

The Singapore Ministry of Education says, “Teach Less, Learn More is about teaching better, to engage our learners and prepare them for life, rather than teaching more for tests and examinations.” Their website contains such refreshing gems as:
-TLLM aims to touch the hearts and engage the minds of our learners, to prepare them for life.
-It is about shifting the focus from “quantity” to “quality” in education. “More quality” in terms of classroom interaction, opportunities for expression, the learning of life-long skills and the building of character through innovative and effective teaching approaches and strategies. “Less quantity” in terms of rote-learning, repetitive tests, and following prescribed answers and set formulae.
-Thinking Schools, Learning Nation was adopted as the vision statement in 1997. It continues to be the over-arching descriptor of the transformation in the education system, comprising changes in all aspects of education.
-Since 2003, we have focused more on one aspect: nurturing a spirit of Innovation and Enterprise. This will build up a core set of life skills and attitudes that we want in our students.
-We should keep in mind that we do what we do in education is for the learner’s, needs, interests and aspirations, and not simply to cover content.
-We should teach more to prepare our students for the test of life and less for a life of tests.
-We should focus more on teaching the whole child, in nurturing holistically across different domains, and less on teaching our subjects per se.If only more systems of education could contain such wise guiding statements and the commitment to implement them! See more information about the Singapore govenment’s ambitions.

Democratic Schools

 A new work “A History of Democratic Education in American Public Schools” by democracy advocate John Harris Loflin aims at persuading American urban public classrooms and schools to become more democratic. In doing so, he encourages public schools to enter solidly into the 21st century by questioning, rethinking and providing alternatives to 20th century concepts. America’s multi-cultural society needs democracy, and so do its public schools. The paper challenges the hegemony of corporate thinking behind NCLB by emphasizing that public schools were created for public, not private purposes. So, say hello to a 21st century democratic orientation to make schools work for youth of color and the working class.