SCHOOL FOR THOUGHT

Don’t be too sure

Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman is a very thought-provoking book. Given that. Dr. Kahneman is a winner of the Nobel Prize in Economics, this is not an easy read. The book describes the two ways our minds work. 

You probably think that you consider everything you do with your logical, analytical mind and make measured, reasoned choices, but this is not at all true. Most of the things you do are governed by an automatic intuitive thinking system, one that you are not even aware of. Dr. Kahneman calls this System 1. The other way of thinking, System 2, is mobilized when we decide to focus on a task, for example divide 458 by 23.  In Dr. Kahneman's words (p. 415):

"The attentive System 2 is who we think we are. System 2 articulates judgments and makes choices, but it often endorses or rationalizes ideas and feelings that were generated by System 1. You may not know that you are optimistic about a project because something about its leader reminds you of your beloved sister, or that you dislike a person who looks vaguely like your dentist. If asked for an explanation, however, you will search your memory for presentable reasons and will certainly find some. Moreover, you will believe the story you made up."

But even the logical and analytical System 2 is sadly vulnerable to many glitches and biases, and Dr. Kahneman lists and explains the many ways we can be led down the garden path by System 2 as well. If you think everything you do is logical and based on rational thinking, you ought to read this book. You are in for a surprise.  Here's an excerpt from page 417:

"What can be done about biases? How can we improve judgments and decisions, both our own and those of the institutions that we serve and that serve us? The short answer is that little can be achieved without a considerable investment of effort. As I know from experience, System 1 is not readily educable. Except for some effects that I attribute mostly to age, my intuitive thinking is just as prone to overconfidence, extreme predictions, and the planning fallacy as it was before I made a study of these issues. I have improved only in my ability to recognize situations in which errors are likely....and I have made much more progress in recognizing the errors of others than my own.

"The way to block errors that originate in System 1 is simple in principle: recognize the signs that you are in a cognitive minefield, slow down, and ask for reinforcement from System 2.....Unfortunately, this sensible procedure is least likely to be applied when it is needed most. We would all like to have a warning bell that rings loudly whenever we are about to make a serious error, but no such bell is available, and cognitive illusions are generally more difficult to recognize than perceptual illusions. The voice of reason may be much fainter than the loud and clear voice of an erroneous intuition, and questioning your intuitions is unpleasant when you face the stress of a big decision. More doubt is the last thing you want when you are in trouble. The upshot is that it is much easier to identify a minefield when you observe others wandering into it than when you are about to do so. Observers are less cognitively busy and more open to information than actors."

The bottom line is, I think: if you're disagreeing with someone or if someone says you're wrong, you ought to seriously consider the possibility that the other guy is right.

Reading Makes Kids Happier and More Confident

When I was tutoring young kids in reading, I usually noticed an increase in my students' self-confidence and general air of happiness after a few lessons. This was epitomized by the mother of one of my students, who told me that the other hockey moms were asking her what had happened to Curtis - who had suddenly started skating and shooting with much more confidence and verve. 

This phenomenon is borne out by this column by a Mississippi grade 1 teacher. This teacher feels very lucky to be a part of her students' transition into reading, and indeed it is a wonderful feeling. But the luck extends to her students as well, as she is one of the few grade 1 teachers who make it a priority to usher every one of their students into the wonderful world of reading. We know this because 42% of Canadians between the ages of 16 and 65 have less than adequate literacy skills. 

At the risk of repeating myself, teaching reading should be schools' job number one.

In a thousand words or less….....

I WOULD LIKE EVERY CHILD TO BE ABLE TO GO TO A SCHOOL THAT LETS HIM OR HER REALIZE HIS OR HER DREAMS.

This is what I wrote at the Up-Goer Five Text Editor, a gimmick that limits you to the most common thousand words and thus forces you to streamline your thoughts. I encourage you to try to encapsulate your thoughts on education using the editor, and then paste the results into our comments section. 

I would be very interested to learn what our readers want out of education. H/T Chas

Apostrophe Abuse

The only time apostrophes are used to make a plural is in the case of numbers, letters, and words used as words. 

1.  During the 1920's, the economy boomed.

3.  She dotted all her i's and crossed all her t's.

3.  The boy circled all the the's in his textbook.

Let's have no more unnecessary puppy deaths.

Reading Makes Kids Smarter

There are several schools of thought on the tendency of poor kids to do badly in school. Here are the main ones, to the best of my knowledge.

• Some, like Doug/Dean/Joe think there's nothing teachers can do about it. This school of thought puts poor kids' problems down to inferior parenting, inferior genes, and/or inferior medical and nutritional conditions. 
• Some, as outlined in this Globe and Mail article, think it has to do with stress in early childhood - stress that results in a diminished ability to learn. This school of thought hopes to find an antidote to the effects of stress, but hasn't yet.
• Some, like E. D. Hirsch, Jr., think it is the result of the limited vocabulary and general knowledge acquired by children who grow up in poor homes. Dr. Hirsch's view is compatible with that of OISE's Keith Stanovich, who explains in this video how important it is for young kids to learn to read. If they become proficient readers, according to Dr. Stanovich, low-SES kids can overcome their early deficits. 

Of the three schools of thought, obviously the third one is the most hopeful. It says there is actually something we can do to help kids from poor homes - namely, teach them to read as early as possible. It would be awfully nice if education leaders could bring themselves to try out this concept - making the teaching of beginning reading their #1 priority and pulling out all the stops to make sure that every child is a good reader by the end of grade 1 at the very latest. 

Sunday at the Movies (Embracing Diversity)

Here's the ever-fascinating Malcolm Gladwell with a talk about spaghetti sauce that has profound implications for school choice.

Do students exist to serve the system or does the system exist to serve the students?

In Washington, DC, most conventional public schools are lousy - just ask Bill Clinton or Barack Obama (who sent their kids to a private school). But Washington parents have options - vouchers to private schools or charter schools - and they are using them. For example, some 40% of students have fled to a charter school. This article gives more information on the Washington phenomenon, including its effect on the public school system. It's a bit of a cliffhanger: will the public school system go belly up, or will it be able to pull up its socks in response to the competition?

In the meantime, of course, tens of thousands of students are facing better life prospects, so life is good.

Closed Minds and Wasted Time

So here's my latest blog on Huffington Post.. The comments, once again, are for the most part ignorant in both senses of the word. I'm beginning to think that blogging for the HP is a waste of my time - its readers have their pre-determined views and they're sticking to them. As Benjamin Franklin said: A man convinced against his will is of the same opinion still.

As a general rule, I have noticed that the less people know about a thing, the stronger their opinions.... 

And, by the way, the HP crafts its own titles. My title was: When they say it's not about the money, it's about the money.

Gun Control - or school control?

Have you ever noticed how often mass shootings take place in a school? I mean, there are lots of other places where people gather and could be mowed down at will. I have a theory that the shooters, who by definition are in a lot of pain, are returning to the place that tortured them the most. 

In this vein, I offer this guest column on Jay Greene's blog. Be careful not to get hung up on the autism theme, as the really salient issue is bullying. The comments, too, are well worth reading.

The writing is on the wall

GUEST BLOG BY EDDA MANLEY

January 23rd is National Handwriting Day as proclaimed by the Writing Instrument Manufacturers Association to honour the birthday of John Hancock, writer of a famously ornate signature.  Research on the ability to hand-write by Dr. Karin Harman James shows that more adult-like  connections develop in young children's brains when they write by hand.  These connections do not occur when children type on a keyboard or are read to.  Handwriting is sadly in rapid decline.

Parents are now realizing that when children are not able to write in cursive, they will also not be able to read anything written in cursive.  Educators knew this over 100 years ago when manuscript printing was first introduced in Britain, and that's why many European countries chose to not teach printing - rather cursive, beginning in grade one.

Private schools still ensure that their students are able to write in cursive.  This could eventually lead to a "class" system.  Parents and teachers need to realize that teaching both manuscript printing and cursive handwriting to our students in the public school system was routine for over 50 years.

In the United States, the Common Core Curriculum has eliminated cursive handwriting entirely.  My observation over the years is that most changes that happen in the USA eventually are also implemented here.  

Recently, I came upon a quote made by Dr. Norman Doidge, a Canadian neuroscientist known for his work on brain plasticity, in a policy update for the National Association of State Boards of Education:  "Some neuroscientists say if cursive disappears, those cognitive skills will simply be replaced by new ones, just as they have since humans began leaving their marks on cave walls.  No doubt cognitive skills will be replaced by new ones.  But isn't it irresponsible to promote such changes without understanding if these changes are beneficial or harmful to the learner?  It is quite possible that by relaxing handwriting standards and also by reducing practice time for penmanship, we may have in some cases damaged the learning process."