Week 5 journal entry - It's all connected!

Toe bone connected to the foot bone

Foot bone connected to the heel bone

Heel bone connected to the ankle bone

Ankle bone connected to the shin bone

Shin bone connected to the knee bone

Knee bone connected to the thigh bone

Thigh bone connected to the hip bone

Hip bone connected to the back bone

Back bone connected to the shoulder bone

Shoulder bone connected to the neck bone

Neck bone connected to the head bone

Excerpt from the song Dem Bones http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dem_Bones

I start my reflection with the song for a reason. Education  has to be connected. 

According to Mark Weston, Ph.D, it is a system that is interconnected and all the parts are interdependent. Changes in one system should affect the other parts of the system.

IF that is my ideal of education, then the responsibility of ensuring the success of the system is truly a team effort – legislators, administrators, coordinators, supervisors, teachers, monitors, students and parents, as long as each group is aware of their role and how they fit in the big puzzle.

  

What are some of the roles of education and how do some of my colleagues see them coming to play?

• Only way to progress = education 4 all (Mehreen Ali)
• Education builds tomorrow's society (Aline Chiracu)
• An entrance exam to make education inclusive (Maria Stewart)
• An effective education system is that brings the best out of the individual (@beautyinthemist)
• Education is not received. It is achieved (Einstein - Sona Ashtoyan)
• 3 essential inputs - well-trained teachers, state-of-the-art textbooks, adequate school facilities - the 1st being the most important (according to Laurence Wright)
• Upskilling and work experience as part of education in Singapore (Debbie Wong)

How do we invest in better public schools? The answer goes back to the connectivity:  use a holistic approach

Stephen Ball's mantra of economic and political competitiveness being dependent on human academic capital has pushed governments into a quandary: it is cash-strapped, making it impossible to invest directly in education and as such have sub-contracted services. Education has become an industry and learning has been held hostage by numbers, results international standard tests.