Traditionalist or Progressive? I'm a Pragmatist.
pragmatic
There's a lot of chatter (again) on Twitter at the moment about whether traditional or progressive approaches work best in the classroom. It is an interesting and important discussion to have had - but really, it should be over by now. Not least because some of the comments out there - that progressives "make shit up" for example - are pretty nasty. Colleagues engaging is that sort of discourse are at risk of bringing the profession into disrepute.
History teacher Richard Kennet summed it up nicely:
“In fact I have a suspicion that both [A: Traditional] and [B: Progressive] are the very loud but extreme minority of teachers. If you just teach like A or B, I would also suggest that you don’t do a very good job. Teaching needs a bit of both A and B … My fear is that new teachers join social media and see the proponents of A or B who have a huge numbers of followers and think that therefore they should be like them and teach only like A or B. They shouldn’t. You need to be both A and B.”
I don't know a single teacher who spends even a moment of their precious time worrying about whether they are a traditionalist or a progressive practitioner. We are all way too busy getting our heads around new exam specs, getting through a mountain of marking and managing the behaviour of a generation whose sense of entitlement has its own postcode.
I will use Plickers or Kahoot one minute and chalk and talk the next: whatever works right now for the learners in front of me. As for the notion that teachers are consumed with angst about the philosophy behind our teaching methods? Nope. I AM consumed with understanding the needs of my students and how to help them overcome their barriers to learning.
Most teachers I know are neither traditionalist or progressive - they are pragmatists. Here is my Pragmatist Manifesto:
We do what we needs to be done, as well as we can, in a way that suits the needs of our students and secures them the best life chances.
Why have you not heard of us? Because we are too busy getting on with the job to spend time pontificating about it.
I have got the badges and t-shirts on order though!
praɡˈmatɪk/
adjective
- dealing with things sensibly and realistically in a way that is based on practical rather than theoretical considerations.
There's a lot of chatter (again) on Twitter at the moment about whether traditional or progressive approaches work best in the classroom. It is an interesting and important discussion to have had - but really, it should be over by now. Not least because some of the comments out there - that progressives "make shit up" for example - are pretty nasty. Colleagues engaging is that sort of discourse are at risk of bringing the profession into disrepute.
History teacher Richard Kennet summed it up nicely:
“In fact I have a suspicion that both [A: Traditional] and [B: Progressive] are the very loud but extreme minority of teachers. If you just teach like A or B, I would also suggest that you don’t do a very good job. Teaching needs a bit of both A and B … My fear is that new teachers join social media and see the proponents of A or B who have a huge numbers of followers and think that therefore they should be like them and teach only like A or B. They shouldn’t. You need to be both A and B.”
I don't know a single teacher who spends even a moment of their precious time worrying about whether they are a traditionalist or a progressive practitioner. We are all way too busy getting our heads around new exam specs, getting through a mountain of marking and managing the behaviour of a generation whose sense of entitlement has its own postcode.
I will use Plickers or Kahoot one minute and chalk and talk the next: whatever works right now for the learners in front of me. As for the notion that teachers are consumed with angst about the philosophy behind our teaching methods? Nope. I AM consumed with understanding the needs of my students and how to help them overcome their barriers to learning.
Most teachers I know are neither traditionalist or progressive - they are pragmatists. Here is my Pragmatist Manifesto:
We do what we needs to be done, as well as we can, in a way that suits the needs of our students and secures them the best life chances.
Why have you not heard of us? Because we are too busy getting on with the job to spend time pontificating about it.
I have got the badges and t-shirts on order though!
Comments
Post a Comment