[Grassroots-l] [Olpc-Haiti] [IAEP] [realness] a school is not a building

[Elissa Carmichael]

The needs of the kids is what we're trying to meet.  an easy way to do this find a kid and ask, 'hay, kid, what do you need?' At the very least an XO is infinitely patient and kind; forgiving and inviting.  Like He-Man says, "learning is fun and knowing is half the battle."  

homeschool, very popular in the states where school are not meeting the needs of the kids and are frequently referred to as baby sitting institutions.  Florida's notoriously incompetent schools pack students (not the admin.) into formaldehyde fume filled portables that can't withstand heavy gusts let alone tornados or hurricanes.  homeschool keeps both schools and the cops at bay.   Alas homeschool is a luxury afforded by a few fortunate families.  

schools/learning like jobs/working can be anywhere.  All jobs are not all confined to buildings nor all workers to desks or worse cubicles.  the poor field researchers wading thru the mucky marsh; the poor marine biologists or treasure hunters SCUBA diving and living on boats who knows where in the ocean; the poor archeologists excavating in dangerous conditions and/or hostile environments.  whoa the space travelers strapping themselves to rockets and shooting for the moon or space-station.  

From my humble and limited experience an offer of a laptop and tutoring has yet to be declined by even one kid & family.  They want more once they realize I have no agenda, don't try and get all in their business, make no demands of their time and resources.  Working to meet the needs of the kids seems to take away almost all the pressure to perform and eliminate the fear of failing make learning a lot of fun.  

Like He-Man says, "learning is fun and knowing is half the battle." 

South Florida XO

On Dec 5, 2010, at 6:47 PM, Edward Cherlin wrote:

> What he said. I hate false dichotomies. They abound in discussions of
> education and in the politics of education, indeed in any situation
> where the more extreme the position, the more likely it is to be
> heard.
> 
> On Sun, Dec 5, 2010 at 18:04, Ian Thomson <IanT at spc.int> wrote:
>> Personally, I think the whole approach is wrong. You will never convince
>> Ministries of Education to stop their "core" activities just because
>> there are laptops.
>> 
>> The better approach is to show how laptops can enhance education in
>> schools.
>> This should not be an "either/or" approach. We can do both.
>> 
>> As a simple example, children can leave the school earlier after
>> suitable teaching and complete work on the laptops at home or other
>> locations. This will free up the school to take a second shift of
>> students.
>> Teachers can restructure their teaching to have groups working together
>> to learn, so freeing them up to take more students.
>> 
>> Ian Thomson
>> ICT Outreach Section
>> Economic Development Division
>> Secretariat of the Pacific Community
>> B.P. D5 - Noumea Cedex - 98848
>> New Caledonia
>> 
>> Phone +687-265419
>> 
>> Fax +687 26 38 18
>> http://www.spc.int
>> 
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: iaep-bounces at lists.sugarlabs.org
>> [mailto:iaep-bounces at lists.sugarlabs.org] On Behalf Of Bernie Innocenti
>> Sent: Monday, December 06, 2010 8:36 AM
>> To: Timothy Falconer
>> Cc: olpc-haiti at lists.laptop.org; grassroots OLPC;
>> olpc-open at lists.laptop.org; Squeakland List; Maho 2010; IAEP;
>> ht2011-winter at waveplace.org
>> Subject: Re: [IAEP] [realness] a school is not a building
>> 
>> On Sun, 2010-12-05 at 15:18 -0500, Timothy Falconer wrote:
>>> Hi all,
>>> 
>>> A favor:  help me make this case (or refute it) as we prepare once
>>> more for Haiti ... "spend money on training & laptops instead bricks
>>> and mortar".
>>> 
>>> http://waveplace.com/news/blog/archive/001035.jsp
>> 
>> It's a beautiful thought that touches deep into my hacker spirit, but
>> the conclusion seems weak: what is it that we are advocating for? Remote
>> learning? Home-schooling? Having classes under a tree? It's unclear.
>> 
>> The point that you were making with the military canteen vs cooking at
>> home metaphor is that compulsory education doesn't follow individual
>> inclinations. Then, the conclusion should state the proposed solution
>> for this problem.
>> 
>> --
>>   // Bernie Innocenti - http://codewiz.org/
>>  \X/  Sugar Labs       - http://sugarlabs.org/
>> 
>> _______________________________________________
>> IAEP -- It's An Education Project (not a laptop project!)
>> IAEP at lists.sugarlabs.org
>> http://lists.sugarlabs.org/listinfo/iaep
>> 
>> _______________________________________________
>> IAEP -- It's An Education Project (not a laptop project!)
>> IAEP at lists.sugarlabs.org
>> http://lists.sugarlabs.org/listinfo/iaep
>> 
> 
> 
> 
> -- 
> Edward Mokurai (默雷/धर्ममेघशब्दगर्ज/دھرممیگھشبدگر ج) Cherlin
> Silent Thunder is my name, and Children are my nation.
> The Cosmos is my dwelling place, the Truth my destination.
> http://www.earthtreasury.org/
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