<HTML><BODY style="word-wrap: break-word; -khtml-nbsp-mode: space; -khtml-line-break: after-white-space; ">There is so much in the last three postings from Jeff that needs to be debated. It seems to me that unless olpcza knows exactly where it is going and what it wants to achieve and unless it speaks with one voice (or at least similar voices) it may come to a sticky end. You are all busy people engaged in the daily grind. However, even if it is a 'slow' debate it would be better than none. In fact doing things 'slowly' is a new buzz word, not so?<DIV><BR class="khtml-block-placeholder"></DIV><DIV>I am mulling over things and will do a posting as soon as things have clarified -slowly- in my oap, ex-teacher's mind.<DIV><BR class="khtml-block-placeholder"></DIV><DIV><BR><DIV><DIV>On 24 Aug 2007, at 10:31, Jeff wrote:</DIV><BR class="Apple-interchange-newline"><BLOCKQUOTE type="cite"><P style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 16.0px 0.0px"><A href="http://dougiamas.com/writing/constructivism.html">http://dougiamas.com/writing/constructivism.html</A><FONT class="Apple-style-span" color="#777777" face="Verdana" size="4"><SPAN class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px;"></SPAN></FONT></P><P style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 16.0px 0.0px"><FONT class="Apple-style-span" color="#777777" face="Verdana" size="4"><SPAN class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px;">Cultural myths that are prevalent in today's education systems include (Taylor, 1996):</SPAN></FONT></P><OL><UL><LI style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px"><FONT class="Apple-style-span" color="#777777" face="Verdana" size="4"><SPAN class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px;">The rationalist myth of </SPAN></FONT><FONT class="Apple-style-span" color="#777777" face="Verdana" size="4"><SPAN class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px;"><B>cold reason</B></SPAN></FONT><FONT class="Apple-style-span" color="#777777" face="Verdana" size="4"><SPAN class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px;"> - where knowledge is seen as discovery of an external truth. This can lead to the picture of the teacher in a central role as transmitter of objective truths to students. This philosophy does not promote clarifying relevance to the lives of students, but instead promotes a curriculum to be delivered.</SPAN></FONT><BR style=""></LI><LI style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px"><FONT class="Apple-style-span" color="#777777" face="Verdana" size="4"><SPAN class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px;">The myth of </SPAN></FONT><FONT class="Apple-style-span" color="#777777" face="Verdana" size="4"><SPAN class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px;"><B>hard control</B></SPAN></FONT><FONT class="Apple-style-span" color="#777777" face="Verdana" size="4"><SPAN class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px;"> - which renders the teacher's classroom role as controller, and "locks teachers and students into grossly asymmetrical power relationships designed to reproduce, rather than challenge, the established culture".</SPAN></FONT></LI></UL></OL><DIV style=""><SPAN class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; border-spacing: 0px 0px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; text-align: auto; -khtml-text-decorations-in-effect: none; text-indent: 0px; -apple-text-size-adjust: auto; text-transform: none; orphans: 2; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; "><DIV style=""><BR class="khtml-block-placeholder" style=""></DIV><DIV style=""><BR class="khtml-block-placeholder" style=""></DIV><BR class="Apple-interchange-newline" style=""></SPAN> </DIV><BR style="">=<DIV style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; ">_______________________________________________</DIV><DIV style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; ">Olpc-za mailing list</DIV><DIV style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><A href="mailto:Olpc-za@lists.laptop.org">Olpc-za@lists.laptop.org</A></DIV><DIV style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><A href="http://lists.laptop.org/listinfo/olpc-za">http://lists.laptop.org/listinfo/olpc-za</A></DIV> </BLOCKQUOTE></DIV><BR></DIV></DIV></BODY></HTML>