There was a lot of talk of big picture thinking and encouraging teachers to reflect on why they teach what they teach. Early on someone mentioned the goals of education. With some recent discussions on the purpose of education, I thought it pertinent to look up the 9 goals of education for students in Saskatchewan.

Basic Skills

• Read, write and compute

• Acquire information and meaning through observing, listening, reading and experiencing

• Process information through intellectual and technological means

• Solve problems by applying basic principles and processes of the sciences, arts and humanities

• Communicate ideas through written and spoken language, mathematical symbols and aesthetic expression

Life-Long Learning

• Seek and value learning experiences

• Act as self-reliant learners

• Base actions on the knowledge that it is necessary to learn throughout life

Understanding and Relating to Others

• Act on the belief that each individual is worthwhile

• Base actions on the recognition that people differ in their values, behaviours and lifestyles

• Interact and feel comfortable with others who are different in race, religion, status or personal attributes

• Develop a sense of responsibility toward others

Career and Consumer Decisions

• Develop an awareness of career opportunities

• Develop interests and abilities in relation to vocational expectations

• Adapt to shifts in employment patterns and technology

• Make informed consumer decisions

Growing with Change

• Work toward immediate and long-term goals

• Base actions on an understanding that change is a natural process in society

• Select workable alternatives in response to changing conditions

• Develop confidence in making decisions that involve risk

Membership in Society

• Assume responsibility for their own actions

• Work with others to achieve individual and group goals

• Participate in the democratic processes of government and perform the duties of citizenship

• Respect the rights and property of others

• Act with honesty, integrity, compassion and fairness

• Develop a sense of national pride and acknowledge the need for international understanding

• Work toward greater social justice

• Assume responsibility for dependent persons in a manner consistent with their needs

• Respect law and authority

• Exercise the right of dissent responsibly

Self-Concept Development

• Perceive themselves in a positive way

• Appreciate their own abilities and limitations

• Set and work toward personal goals

• Assess praise and criticism realistically

• Present themselves with confidence

Positive Lifestyle

• Practise appropriate personal hygiene, engage in sufficient physical activity, and maintain a nutritionally balanced diet

• Avoid harmful use of alcohol and other drugs

• Cultivate interests that may be the basis for personal development and leisure pursuits

• Recognize the importance of productive activity

• Display initiative and pursue tasks diligently

• Maintain a safe and healthful community

• Respect and seek to enhance the environment

• Appreciate beauty in its many natural and constructed forms

• Express themselves creatively

Spiritual Development

• Seek an understanding of the purpose and worth of human existence

• Develop a knowledge of God

• Respect family, religion and culture in a pluralistic society

This looks decent. A balanced approach to education. But if you dropped into any of our schools or most of yours,  you might find most doing a good job on the first goal but pretty pathetic on the others. Oh there are some hits and misses in the other areas but the message that is sent to students, teachers and parents is that basic skills, and specifically reading, writing and math, are most important and the others are nice, but not necessary. I’m frustrated by the lack of focus on health, arts education and character education. I’ve already ranted about that. This rant simply states that we don’t walk the talk.

I am pleased that most of our leaders seem to believe in this balanced approached, but our infrastructure doesn’t support it. Specifically, school divisions in Saskatchewan are now accountable for something called the CIF (Continuous Improvement Framework) Schools are asked to identify goals which promote:

• student achievment
• equitable opportunities
• Smooth transitions into and through the system; and,
• Strong system-wide accountability and governance.

I don’t really care all that much about the last one but the first two goals in particular have been focused largely on reading and math. Not because people believe the other areas of a balanced curriculum aren’t important, but because we can more easily measure them. At least that’s my perspective. Isn’t that a great reason? It’s not easy to measure positive lifestyles or membership in society.

I’m not blaming our province, they have produced some quality documents and framework for education. I’m not blaming our school division, they feel pressure to produce measurable results for stakeholders. I’m not blaming teachers, they’re just operating under the current system.

Maybe I’m blaming everyone?

Good plan. Poor execution.
photo credit: Foxtongue

The day was well crafted by Ewan that included a series of short presentation type deliveries followed by opportunity to discuss and play.

As a group, we decided these were the most important ideas from the morning:

1. R & D is for everyone
2. Building Shared Awareness
3. Remix the curricula
4. Balance between structure and flexibility, saturation and overload
5. Importance of rules in play

The afternoon was spent exploring gaming and the concept of gaming as a learning tool.

One participant summarized his learning this way, “One mistake I’ve made is I’ve never played with a computer”. This was a telling statement about how we view ourselves as learners.

Lots of ideas were explored and my goal was that folks left willing to continue to innovate, explore, learn and share. Not entirely new but a fresh set of eyes always helps.

Working out a New Game photo: by Ewan Mcintosh

Our school division will be hosting a day long event with Ewan Mcintosh. For those of you who aren’t familiar with Ewan’s work, he is outstanding advocate of social media and has been involved with Scotland’s very progressive curriculum innovations.

Here’s a some more information about the day:

Scotland meets Saskatchewan Outline

9:00-10:30
Presentation: Scotland’s story: how curriculum meets innovation
The new curriculum, developed with the profession and parents over several years, has ‘allowed’ more teachers to break with tradition and take up new technologies to facilitate children’s learning. The curricular moves share much in common with Canada’s states’ and provinces’, so what are the similarities and differences in technology, professional development and the way students learn?

11:00-12:30
Roundtable:Assessment is for learning and making the links through new technologies – share experiences from both sides of the pond.

12:30-1:30 Lunch

1:30-3:00
Practical workshop:Thinking Out Of The (X)box
Scotland is leading the way in some respects of games-based learning. Experience some of the methodology and ideas in this practical workshop.

6:00-7:30
Focus on Leadership Dinner: Ewan will focus on leadership and explore Scotland’s approach and experience with leading change.

7:30-9:30
TeachMeet08 Saskatchewan
An unconference for teachers, by teachers. Share something from your classroom or professional learning in a seven-minute micro-presentation, two-minute nano-presentation or simply be an enthusiastic lurker.

To register, email me shareski.dean at prairiesouth.ca by June 22.

$75 Covers your cost for the day. If you planning to attend the evening meal, please add another $25.
Make your cheques payable to: Prairie South School Division and send them to:

Prairie School School Division
Attn: Dean Shareski
15 Thatcher Dr.
Moose Jaw, SK
S6J 1L

This is going to be an outstanding day!