Saturday, November 09, 2013

Note from Marion Brady



Greetings,

 Although I have not met Marion Brady in person he and I have known each other for several years. We first met on the defunct K12Admin listserv. 

Marion is a thought-leader in education. He has an education column in the Washington Post. His views on what is required to transform the education paradigm are profound and provocative (for those who embrace the outdated Industrial Age paradigm of education).

Marion asked me to share with you four premises that he believes, if enacted, would transform the education paradigm.

His note appears below.

I hope you will engage Marion in a dialogue about his premises.

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Frank,

 I've been trying for decades, with minimal success, to promote a simple idea acceptance of which would have major consequences on the institution. I'm wondering how you'd feel about distributing it and encouraging dialogue.

Stripped to essentials, I argue that:
 
(1) Good mental organization is the key to maximum intellectual performance.

(2) The core curriculum is a poor mental organizer. 

(3) All humans, from birth, use a far better one.

(4) Helping learners lift this organizer into consciousness and make deliberate use of it radically improves academic performance in ALL subjects.

Our natural organizer doesn't REPLACE school subjects, just makes them SUB-organizers.

Marion

Friday, July 19, 2013

Greetings,

Yesterday (July 18, 2013), Dr. Jan Jones posted this query in response to the latest issue of The F. M. Duffy Reports (Volume 18, Number 3).



Hi
Excellent article!  Here's the standard issue that innovators face:  I can't move  my system into one that is innovative for students, staff, parents because my funding is tied to the moronic, punitive funding portioned out to us from the Feds and the state.  

We will be meeting with a new Supt. in Texas next week.  He wants to create a district that is innovative and earns state and national recognition....However, due to his great financial limits, all he can do is dance the NCLB dance and the Texas two step....... The frustration of innovators is that their talents lay fallow due to regulations that control them and again, importantly, their options to use the limited funds they do get.

Any suggestions from the authors or you or our esteemed colleagues regarding this critical issue?   

Dr. Jan Jones 
If you have some suggestions for Dr. Jones, please post them in this Blog Roll.