One thing that has always bothered me about seeing the child as an empty vessel (as in realism) to be filled with knowledge is how can anyone be seen as empty. No one can be entirely empty...life is filled with experiences that shape and direct a person to be who they are. As the child grows and develops life shapes experiences in their psyche shaping the child and their future behaviour.
I have this picture in my head about the concept of realism. If the teacher is the jug to fill the student (the cup) eventually waste will happen. The student is not empty...life fills students...so as more and more knowledge is poured into the student the student begins to fill and fill. Eventually as more and more knowledge is imparted to the student the cup will fill and where is the knowledge? On the floor wasted!
In this day and age with students coming with more and more baggage and more complex life experiences the concept of jug and cup no longer applies unless we can empty some of the previous "water" (knowledge/life experiences) from them. Only then can we fill their minds with new experiences without wasting it.
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2 comments:
Sorry Leanne, this is the LAST comment from me, but I really like this, optimism from you!!!!!!!!! How to go!!!!!!!! darcy
In the past year I have felt at times as if my vessel has been filling to the point where my knowledge was leaking out and I couldn't hold it all in. I think children learn as much or more incidentally, living life, as they learn in school.
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