December 7, 2020
Flexidemics Insights
By: Jennifer Nelson
https://www.Flexidemics.com
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“Learning styles are a myth!”
I always scratch my head when I see people proudly proclaiming this because I see it as a semantics issue. I also sense some weird brainwashing vibe that serves to pressure people into distrusting their own experience and intuition due to a lack of “official approval”.
Learning styles are as much of a myth as teaching styles. Everyone has preferences. However, when people say that “learning styles” are a myth they should be more specific to avoid confusing those who are not familiar with the theory that boxes people into being able to learn in one way.
I would say that most people aren’t referring to a narrow theory when they use that expression. They are referring to preferences based on their own life experience and common sense.
If I know how I learn best and I refer to that as my learning style; it’s not going to be helpful or resonate if I get a robotic response about how an approved authority has reviewed and discounted a theory that I am not referring to.
I see this as a wonderful opportunity to reach a point of understanding that everyone is not coming from the same frame of reference. May we all find what works best for our own preferences.
The intent of this newsletter is to increase awareness of available educational options in order to encourage environments where students can align to their true gifts and talents.
When people are aligned to their true nature and in touch with their loving hearts, they are able to co-create a harmonious world.
May we all reach our highest path and potential.
With Love,
Jennifer
How To Avoid Having Your Work Rejected For Being Too Creative
This is geared towards educators, but it can be useful for all who may encounter having their ideas rejected because they misunderstood.
The author says, “You may be incomprehensible or nearly so to your audience. When you propose ideas outside the paradigms to which people are accustomed, people simply may have trouble understanding what you are trying to say. It doesn’t fit their world. So, they reject it.” The advice here is to draw connections to existing ideas.
Overall this serves as a good reminder of the importance of trying to speak the a language that your audience understands.
Labeling Children For a Living
John Taylor Gatto was a New York State Teacher of the Year who wrote an essay entitled “I Quit”. In this essay he asks us to consider the messages that we send to children when we label them.
He writes, “David learns to read at age four; Rachel, at age nine: In normal development, when both are 13, you can’t tell which one learned first — the five-year spread means nothing at all. But in school I will label Rachel “learning disabled” and slow David down a bit, too.”
He continues with this point, “for a paycheck, I adjust David to depend on me to tell him when to go and stop. He won’t outgrow that dependency. I identify Rachel as discount merchandise, “special education.” After a few months she’ll be locked into her place forever.”
Give Children the Power to Stop School Bullying
Peter Gray suggest that democracy, not legislation will help to stop school bullying. He states, ” If our children are required to be in school, then they must be granted a real voice in the way the school is run. If they are not granted such a voice, then school is prison and we can expect students to react in many of the same ways that prisoners everywhere react.”
He suggests the democratic school model “because the students have power, they feel ownership of the school and have a vested interest in keeping it peaceful.”
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Feel free to forward this to anyone that you think will find it valuable.
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