THE CHANGE FROM ACADEMIC TO PROCESS:

  An Explanation of "Process" As a Method of Teaching

One night at a school board meeting I recall a presentation from the science department, and one of the teachers, whom I knew to be a good one, explained to us how the teaching of science had gone from being purely "academic" to being one of  "process."  I remember asking her what "process" meant in that context.  She explained, very articulately, that "process" is the "hands-on" method of teaching a subject.  No facts are emphasized, and in the "process" of playing games, doing experiments, and so on, the acquisition of those necessary facts of a subject will be acquired--or at least that's the plan. 

Of course we all know that such a method rarely gets across the skills and knowledge that come from plain old teaching by the teacher of FACTS.  And evidently, that's the agenda--limited knowledge with just a taste of what the student is really missing.

I would encourage teachers of other disciplines to send me (Icemom617@aol.com) their thoughts, anonymously of course, on how teaching has changed for them.  (Younger teachers need not reply as they have no concept of what teaching used to be.)  For example, I had a math teacher one time tell me how the curriculum was changed (other than the problem solving mess, the math "standards," and all of that) in the elementary schools.  I can't remember the exact items, but basically she said that besides not teaching tables, -- the use of decimals, doing long division, working with fractions and all of those kinds of things were moved forward a grade or two since the students were not able to master those things at the grade level where they were currently being taught.  I was just stupefied to hear her explanation.  So if someone still knows that information, I would love to hear it again.

When students are denied the opportunity to be TAUGHT, then that is life-changing.  The problem is, if they've never had a good teacher in a real TEACHING situation, they cannot even know or understand what they are missing or how they have been cheated.

A parent is able to recognize this method of "teaching," (and parents will note that the term "learning" is often substituted for the word "teaching) by outward signs:  the teacher stands at the side of the room, not the front; the students often sit on the floor or under the desks [and you'd think someone would tell them how unsanitary that is!]; the students' desks are moved around to "facilitate" learning by being placed in groups, circles, or any other configuration other than in neat rows where discipline and attention can be maintained!  The room looks more like a zoo or a circus or a Joann's.  Color is the key.  Part of the agenda is to make children "happy" to be at school hoping that they will prefer school to their home and want to be at school instead.

A stop watch on actual academic endeavor will clock out at about 45 minutes a day of actual instruction for elementary students!

More time is spent on the preparation and conclusion than on the meat of the situation.

The students are the losers rather than the winners in such a scenario.