What knowledge is most worth?
In this section, you will read three articles which discuss the question “What knowledge is most worth?”
- Based on your readings, what knowledge is of most worth?
- How do you think is the worth of knowledge being understood and expressed in our society?
References
- Broudy, H. S. (1982). What knowledge is of most worth. Educational Leadership, 39(8), 574-578. http://ascd.com/ASCD/pdf/journals/ed_lead/el_198205_broudy.pdf
- Kereluik, K., Mishra, P., Fahnoe, C., & Terry, L. (2013). What knowledge is of most worth: Teacher knowledge for 21st century learning. Journal of Digital Learning in Teacher Education, 29(4), 127-140. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1010753.pdf
- Zhao, Y. (2008). What knowledge has the most worth? The Education Digest, 74(4), 48. https://search.proquest.com/openview/788077778c18e9026718c6588e5f05f1/1?pq-origsite=gscholar&cbl=25066
I want to be a teacher because it is a career I would enjoy. Having coached hockey and tutored secondary students for the past 5 years, I feel that I can combine these elements into the career of teaching. To be an educator, I believe you have to know a few things. Firstly, you have to know how to connect with your learners. If an strong and established connection cannot be held, then the passage of information is greatly hindered. Secondly, I feel that an educator must know at least the content they will be teaching the learner – preferably know one step ahead of that. This will be key in terms of preparing for misconceptions and deficits the learner might encounter in process of learning. With respect to Shulman (2013), I still feel that establishing a connection with your learner is equally as important as knowing ones step above the content one will teach. In terms of worth and knowledge, I believe every type of knowledge has some worth. For instance, in light of Zhao (2008) someone’s knowledge of math or science is just as worthy as someone’s knowledge in the arts and language. However, if someone has knowledge in all of these areas, I do believe this is more worthy than having knowledge in just some areas. Overall, I feel knowledge of curriculum and pedagogy are both equally necessary for one to educate successfully.
During this program, we have seen time and time again that it is the “big ideas” that are of most worth, especially in this day and age where so much information is available at a moment’s notice. We all have a tiny computer with access to almost all of human knowledge available in our pockets, so memorizing formulas and facts is just not as worth our time. However, I like to say that “the internet knows everything, whether it’s true or not.” Therein lies the problem. We have access to so much information, but not all of it is true, real or verifiable. Conspiracy theories are afforded the same, if not more online space as facts and figures. Ideas are stated without rationale or justification, and we believe them.
As we have learned in our readings, the line between “belief” and “knowledge” can be fuzzy, and depends on how you define these two terms. How are students to understand the difference between fact and conjecture? No matter how we understand these two terms, the most important thing we can teach our students today is how to decide for themselves. We can teach them the skills to read into something and decide whether or not it can be trusted – we give them the tools to decide what knowledge is of most worth.
It is my belief that these skills are taught through an emphasis on abilities (referred to in the new BC curriculum as curricular competencies) and a deep grasp of the underlying concepts (the big ideas). With an understanding of these large ideas, they can see where new information fits in, or easier judge if it doesn’t make sense with that bigger picture.
Unfortunately, there is still a legacy in our education system where emphasis is being placed on rote memorization. While these skills may have been relevant in a time when we did not have such easy access to information, and what we did have access to was often fact-checked and curated, they no longer work. In this time of misinformation (such as “fake news”), we can’t blindly trust everything we are told. Memorizing facts is less important than asking ourselves whether or not these “facts” make sense.
I want to become a teacher to help be part of this change. I want to embrace the change that is happening in our society and prepare students to become a productive part of it in the future.
The arguments you mentioned here are interesting. I like the idea that “Memorizing facts is less important than asking ourselves whether or not these “facts” make sense”. It might be one of the reasons why many consider schools as failures. What just came to my mind is the notion of “producing producers”. That school is producing mere technicians who are only good to be producers and employees is the undeniable reality of our time. Teachers should, therefore, be conscious of the need to deeply engage in inculcating humanness and rationality in students. I am not saying, however, that technical skills and knowledge are not important.