“The question that makes the difference between being optimistic or pessimistic about what is happening in schools is whether getting the ideas into the system in simplified form prepares the way for the deeper form or betrays it. I say, “Marry the man today and change his ways tomorrow!”” Papert, Seymour (2005). You can’t think […]
“One can take two approaches to renovating School — or indeed anything else. The problem-solving approach identifies the many problems that afflict individual schools and tries to solve them. A systemic approach requires one to step back from the immediate problems and develop an understanding of how the whole thing works. Educators faced with day-to-day
“I believe in “Kid Power.” Our education systems underestimate kids. It INFANTALIZES them by assuming they are incompetent. An eight-year old is capable of doing 90% of tech support and a 12 year old 100%. And this is not exploiting the children: it is giving them a powerful learning experience.” Papert, Seymour. (2006) Seymour Papert
“The majority of the students were in special education classes both inside the facility and in regular school. Typically, in special education the process stays within the standard school epistemological framework, often presenting much the same material just slower and with more personal attention. We were trying to make a more fundamental change by focusing
“This procedure gave a way to introduce powerful ideas such as mechanical advantage and torque not in an abstract way but in a concrete, connected way. The students found the ideas powerful because they enabled them to achieve what they wanted. A procedure that directs attention to the limiting factors not only models a productive
“So, I think the first impact of paper on education is that we’ve created a form of school and of learning that means that people with certain kinds of personalities, certain structures, neurological structures, take to it well and succeed, and some of them take to it less well and don’t succeed, and some of
“I’d like to make a very clear distinction between how you think as a revolutionary, not someone who wishes to force change, but someone who looks far enough ahead and sees that there is going to be change. There is going to be fundamental change. And the big question that I would like to raise
“And I really am worried about the fact that we are undermining mathematical rigor, in fact we are undermining all rigor, by emphasizing the engagement side of what this computer can contribute to education, and we have to do something about this or it’s going to kick back at us.” Papert, S. (2004) Keynote address
“Isn’t it time for us to grow up? And as we grow up, we should stop seeing ourselves as specialists of computers in education, because that casts us in the role of a kind of service profession. Accepting the role allows that other people are the ones to decide the big goals of education, what
“Those other people, they don’t have conferences about “paper in education.” They have conferences on education, because they think they’re talking about the real thing. By having a conference on computers in education, we are defining ourselves in a subordinate position.” Papert, S. (2004) Keynote address at the i3 1 to 1 Notebook Conference. Sydney,