T2W2 Alan (2007-05-05)

Get into the mind of a child who is walking into a school that I know

They arrive in the classroom, or is it a learning place

What is the thought of the child as the lesson is about to begin - what have we done to grab the attention of the child

We have got to bring the child 'off the bus' away from the TV etc. Do they have their own place?

Book 'Twilight of Love' Robert Desade
'what makes civilisation?' 'In a civilised world we have "places"'. In uncivilised world it is nomadic and unfixed. Greek's set the trend, Romans took it on... where do we have our sense of home/place?

What are the special things that we have made in Shearwater that make it a home away from home

New theorists:

Dirkheim and Bourdieu

As humans we have to have a group within which we live. The group has a 'momentum' or coercive power over how we live - following 'patterns'. External control over our conduct. 'Norms', 'Morays', 'Folkways'

Dirkheim: In every human there are two consciences: External one imposed on you by the group. A 'Conscience' that is there. If you break the rules you are either a 'poor wretch/maverick' or the 'lunatic fringe'. Also there is the internal conscience. Everyone has their own understanding of right and wrong, what we like/dislike. We develop this to meet our internal needs.

External: Habitus - (latin) permanent disposition - way of thinking. Deep seated unspoken agreement about the way things are done here. Deportment. Posture.

Civilised: able to critically reflect

How can we make our space more civilised? Sense of place, creativity

French civilisation push: International Baccaulerate

Civilised society values learning, arts, place, temperance, justice, wisdom, rational addults, be aware of time beyond our own.

Barbarians - irrational, nomadic,

Theme 2 - beyond the here and now

look up 'Stephen Downes' - being connected to a larger community - knowledge, information, people in other times

George Siemonds - connectivism

Motivation Thread

Glasser - 5 things (from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reality_Therapy)

These needs are classified under five headings. The first is our primary and physical need for:

• Survival (including food, clothing, nourishment, shelter, personal security).

And the following four are psychological.

• Connecting, Belonging, Love (including groups as well as families or loved ones).
• Power (including learning, achievement and feeling worthwhile and winning).
• Freedom (including independence, autonomy, one’s own 'space').
• Fun (including pleasure and enjoyment).

Adler (from http://wik.ed.uiuc.edu/index.php/Dreikurs%2C_Rudolf)

Adler’s Basic premises (Dreikurs, 1972, pp. 8-9)

i) Man is a social being and his main desire (the basic motivation) is to belong.

ii) All behavior is purposive. One cannot understand behavior of another person unless one knows to which goal it is directed, and it is always directed towards finding one's place.

iii) Man is a decision-making organism.

iv) Man does not see reality as it is, but only as he perceives it, and his perception may be mistaken or biased.

Dreikurs (from http://wik.ed.uiuc.edu/index.php/Dreikurs%2C_Rudolf)

All misbehavior is the result of a child’s mistaken assumption about the way he can find a place and gain status (Dreikurs, 1968, p. 36).

Students’ goals that motivates misbehavior (Wolfgang, 2001, pp. 117-122) (Dreikurs, 1968, pp. 37-40)
1) attention getting
2) power and control
3) revenge
4) helplessness & inadequacy

Alan: students are driven by need to be a member of a group - fundamental driver of humanity
Glasser & Dreikurs go together.
Need to teach the students how to operate effectively in a group.

What do we need to do?
1) make sure the general environment is supportive of learning/cooperation/mutual respect
2) learning place - social groups within it - make sure they belong - need an activity that melds them into a grooup - story, common interest, pair them up, talking to each other in the ZPD
3) make sure every student have 5 glasser needs met

Glasser/Dreikers - 'leading them' - non assertive discipline
or Cantor/Skiner etc - 'pushing them' (won the battle, lost the war) - teacher dominates - assertive discipline.

Lee Cantor info here: http://www.change.freeuk.com/learning/howteach/assertdisc.html

All about the rights of the teacher

Maslow's hierarchy of needs