RE: Grounding Tenet for Learning

John Vasconcellos said:
EVEN MORE, IT REQUIRES CREATION OF AN ENVIRONMENT IN WHICH A
CHILD FEELS SAFE AND WELCOME TO INQUIRE AND EXPLORE, AS WELL AS A
RELATIONSHIP WITH A TEACHER WHO IS INSPIRING OR THE CHILD'S
CURIOSITY.

Perhaps the single biggest gift we can give our children is not just learning of facts and development of basic skills like arithmetic and language use, but learning how to learn.  Inquiry and exploration are crucial to this capacity, and how best for a student to learn this than by modeling his/her behavior after a teacher who understands that the teacher's role is not necessarily the provider of information, but the provider of resources that will help the student learn how to find answers, solutions, experience, perspectives.  

I hope the Master Plan will contain a provision that encourages teachers to develop this attitude/ability.  Some wise person has predicted that half of what we know today is likely to be obsolete by 25 years from now. Today's students are going to have to learn how to refresh their knowledge to meet tomorrow's job and societal needs.

Elna Tymes