Eisner Those Who Ignore the Past

Introduction

  • Author: Elliot W. Eisner

  • Article: "Those who ignore the past...: 12 'easy' lessons for the next millennium"

  • Focus: Examination of past half-century educational reforms and lessons for future improvements.

Key Themes

Historical Context

  • Recurrent Themes: Efforts in US school reform, curriculum changes, and standards specification have persisted over the past fifty years.

  • Objective: Distill lessons from past educational practices to avoid repeating failures in schooling.

Lessons Learned

Lesson 1: Students Learn More Than Intended

  • Reality vs. Idealism: Students learn both less and more than what educators intend.

  • Philosophical Constructivism: Students create meaning through their prior experiences, languages, and personal tools.

  • Paradox of Standards: Educational aspirations often exceed measurable outcomes, suggesting that educators should aim high despite practical limitations.

Lesson 2: Proliferation of Objectives and Standards

  • Increased Standardization: Rise of standards across various educational dimensions (students, teachers, curriculum).

  • Impact on Teachers: Overwhelming standards may hinder teachers' ability to effectively educate.

  • Historical Context: Standards movement rooted in the efficiency movement focused on detailed aims and procedures for improved school operation.

Lesson 3: Contradictions in Aspirations and Evaluation

  • Vision vs. Evaluation Practices: There is often a significant gap between the stated aspirations of educational systems and the evaluation methods employed (objective tests).

  • Impact of Testing: Reliance on standardized tests shapes curricular priorities and diminishes the focus on creative and aesthetic learning.

Lesson 4: Teacher Agency and Involvement

  • Teacher Stakeholders: Teachers must play a central role in shaping curricula and educational reforms.

  • Ineffectiveness of Passive Training: In-service training without teacher input fails to address real classroom dynamics and contexts.

Lesson 5: Resilience of Educational Institutions

  • Structural Resistance: US schools are robust institutions resistant to change, influenced by public expectations and traditional structures.

  • Expectations and Adaptation: Both teachers and students adapt well to established school conditions, making significant changes challenging.

Lesson 6: High-Stakes Testing and Its Effects

  • Extrinsic Motivation: High-stakes criteria often shift focus from meaningful learning to merely achieving test scores.

  • Cultural Implications: Competition for grades diminishes genuine student engagement and satisfaction in learning.

Lesson 7: Conditions for Teachers' Professional Growth

  • Professional Development: Schools must foster environments that enable continuous learning for teachers, accommodating various roles over their careers.

Lesson 8: Meaningful Assessment Requires Context

  • Ongoing Evaluation: Genuine understanding of student learning comes from continuous, contextually rich assessment rather than one-off standardized tests.

Lesson 9: Public Perception and Nostalgia

  • Nostalgic Views: Public sentiment often romanticizes the past while imposing outdated metrics for educational success.

Lesson 10: Unexamined Assumptions About Schooling

  • Age-graded Schooling: Traditional age-grading in schools tends to ignore developmental differences among students, leading to problematic expectations and practices.

Lesson 11: Limitations of Theory

  • Theory vs. Practice: While theory is important, effective education relies heavily on practical application and responsiveness to unique classroom situations.

Lesson 12: The Ecology of Education

  • Holistic Approach: Education involves a complex interplay of aims, structures, quality of teaching, and evaluation methods.

  • Systemic Reform: Addressing all aspects of school ecology is necessary for meaningful improvement in USA educational systems.

Conclusion

  • Future Direction: Learning from past experiences and challenges can help educators design schools that are more effective and conducive to true education.

  • Need for Wisdom: Continuous dialogue and examination of educational practices are essential to drive improvement.