tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5015589183103314236.post3725227014241197871..comments2024-02-27T00:31:04.627-07:00Comments on Adventures in Pencil Integration: we don't need a shared visionAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10956056168256756705noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5015589183103314236.post-25742069682031742552010-07-01T05:20:33.248-07:002010-07-01T05:20:33.248-07:00I like this very much. Today is Canada Day and in ...I like this very much. Today is Canada Day and in the early morning I reflect a little on what it means to be a Canadian. When I first came to Canada as a teenager from the States, the official Federal policy of multiculturalism (a patchwork quilt of culture forming a greater unity) was juxtaposed with the American concept of a melting pot (a new alloy forged from diversity). Both are dynamic forces shaping all societies I think. Canada today is even more diverse than it was when I moved here in the 1970s and I celebrate that. <br /><br />I tracked down Saskatchewan's Goals of Education just the other day. They were developed in the 1980's and shaped the curriculum we teach today. Otherwise, I think they have been generally forgotten. It is an extensive list reflecting the diverse goals we have conceived for education. I tried to develop a pithy statement of my own. <br /><br />"I believe the purpose of public education is to give young people the power to take control of their lives. Young people need to construct their own meaning from the world to guide their actions. They need support discovering personal directions they might take in the future. We are life-long learners and public education should empower people to exercise that inherent potential."<br /><br />It is a generalization like the ones you use as an example. Such statements are fine, but the reality is the complexity of Saskatchewan's goals.<br /><br />http://wikistange.wikispaces.com/Goals+of+EducationAlan Stangehttp://www.alan-stange.canoreply@blogger.com