Random sample

Today a group of 243 teachers from elementary schools were together for a meeting on "Reform education". They represent a good average of the national teacher population.

I asked them the following questions:

Who knows the meaning of the word Mathetics? less than 1 %
Who knows the meaning of "learning to learn"? more than 75%

Who uses a personal weblog? less than 1%
Who knows what a weblog is? 1,6 %

The word mathetics seems to be rather unknown for Dutch teachers.
The majority knows the "learning to learn" philosophy. As both terms are much alike it seems a matter of labeling.
Using a weblog is still an unknown phenomenon for teachers in Dutch elementary schools.
Only two colleagues were familiar with a weblog. Both were younger than 35. One male and one female.
The meaning of the word weblog is also rather unknown.

Does this mean a demonstration of the gap between the youth culture and the world of teachers? Are they loosing grip on their pupils, who live partly in a digital world?
If so, how to bridge this gap?

Mathetics and Freinet education

The French educator Freinet was one of the early adaptors of technology in education. What is the relationship between his technique of free writing and mathetics? That's one of the questions Angela is dealing with in het masters thesis.

editorial staff moves on

The complete editorial staff of the Dutch magazine "Computers op School (COS)" moves on.
Disagreement between the publisher and the editorial staff about the editorial independence could not been solved. Computers in School published, as one of the first magazines, about mathetics.
"It's a pity" was one of the reactions "I hope they will continue".
"We appreciated the magazine during more than 19 years" wrote another reader.

Natura artis magistra..... 

Papert and mathetics

Seymour Papert pointed in the eighties of the 20th century towards the aspect of mathetics.
Here you find som quotes from him: http://westy.jtwn.k12.pa.us/users/sja/Papert.html