OLDaily

John Dewey. Traditional and Progressive Education
Jenny Mackness, Jenny Connected, 2021/09/27

This post is less about John Dewey and more about the clash between traditional and progressive education. Interestingly, it raises the idea that, in order to treat students like robots, teachers must become robots too (echoes of Foucault here). And what does that do to teachers? From Radio 4: "If you don’t find an outlet for you being recognisable Lucy Kellaway, your sense of humour and your warmth, being motivated, the engine to the maths, if you don’t find that, then it will be hopeless and you’ll cry yourself to sleep every night."

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Ancient Revelations
Miguel Guhlin, Around the Corner, 2021/09/27

As we have learned from societies like South Africa and New Zealand, the need for truth and reconciliation is not unique to Canada. In some places, dispossession and cultural genocide continue to take place. I can only say to them, please do not repeat the mistakes that we have made. Other places need still come to grips not only with the fact of past atrocities but also of the contribution and perspective of non-dominant cultures in current society. I want to highlight Miguel Guhlin's thought-provoking reflections on Columbus Day in this respect. There is a way forward, but it's hard.

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National Day for Truth and Reconciliation
Government of Canada, 2021/09/27

On September 30 Canada will be observing its first National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. It's a long overdue recognition of the mistreatment of indigenous peoples through the centuries of colonization right up to, well, now. Here are some activities and things to read to take part. For my own part, I have been studying the Yellowhead Institute Red Paper titled Land Back to understand "the current status of land dispossession in Canada" and learn what needs to be done. Image: Queen's University.

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Digital Endosymbiosis
Mark Johnson, Improvisation Blog, 2021/09/27

You my recall the discussion last week of Boethius the concept of Porphyry's tree as the structure and categorization of things in the world. This is the idea that the world is made up of substance, which consists of an unchanging essence (aka, 'universals') and changing accident (aka 'particulars'). Knowing this helps us understand statements like the one that opens this article: "Digital Endosymbiosis is a realignment of universals and particulars between the activities that take place in an institution and those which take place outside it." And "disciplinary discourse is confused about what is particular and what is universal." The concept of universality has been carried down to this day. When people propose hypotheses, when people talk about sameness or essence, when people talk about shared meaning or common understanding, they are appealing to it. But what if this 2400-year old idea is wrong, and the search for underlying essence is misguided?

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