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About

My name is Robin Ellis and this is the space I use to share my ideas and thoughts about education, teaching, learning, and life in general. I am starting on a new journey this year, working with teachers building online virtual communities. I plan to share how I adjust, what I learn, the successes and challenges I encounter. I welcome all who visit to share in the conversations and help me in my own learning. Please join in the conversations and push my thinking.

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2 Responses

on September 3, 2008 at 08:48 pm | Reply Patrick

Hi Robin,

I didn’t have an email address for you, so I figured I would add the comments from our book discussion here:

Some of the ideas and questions that were discussed today:
Can we train people to think using both hemispheres of the brain? Is R-Directed thinking something that can be learned?
If we ask that our teachers come into this system (the education system, classroom, school environment, etc.) with right-brained skills in addition to the traditional left-brained skills, are we setting them up for failure?
this was in the context of looking at how schools haven’t physically changed in over a hundred years. Those of us in education tend to be successful products of the system, meaning that we did well in the system that we went through, thus we tend to re-create the system we are used to.
If that is the case, does it make sense that we hire teachers expecting them to think “outside the box” only to put them back into an environment that is exclusively “in the box?”
How do we respond to this statement: “We don’t have time to include R-directed thinking; we are trying to prepare our students for taking these standardized tests (NJASK, SAT, HSPA, etc.)”
Does this statement have merit: “The changing world is leaving the SAT behind?”
Should these three statements (from page 51) drive the decision making in our building regarding what we are creating with our students?
Can someone overseas do it cheaper?
Can a computer do it faster?
Is what I am offering in demand in an age of abundance?
Are we wasting our students’ time by teaching them skills that are irrelevant anymore? If so, what are they?
on September 12, 2009 at 09:18 am | Reply Karen Szymusiak

Hello, Robin
We met this summer at the PLP Boot Camp in Philadelphia.
Sounds like things are going well for you – a new journey is always uplifting.
Best wishes.
Karen