Richardson's "Unlearning Curve"

Okay, so I'm having a bit of difficulty here picking out just three unlearning curves to discuss. I found all of Richardson's unlearning curves not only interesting, but items that I agree with and have agreed with for quite some time, and despite not knowing anything about Richardson before this semester began.

Be that as it may, I will attempt to comment on just three, but please excuse me if I end up adding more!

--we have to unlearn the comforts of four walls that we've become accustomed to.

I really like this one. It reminds me of the theater and how the actors are always encouraged to look beyond the three walls of the stage. They are encouraged to "play" to the fourth wall, the wall known as the audience. In this sense unlearning the four walls of the classroom is similar. It is like what Friedman talks about in flattener 5. More and more people today are able to stay at home and work from their computers instead of moving to another city or country where the jobs are. In this section Friedman is discussing India and how many young people use to move to the United States to find employment. It made me realize, sort of, that people don't actually have to move from their home to do business on the internet or to gain access to information. With the internet, virtually everything is at their fingertips.

--we need to unlearn the idea that we are the sole content experts in the classroom and that we know more than our kids.

Both of these can be addressed as one. As teachers we need to realize, with or without technology, that we aren't the sole content experts, period. It shouldn't be an environment of pure lecture to our students, like Nancie Atwell states in her book, "In the Middle," there is more to teaching then sitting behind "our big desks." Students need to take responsibility for their own learning. Technology can help students to do this by giving them the world through constructive educational classroom lesson. According to Richardson starting slow and building up is a great way to introduce students to many of the technology related activities that students might participate in. It is also a great way for teachers to make sure they understand the steps in the process and allows everyone to develop at their own pace, while making sure everyone is on the same page, so to speak.

--we need to unlearn the notion that our students don't need to see and understand how we ourselves learn.

Now there's a statement if I ever heard one. How are students suppose to learn different styles of learning if we don't model how we learn? We have different styles of learning that we apply for different items/topics that we are interested in. These styles, when modeled for students gives them another option to try. Seeing our enthusiasm for a topic and for learning is also a great incentive for our students. Again, if we can't show them how excited we are about something, how can we expect them to be excited about it too? Learning, simply put, is not a solitary item. Like a kitten that watches its mother catch a mouse, it's not until we see it (sometimes) that we are able to do it. As Warlic tells us, education is continous. It isn't based upon what you know anymore, but rather on how you are capable of using that knowledge. The internet and other entities, such as the United Postal Service, other countries, etc, are leveling the playing field and our students need to be ready to compete in an ever rapidly changing global world.

Other unlearnings I really like included:

--we need to unlearn the strategy that collaborative work inside the classroom is enough and understand that cooperating with students from around the globe can teach relevant and powerful negotiation and team-building skills.

I really love the idea of working with students from another country. My study abroad experience to Ireland last summer was more than just visiting a country, it was an experience I would love to share with everyone. Using technology within the classroom that connects with another classroom in another country is a great way to learn about that country. Just think of all the photographs, music, and other items that could be shared via technology. It boggles the mind.

--we need to unlearn the fear of putting ourselves and our students "out there" for we've proven we can do it in safe, relevant and effective ways.

This is one I need to work on, but as I read more and more about technology, I realize that there are ways to work around this.

--we need to unlearn the premise that real change can happen just by rethinking what happens inside the school walls and understand that education is now a community undertaking on many different levels.

As I see it, education has always been a community undertaking. To me this is not a new concept, just a twist on an old one. The extra here is that it is on many different levels. This means that we need to step past the traditional thought processes of the local community and spread the undertaking out - it is after all a flattened world right?