I browsed thru various chapters and stopped at page 365, it was more like I hit a wall. Page 365 contains Hofstadter's paraphrasing of G.R. Glenn's - What manner of child shall this be. As I read Hofstadter's words I forgot the book was written in 1963, because I swear he was referring the current state of SPS. At that time I had no clue who G.R Glenn was.
G.R Glenn as it turns out was the Superintendent of public instruction for the state of Georgia and he wrote "What manner of child shall this be" in 1900.
I encourage everyone to go read both the paraphrased version and the original version of "What manner of child shall this be". Do this before you make any excuses for the state of Special education in the Seattle public school system.
I think you might have a change of heart.
“Time was when the power of the teacher was measured by what
he could do with a bright boy or a bright girl. From the beginning of this new
century the power of the teacher will be measured by what he will be able to do
with the dull boy, the defective child. More than ever before in the history of
this world the real test of teaching power will be measured, not by what can be
done with the best, but by what can be done with the worst boy in the school.
The new educational psychology will be “the psychology of the prodigal son and
the lost sheep.” The “great rejoicings” in American life will come when child
study is so mastered and the development of schools so perfected that the
educational system touches and develops every American boy. “We shall come to
out place rejoicing when we have saved every one of these American children and
made every one of them a contributor to the wealth, to the intelligence, and to
the power of this great democratic government of ours.”
Glenn
Hofstadter
No comments:
Post a Comment