Dat is de ondertitel van het boek: The BIG Picture van Dennis Littky. En aangezien Orion College haar visie mede heeft gebaseerd op Big Picture is het voor mij natuurlijk interessant om dit boek eens goed te lezen. Wat me vooral opvalt is de liefde van Littky voor het kind (ja ik schrijf bewust niet het woord leerling). Bij alles wat hij schrijft vertrekt hij vanuit het kind. Dat betekent natuurlijk dat er veel op zijn kop wordt gezet. En eigenlijk ook weer niet, want alles wat hij noemt is zo vanzelfsprekend. Ik zal regelmatig een aantal citaten of uitspraken uit het boek hier vermelden, als stof tot nadenken en discussie dus.

– the only really substantial thing education can do is help us to become continuous, lifelong learners
– education is not the filling of a pail but the lighting of a fire
– our addiction to testing is blinding us to what we believe in our hearts are the important lessons our children should learn
– too many forget how intrinsic motivation and desire are to learning
– they say knowledge i power. We say the use of knowledge is power
– learning is about learning how to think
– learning is not about memorizing. Learning is about being mindful
– our education system should see creating mindful learners as its goal
– teaching is listening, learning is talking
– most kids are not making one democracy-inspired decision throughout their entire years of schooling
– teaching becomes figuring out how to see and listen to each kid, one kid at a time
– teaching cannot happen in a vacuum. The community and child’s family must be included in every way possible
– teaching is really about bringing out what’s already inside people
– society is asking our graduates for skills and fast-paced communication, and schools are still giving them facts and one-way lectures
– the world is changing – schools are not
– when education is defined by the number of minutes a kid sits at a desk, it is way too far away from what is really important
– we measure what we can measure-not what we should or even want to measure
– we have to have higher standards, and they’ve got to be different standards
– yes, all schools must help kids gain knowledge, but they must also help them believe in themselves, believe in others, and love learning