Mark Twain famously said, "I have never let my schooling interfere with my education."
Why is a system dedicated to improving people's prospects reviled by so many of the same people it's meant to help? Could it be that today's education is at loggerheads with human nature?
It is time to rethink our system for the development of knowledge.
Actualized Learning issues an urgent call to reenvision the educational system-an institution that is fundamental for addressing the pressing issues of our times.
Readers will discover why existing reform efforts are lacking, the reasons we need school reform, the learning process upon which all educational systems should be based, and the dynamics of effective instruction.
The book then provides a blueprint for a new educational paradigm. It details a horizontal framework of sectors based on arenas of life rather than academic areas, a spiral framework of departments to replace grade levels, the effective role of germane contexts, and the expanded purpose of evaluations as maps of discovery.
By reorienting the learning experience and restructuring the learning environments, Actualized Learning proposes real reform that goes to the very heart of the system.
About the Author: Bruce McConnell holds a BS in political science from Santa Clara University, which included a year of study in Vienna, Austria; an MBA with an emphasis in economic development from the Monterey Institute of International Studies; and obtained his teaching credential from San Jose State University. He was born and raised in California.
This author has spent twenty years teaching public high school social science, computer applications, and business, plus serving as a coordinator for school reform and a finance academy; two years teaching high school at a private school in Caracas, Venezuela; and three years teaching English as a second language for Iran Air in Tehran, Iran. Additionally, he spent eight years in banking, primarily as a small business banker.
Having experienced firsthand the shortcomings of education, McConnell feels compelled to contribute to effective educational reform that helps all children discover and realize their potential.