Kevin J. Browne: Philosopher | Educator | Composer
  • home
  • Educator
  • Composer
  • Podcast
  • Blog
  • bio

PHILOSOPHICAL INSIGHTS

The Future Belongs to Learners

9/27/2021

0 Comments

 
Picture
Image by Wokandapix from Pixabay

​People learn things for a variety of different reasons: to get a good grade, to earn a degree, to get a better job, to earn a badge or certificate to display on their website.  But, I think the most important reason to learn is for its own sake.  Or, as the physicist Richard Feynman put it, for "the pleasure of finding things out."  

Read More
0 Comments

The IMportance of Learning "Irrelevant" Knowledge

9/20/2021

0 Comments

 
Picture
Image by Georgi Dyulgerov from Pixabay
​
​
What is creativity?  Can it be learned?  How do creative people think?  These are some of the questions that Jonah Lehrer looks at in his book Imagine: How Creativity Works.  One insight I think is particularly important and provides a useful argument for the importance of learning as much as you can even if it seems irrelevant to your area of study or your current job.   Creativity requires the mixing of ideas and in order to do this you need to be exposed to many different ideas from many different areas of knowledge.  

Read More
0 Comments

The Benefits of Reading Books

9/13/2021

0 Comments

 
Picture
Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay

There are many ways to learn.  However, I think books are one of the best.  Having read over 1,200 books I would say that!  Of course, there is more to learning any subject than reading but, I think there are still many tangible benefits to reading books and I would like to outline some of those here.

Read More
0 Comments

The Risks of Measurement

9/6/2021

0 Comments

 
Picture
Image by newsong from Pixabay

​Measurement can be a useful tool.  But, when it comes to measuring outcomes in education there is always a risk that the measurement becomes the focus instead of the learning.  When that happens, learning always seems to take a back seat to the measuring and testing that comes with it.  

What are we teaching students by focusing so much on measuring, outcomes, rubrics, and so on?  I once asked a group of students whether they thought that once they got a job they would be presented with a rubric and graded like they were in class.  One student, without a trace of humor, replied that yes that was exactly what she expected.

Consider this from a recent article on LinkedIn titled Beyond the Lemonade Stand: How to Teach High School Students Lean Startups: "Because these were high school kids with, for the first time, a real business relying on them, this portion of the class shook them so badly they couldn't move from their seats–literally. All their hard-wired school habits turned to dust as the kids realized their school tools were useless: there were no solution keys, no rubrics, no answers in the back of the book."

What are students going to do when there are no solutions keys, rubrics, or answers to check in the back of the book?  Are we teaching them to over-rely on tools for measuring so that the tools become crutches?  Or should we be training businesses to use rubrics to evaluate their employees? 

Yes, measuring is a useful tool.  But, tools serve to further our goals.  They should not be the goals themselves.

"Not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted."
Albert Einstein ​
0 Comments

    KEVIN J. BROWNE

    Philosopher / Educator

    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    These blog posts contain links to products on Amazon.com.  As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

    Categories

    All
    Beliefs
    Book Review
    Connections
    Critical Thinking
    Education
    Ethics
    Homeschooling
    Influence
    Learning
    Lifestyle
    Logic
    Motivation
    Philosophy
    Psychology
    Quora Question
    Quotations
    Reading
    Relevance
    Teaching
    Thinking

    RSS Feed

    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture


    Picture
    Buy my sheet music at MusicaNeo
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Kevin Browne's book recommendations, liked quotes, book clubs, book trivia, book lists (read shelf)

    2022 Reading Challenge

    2022 Reading Challenge
    Kevin has read 12 books toward his goal of 63 books.
    hide
    12 of 63 (19%)
    view books
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture

    Archives

    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.
  • home
  • Educator
  • Composer
  • Podcast
  • Blog
  • bio