Connect

I think the principals of connectivism is bringing forth a lot of ideas that teachers would like to apply in the classroom but will struggle to as the overarching system doesn't favor connectivism as it does the other theories. Connectivism calls for a diversity of opinions to maximize learning and knowledge, yet by the time students get to the secondary level and start "playing the game" they quit caring about diverse opinions and just want the opinions that get them the letter grade their looking for. This theory also says that the capacity to know is greater then what they currently know but than on a practical level both the state standardized tests and the SAT /ACT wants to measure what kids already know. The system is valuing their current knowledge way more then what their capable of knowing. To an extent I agree with checking what they know as well, colleges want kids who already know a lot and can build off that base of information. Now different schools value different amounts of route knowledge, I'm guessing what Stanford wants their kids to come already knowing is much more vast then say Harold Washington Community College in Chicago. Just to touch on one more idea, connectivism talks about the ability to see connections between fields or concepts as vital. Yet interdisciplinary study was only a word I heard about once I got to college. Outside of some basic biochemistry we barely relate any of the sciences together. I also don't think we do as good of a job tying biology to history as we should. We let kids skim on names and dates in biology class when understanding the context of why the events happened when they did would only strengthen the kids understanding. I think connectivism is great, I hope to apply its principals in my classrooms but I think the system isn't doing it any favors in thriving.