Ken Derby
  • Home
  • About Me
  • All Star Stories
  • Author
    • Author Visits
    • Author Visits-Virtual
    • Authors Guild
    • Literacy Work In Turkmenistan >
      • 2010
      • 2011
      • 2012
      • 2013
    • Literary Agent
    • My Books >
      • Dracula: The Real Story
      • Harley P. Davidsun's Loony Bin
      • Invasion of the Stuffed Animals
      • Mischief of the Stuffed Animals
      • The Ghost Memoirs of Robert Falcon Scott
      • The Mystery of King Tutankhamun
      • The Top 10 Ways to Ruin the First Day of School
    • Projects >
      • Bloodstained Love
    • Reviews >
      • Dracula: The Real Story
      • Harley P. Davidsun's Loony Bin
      • The Top 10 Ways to Ruin the First Day of School
    • Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators
    • Top Ten Kids Store
  • Education Consultant
  • Educator
    • Brief Introduction
    • Class Projects
    • Literacy Work In Turkmenistan >
      • 2010
      • 2011
      • 2012
      • 2013
    • Thoughts About Education
    • Testimonials >
      • Colleague Testimonials
      • Parent Testimonials
      • Student Testimonials
      • Supervisor Testimonials
  • Honors
  • Photographer
  • Press
  • Contact Me
Thoughts About Education

Thoughts About Education
Shouldn’t we be “teaching” kids how to function in the world? How to question? How to reason? How to get along with each other? How to collaborate? How to be economically responsible? How to be healthy? How to help? How to care? How to enjoy life? How to be happy? Is it possible that we’re teaching the wrong “stuff” in our schools? 

We make learning complicated, irrelevant, and boring. We should bring simplicity to complexity and make learning relevant and engaging. We learn by focusing on our own interests, inquiring, having choices, setting goals, working with a mentor, collaborating, observing, talking, doing, failing, reflecting, and trying again.

​“Inquiry” is messy, but critical to learning (as is emphasized in Warren Berger’s book, A More Beautiful Question: The Power of Inquiry to Spark Breakthrough Ideas). Inquiry is messy, but it’s usually comprised of the following equation: Why? + What if? + How? = Solution.  Shouldn’t we be supporting kids to inquire about what’s important to them? Shouldn’t we be preparing kids for life, instead of preparing them for education?​​
Picture
Class Field Trip: Margaret Island, Budapest, Hungary

Picture
Anonymously posted on my classroom door . . . pretty cool!
Copyright © Ken Derby 2006 to Present

This website does not share personal information with third parties.
  • Home
  • About Me
  • All Star Stories
  • Author
    • Author Visits
    • Author Visits-Virtual
    • Authors Guild
    • Literacy Work In Turkmenistan >
      • 2010
      • 2011
      • 2012
      • 2013
    • Literary Agent
    • My Books >
      • Dracula: The Real Story
      • Harley P. Davidsun's Loony Bin
      • Invasion of the Stuffed Animals
      • Mischief of the Stuffed Animals
      • The Ghost Memoirs of Robert Falcon Scott
      • The Mystery of King Tutankhamun
      • The Top 10 Ways to Ruin the First Day of School
    • Projects >
      • Bloodstained Love
    • Reviews >
      • Dracula: The Real Story
      • Harley P. Davidsun's Loony Bin
      • The Top 10 Ways to Ruin the First Day of School
    • Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators
    • Top Ten Kids Store
  • Education Consultant
  • Educator
    • Brief Introduction
    • Class Projects
    • Literacy Work In Turkmenistan >
      • 2010
      • 2011
      • 2012
      • 2013
    • Thoughts About Education
    • Testimonials >
      • Colleague Testimonials
      • Parent Testimonials
      • Student Testimonials
      • Supervisor Testimonials
  • Honors
  • Photographer
  • Press
  • Contact Me