Ken Derby
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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 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. The concept of learning is simple. We learn by focusing on our own interests, inquiring (see below), having choices, setting goals, working with a mentor, observing, talking, doing, failing, reflecting, and trying again.

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“Inquiry” is 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 turning kids loose to inquire about what’s important to them?
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Class Field Trip: Margaret Island, Budapest, Hungary

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Anonymously posted on my classroom door . . . pretty cool!
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  • 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
    • Speaking Engagements
    • Top Ten Kids Store
  • Educator
    • Class Projects
    • Cool Books I've Read
    • Ken Derby In Action
    • 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