Comments on: Enjoying the “Unaware/Unaware” Critics of OHSU

By: Mike Scoresby

Mike Scoresby — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 14:26:29 +0000

With reference to and respect for Mr Watkin’s opinion, I vehemently disagree that we are “American” because of our public school experience. The vast majority of our founding fathers were “home schooled”. What makes us Americans is freedom…freedom to assemble in whatever forum we choose, freedom to speak our minds, freedom to worship, freedom to live where we want and to move freely, freedom to select the government officials who lead us, freedom to dream and freedom to acheive those dreams through hard work, perserverance and dedication, freedom to live our lives as we see fit, not according to someone else’s idea of social utopia. The public schools Mr. Watkins references and that we all remember ceased to exist some time ago. They are now controlled by unions and are more concerned with being politically correct than fostering acedemic excellence, not to mention the additional challenges of bullying, vanity, dishonesty, inappropriate (underage) gender relationships, etc. By definition, if you are in the mainstream, you are not excelling. My appologies to the dedicated educators and students who buck this trend. Home schoolers are not immune to these social ills, but I like the odds of my children becoming well rounded, functional adults who have the skills to contribute positively to their communities.

By: Ray Watkins

Ray Watkins — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 15:45:22 +0000

I think that this issue is more complicated than it might seem… When we say “meaningful” and “social” we mean many things… In particular, the traditional classroom was a way to create the meaningful social interactions necessary to creating a share sense of collective identity through a share set of common experiences. We were or are all “American” because we (most of us) went to public schools. Similarly, we were all “American” because we shared the educational goal of trying to make sure everyone had access to (at least) this level of education. I teach online full time, but I worry that these shared ideals and experiences are being eroded by both home schooling and by distance education. I don’t this is necessarily true– it’s certainly not inerrant in the technology or in home schooling– but I do think we need to find ways to re-assert or re-enforce our sense of collective experiences and destiny.

By: Tonks

Tonks — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 10:28:50 +0000

Our first release will be in August 2010. We have a carefully crafted formula of building, teaching through it once, evaluating, and adjusting to ensure that our content is excellent, prior to its release.

By: Stian Haklev

Stian Haklev — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 09:24:01 +0000

Great stuff, but I’m still a bit confused. You guys are integrating a lot of OER into your curricula, and also spending money developing new OER to cover gaps – great! Where is it? Can I see the curricula? Do I have access to the OER that you have generated? I don’t find this on your main website anywhere, but perhaps I am looking in the wrong place?

By: Sarah Weston

Sarah Weston — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 00:27:44 +0000

Just a observation– it is just as incorrect to stereotype public education, as you have done in your post. A quality education can be had in the public, private, and home institutions. It is the trifecta of instructor, content, and student motivation that make the difference in education. No one benefits by pitting educators (in whatever form they come in) against each other.

By: Students Defend Open High School «

Students Defend Open High School « — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 18:34:22 +0000

[...] 6, 2010 · Leave a Comment David Wiley has posted on a recent article in the Salt Lake Tribune about the Open High School of Utah. Wiley [...]

By: Jason McDonald

Jason McDonald — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 01:25:01 +0000

Great post, Dave.

The students you quote seem vastly more articulate than the majority of adults responding to online discussions.

The thought also occurs to me that having students chime in should count towards something related to civics or social studies, shouldn’t it?

Seems like something good is happening . . . .

By: Jared Stein

Jared Stein — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 20:29:49 +0000

Joy! I love the irony in the comments you culled, but especially that the students spoke up. The second student presents an admirable defense of discussion boards–this is the sort of insight I’d be impressed to hear from an online instructor.

By: John Hilton III

John Hilton III — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 20:23:02 +0000

“The fact that these readers are arguing with one another in the online comment thread about whether you can have meaningful academic or social interactions in an online setting is really just too delicious.” PRICELESS!!

By: Jeremy Browne

Jeremy Browne — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 17:37:53 +0000

As with Wikipedia, the question is not the quality of the new product, but its quality *relative* the quality of existing options. Nature found 4 errors per Wikipedia article (in the physical and natural sciences), but also found 3 errors per article of Encyclopedia Britannica.

Even *if* OHSUers are socially deficient in some way, we must compare that deficiency to the attributes of publicly-schooled children.