Learning Styles Don’t Matter

I came across this web site from the U.K. about 2 years ago before I got a full-time teaching job. At the time I thought it sounded interesting, so I bookmarked it. After experiencing the classroom in the real world and starting my 3rd year of teaching, I think this guy is really on to something. Heterodoxy I like it because it pretty much goes against all the conventional wisdom that is being taught in most universities and colleges today. That alone is reason enough to like his hypothesis. He is against formal education, against a positive learning environment, against supporting students, against objectives, against criterion referenced assessment. Learning styles don't matter, is for surface learning, and teacher-centered teaching works. YES! Finally someone who thinks like I did before the so-called professionals tried to brainwash me.

Ok, I do believe in supporting students, but to a limit, not to enable them. My favorite is "against objectives". Last year my school district was manic over objectives. The kids don't care if the learning objective is written on the board or not. Only administrators care. They convinced themselves that "students learn better when they know the objective". Oh? I'd like to see the research on that. I think they just want to see if you are following your lesson plan for the day if they walk in your room on a walk-through. "Is Mr. D following a plan or just ad-libbing?" Well, stay all period and find out.