Toward A New Definition of Education

I would have picked this blog as one of my favs(www.weblogg-ed), if it wasn't already part of the assignments. I feel like I could have written a few of these entries myself. With teenagers at Prescott High, I have more familiarity with the beaurocratic mindset than I would prefer. Discipline and conformity are elevated above education, and the 18th century model of education is on full display. But my sense is that the real problem identified by the author is that we DON"T have a new pedagogy! We are all just trying to fit these new tools into the old model. I wish I could tell you I knew what shape the NEW model should take. (But surely someone smarter than me needs to get busy.) Creating curiosity and enthusiasm are key, in my mind, to a good learning model. These new technologies give us an incredible opportunity to do so. But we are all constrained by textbooks and curricula modeled on the old paradigm. And the old paradigm is well suited for factory workers and fanatical nationalists, not the free-wheeling world of wikis and blogs and youtube. Part of the problem is that education is so important that it has drawn the attention of the state and politicians. But we have never seen innovation and creativity come from the beaurocratic class. Lets ask why we need a state-wide curriculum for all subjects, centralized approval of texts, standardized tests, etc., etc? Whose interests are we really serving? The home schooling movement is an effective critique of this statist model, and perhaps that is where the technology is taking us, to a very personalized definition of "education." One focused on creativity and curiosity and critical thinking, rather than conformity and routine and structure. Do we really all need to be reading the same books and taking the same courses? Perhaps the technology will force the state out of education, and yet this is an unimaginable result in a modern society. Which leads to the critical question, and that is whether the present system of education is even compatable with the emerging technologies? If not, then it is no wonder that we can't seem to find a new pedagogy. What we really need to be searching for, then, is a new definition of education. One that is as open and daring and free-wheeling as the internet itself, focused more on results and less on going through the hoops. One that celebrates creativity and interests our young people in learning. One that offers something at the end other than the mere qualifications to get a job. And one that doesn't end upon graduation. Amen.
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