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posted by CoolHand on Monday August 24 2015, @01:33PM   Printer-friendly
from the who'd-a-thunk-it dept.

Access to a world of infinite information has changed how we communicate, process information, and think. Decentralized systems have proven to be more productive and agile than rigid, top-down ones. Innovation, creativity, and independent thinking are increasingly crucial to the global economy.

And yet the dominant model of public education is still fundamentally rooted in the industrial revolution that spawned it, when workplaces valued punctuality, regularity, attention, and silence above all else. (In 1899, William T. Harris, the US commissioner of education, celebrated the fact that US schools had developed the "appearance of a machine," one that teaches the student "to behave in an orderly manner, to stay in his own place, and not get in the way of others.") We don't openly profess those values nowadays, but our educational system—which routinely tests kids on their ability to recall information and demonstrate mastery of a narrow set of skills—doubles down on the view that students are material to be processed, programmed, and quality-tested. School administrators prepare curriculum standards and "pacing guides" that tell teachers what to teach each day. Legions of managers supervise everything that happens in the classroom; in 2010 only 50 percent of public school staff members in the US were teachers.
...
That's why a new breed of educators, inspired by everything from the Internet to evolutionary psychology, neuroscience, and AI, are inventing radical new ways for children to learn, grow, and thrive. To them, knowledge isn't a commodity that's delivered from teacher to student but something that emerges from the students' own curiosity-fueled exploration. Teachers provide prompts, not answers, and then they step aside so students can teach themselves and one another. They are creating ways for children to discover their passion—and uncovering a generation of geniuses in the process.

Good, long article on how education could be reinvented for the 21st century.


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  • (Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Monday August 24 2015, @02:14PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Monday August 24 2015, @02:14PM (#227020)

    To a certain extent, with the virtually limitless amount of material on the Web of varying quality and format (print, video, programmed instruction, etc).

    In a way, it means that a lot more smart, determined kids have the learning resources that Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerburg did at a similar age.

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  • (Score: 3, Interesting) by looorg on Monday August 24 2015, @02:34PM

    by looorg (578) on Monday August 24 2015, @02:34PM (#227031)

    Smart kids back then knew how to go to the library. They had access to more or less the same information then as smart kids does today. The quality to quantity ratio was most likely a lot better then it is today on the internet/web. You might have spent more time searching but a lot less time to weed out the good from the bad. But to access it you had to work for it, today you just google for it. The ability to push yourself (or "drive") probably doesn't increase just cause information might be easier to access. You still have to be able to turn basic knowledge into something, and googling it just won't do that for you.

    I seriously doubt we'll see many more or even generations of geniuses pop up just cause they have the internet and/or are being left by their teachers to find their own way. That is sort of the point of having a school -- so you don't have to reinvent the wheel every day or generation. You are passing on suitable knowledge down the generations from the previous once. Yes it might in large be "worker-drone-school"; but then most of the pupils can't or won't become leaders in the field -- they'll become work-drones. It's sad, but it's reality. The need to read, write, basic math and knowing a bit about our past etc. I see nothing that would indicate that this will really change.

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday August 24 2015, @02:53PM

      by Anonymous Coward on Monday August 24 2015, @02:53PM (#227037)

      That is sort of the point of having a school -- so you don't have to reinvent the wheel every day or generation.

      No, that's the point of having access to information. Whether you get the information from a school or elsewhere doesn't really matter.

      but then most of the pupils can't or won't become leaders in the field -- they'll become work-drones.

      And they are also completely uncritical of authority to the point where a lot of people even accept horrendous things like mass surveillance. They not only demonstrate their complete ignorance of the fact that all governments throughout history have abused their powers in horrendous ways, but they also demonstrate a lack of critical thinking skills when they act like basic human nature doesn't apply to the people in the government. They lack respect for freedom, privacy, and the principles of nations that strive to be free. It helps create the situation we see today.

      If only schools actually focused on education.

      • (Score: 3, Insightful) by looorg on Monday August 24 2015, @03:09PM

        by looorg (578) on Monday August 24 2015, @03:09PM (#227046)

        No, that's the point of having access to information. Whether you get the information from a school or elsewhere doesn't really matter.

        To interpret information you need a frame of reference. This is what education (and school) gives. A common reference, a common skillset. If everyone have their own there will be chaos.

        • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday August 24 2015, @03:14PM

          by Anonymous Coward on Monday August 24 2015, @03:14PM (#227052)

          To interpret information you need a frame of reference.

          You need a brain.

          This is what education (and school) gives.

          I advocate for education, whether it comes from a school or not. A school is just one means of gaining an education.

          And which schools? A grand majority are abysmal.

          If everyone have their own there will be chaos.

          It sounds like you're saying it would bring about chaos if people started thinking for themselves. I'm not sure what else you could mean, but it's almost certainly false in any case.

        • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday August 24 2015, @03:18PM

          by Anonymous Coward on Monday August 24 2015, @03:18PM (#227053)

          A crucial part of mastering a subject is to put together a program that is a series of carefully graded steps, so the learner masters one step before moving onto the next (OK, some overlap is customary). And the quality of instruction and/or feedback in each step has to be high. That's what I do as an adult learner in sports and other hobbies. That's what was so difficult in the era before the Web, unless you had the luxury of going to a high-end prep school like Gates did, that happens to be more interested in instruction than in, let's say, kids being sharply dressed.

          In theory, public schools are supposed to provide that series of graded steps, and it does, but not well enough to churn out geniuses in most cases. Some do a pretty good job with coaching high-prestige sports like soccer and American football.

          Sure, Gates was an unusually bright and motivated kid BUT he started with a big advantage. Now lots of people (I won't say everyone) have that advantage.

        • (Score: 2) by frojack on Monday August 24 2015, @04:11PM

          by frojack (1554) on Monday August 24 2015, @04:11PM (#227085) Journal

          A common reference, a common skillset. If everyone have their own there will be chaos.

          Oh, but haven't you heard? All answers are good answers. All points of view are equally valid.
          Failed solutions are valuable learning experiences. There are no wrong answers.

          At the end of the day EVER student gets a gold star!

          --
          No, you are mistaken. I've always had this sig.
          • (Score: 2) by looorg on Monday August 24 2015, @04:39PM

            by looorg (578) on Monday August 24 2015, @04:39PM (#227097)

            I see the result of that everyday as they walk about the university campus. All the little coddled gold star pupils.

    • (Score: 2) by VLM on Monday August 24 2015, @04:39PM

      by VLM (445) Subscriber Badge on Monday August 24 2015, @04:39PM (#227098)

      then most of the pupils can't or won't become leaders in the field -- they'll become work-drones.

      More like they'll be unemployed. Winner take all, maximize income inequality, etc.

      Every waitress / barista / receptionist / bartender has some kind of college degree around here. Communications, psych, education, pretty much anything but STEM fields. The most common job title for a 99th percentile in english lit is professor. However the most common job title for a mere 98th percentile in english lit, for example, is "bartender" or "trophy wife" or whatever...