I just finished reading the book "Why School", written by Will Richardson. In this text (which was interesting as it was fun to read) Richardson provides us the roadmap of the trajectory that education is on. Business professionals are trying to get into the 100+ Billion $ Industry known as PUBLIC EDUCATION. This may elicit the image in your head of a group of old guys sitting in suit at a large oak table drinking expensive scotch and laughing about their plan for world domination through a takeover of the public education system, this is not the aim of these business people (but what do I know, they may drink bourbon). On a real note, I think that these business people feel like the system that they were taught and learned under is in need of dire changes and since they are so successful there are going to make that system better. The funny thing is that the system that all of these wealthy CEO's and Politicians that are trying to change the system went though it just like you an I.
They maybe have went to an extremely high end private school, but none the less the education system that exist today is the same one the existed for hundreds of years. There have been minor changes such as bells to move from class to class and have physical and health classes, but on a whole its the same thing as it was when America was a new country. The goal of education in the mid 1800's was to ensure that every student who left the school was able to know a little bit about a few select subjects, enough math, science, english, and history to ensure they could find work in a factory. While I don't seen any buggys getting pulled by horses I still see the mirror image of that times education system (who knew that transportation was in more need of innovation then public education).
In the past 100 years we have radios, televisions, high grade transportation, and lastly possibly the most influential on our way of life in years to come; internet. The internet is changing everything, just as Television did with its entrance into everyday life. We know have access to almost every piece of data that has ever existed, yet our schools are not taking advantage of this. Richardson brings up some many valid points in his book, as an educator I cringed and created some really innovative lessons as I read his book. Richardson was able to really bring me in as a reader, simply because I didn't have to do any work to connect with his argument, as a reader reading educational literature can be hard because it is never current enough, I always have to make the connection from what the author is saying to what is happening in my life. Richardson writes so that all of my cognitive effort can be afforded to evaluation of his argument and being able to fully start to "unlearn" some previous traditions I held in my head.
I dont know who is actually going to be reading this outside my cohort (if you're in my cohort, cheers for your willingness to read this to the end I appreciate it), but if you are a student, educator, parent, read this book. It is quick easy, yet it opens up your thinking to some new ideas on how to make education the best as we always hoped it would be.
They maybe have went to an extremely high end private school, but none the less the education system that exist today is the same one the existed for hundreds of years. There have been minor changes such as bells to move from class to class and have physical and health classes, but on a whole its the same thing as it was when America was a new country. The goal of education in the mid 1800's was to ensure that every student who left the school was able to know a little bit about a few select subjects, enough math, science, english, and history to ensure they could find work in a factory. While I don't seen any buggys getting pulled by horses I still see the mirror image of that times education system (who knew that transportation was in more need of innovation then public education).
In the past 100 years we have radios, televisions, high grade transportation, and lastly possibly the most influential on our way of life in years to come; internet. The internet is changing everything, just as Television did with its entrance into everyday life. We know have access to almost every piece of data that has ever existed, yet our schools are not taking advantage of this. Richardson brings up some many valid points in his book, as an educator I cringed and created some really innovative lessons as I read his book. Richardson was able to really bring me in as a reader, simply because I didn't have to do any work to connect with his argument, as a reader reading educational literature can be hard because it is never current enough, I always have to make the connection from what the author is saying to what is happening in my life. Richardson writes so that all of my cognitive effort can be afforded to evaluation of his argument and being able to fully start to "unlearn" some previous traditions I held in my head.
I dont know who is actually going to be reading this outside my cohort (if you're in my cohort, cheers for your willingness to read this to the end I appreciate it), but if you are a student, educator, parent, read this book. It is quick easy, yet it opens up your thinking to some new ideas on how to make education the best as we always hoped it would be.