A colleague sent a video to me a few weeks ago of Sir Ken Robinson giving a talk titled "Changing Education Paradigms". He provides an insightful breakdown of why the current education system in many countries does not work for many students today. The really GREAT thing about his talk is that he address systemic issues without pointing fingers at people, schools, politicians, or organizations.
Central to his critique is that "Education is modeled on the interests of industrialization and in the image of it." Education modeled after industrialization values conformity over uniqueness. But perhaps more tragically, it values competition over collaboration. Students compete against each other, teachers compete against other, schools compete against each other and now even states compete against each other for precious funding streams.
I don't think all competition is bad, but in education I think it is disastrous. On Saturday I heard Bill Ayers, a former kindergarten teacher and current education theorist, give a lecture about teaching in these dark times. (Dark times could include the funding crisis, teachers being demonized, corporate push for privatization, school takeovers, increased testing, etc.) Education, he said, is inherently generous. It is the opposite competition. The more you give, the more you get. The more people engage with the world--people, places, ideas--around around them, the richer the experience. Competition is individualistic, but education is not.
Bottom line: education needs to be completely rethought. Sir Ken Robinson is on to something here.
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