How to Bring Our Schools Out of the 20th Century

Comments on How to Bring Our Schools Out of the 20th Century By Claudia Wallis

I found the title misleading. I thought this article would talk about a, "how" but it seemed to be more about a, "should." Perhaps the title should have been, "Will  Schools and Teachers Become Irrelevant in the 21st Century?" I say that because Wallis seems bitter about all that is old: chalkboards, lectures, etc. She also has as much emphasis on multilingual/multicultural education as she does technology. Not saying either focus is bad--just a misleading title. But it's not just the title I find a little skewed; it's her arguments as well.

I am getting a little tired of what are becoming clichés: schools are archaic and technology is the answer. The answer to what? Many teachers (young ones in particular) are moaning about the lack of technology in their schools, complaining about how awful it is to chalk and talk. But if someone comes along and says we should shut down brick and mortar schools because they are, by their very nature, outdated, teachers would be in an uproar; who wants to lose a good job? There's a lot of hypocrisy in my mind. We want gadgets AND classrooms. We want to embrace new technologies and teaching methodologies but we don't want to lose our jobs! But if, as the author implies, we can find most of our knowledge on the Internet, why not abandon schools? Can't have your cake and eat it too. Oh, I see: teachers are facilitators that teach problem solving and communication? Really? I'm no scholar but what makes teachers such great problem solvers? Communicators? Nuh uh. Bad grammar is nearly ubiquitous among teachers. And what makes them experts? In other words, teachers themselves are often only a step ahead of their students in terms of the knowledge and skills of their students. In fact, only a few years after adulthood, teachers often run to their former students to fix their cars, operate on their gallbladders or renovate their houses--skills those students didn't likely acquire from their teachers. Let's think about that for a minute. How do those who are not teachers become proficient--and stay proficient--in their fields of occupation? On the job, in most cases. So, really, employers are the REAL schools where people actually learn the skills to survive and thrive (maybe with some help from some from college or specialized university programs).

But here's the real kicker. Ironically, the technologies teachers so desperately want in their classrooms  were developed by school or college drop-outs (think Facebook). Yes, take a good, hard look at the companies that drive our economy and see if the people behind them are successful BECAUSE of what they learned in school. No. Frightening thought, isn't it? Don't believe me? Don't ask a teacher because he won't know; check out biographies on Wikipedia.

The answer to educational reform is not in replacing chalkboards with Smart boards or English teachers with foreign language teachers, as Wallis suggests (though, in our global economy, it's a step in the right direction). Authentic problems and projects, alluded to in the article, are a good start. In my opinion, the answer is in kindergarten teachers and mentors who apprentice and mentor protégés. Early education, the good old 3 R's, are essential building blocks. And technology should be a subtle, not overt, part of that (because it's a tool--and it's constantly changing). In the, "old days," a grade 8 education is all one needed. Odds are good that's still true as far as public school is concerned. With or without technology, we all need the foundational knowledge and skills up to that point: reading and writing skills, computational mathematics, a general knowledge of history and geography. Beyond that, real learning in the world of work and survival is, "just enough," and "just in time," facilitated through collaboration. And that's where technology is really useful. Even a tool as small and as common as a mobile phone can offer endless opportunities. The camera, screen share, NFC, gyroscope, compass, GPS, Internet access  and countless apps are all tools that assist in the creation, modification and collaboration of projects and problems in real time, beyond the bounds of space or time.­

Equipping schools or even connecting schools is a panacea for a deeper educational crisis--if there is one. Truth is, the world is changing and there is little schools can do to, "catch-up." There is no such thing as catching up or keeping up. Families are shrinking. Schools are closing. Technology can't fix that. But teachers and schools can move into a new century by doing what their students should do: collaborate and communicate, problem-solve and create. As technology continues to advance at unprecedented rates, it only serves to assist in that endeavour.

That doesn't mean we throw out the old to usher in the new. The Socratic method is as relevant as it ever was. While technology changes, people don't. Keep chalkboards. Use all technology--old and new--wisely. When I shared Shakespeare's, "Taming of the Shrew," with 16-year-olds, I had a budding artist in our class sketch caricatures of the characters on the board, based on the classes insights into those characters. The grade 10's who had to study, "Lord of the Flies" hardly understood a word. Heck, neither did I. But they loved to hear a good story. So, for twenty minutes a day, they'd put their heads down while I read. Who doesn't like to hear a good story? When someone in the story tried to light a fire with Piggy's glasses, we went outside and tried to do the same. A good teacher doesn't have to have the latest and greatest technology; he uses well and wisely what he has. Ushering in a new century doesn't mean throwing out the one before. A wise teacher, a wise school, uses technology as a tool, not a crutch. It's not just students who get caught up in fads; teachers do too. Beware the technology fad! Where teachers are master craftsmen with the tools they have, they will never be, "outdated." They may teach or mentor via a video chat from space but their expertise, their manner of shaping minds and hands, will always be relevant, regardless of how technology changes.