This post is not so much ICT related but I still thought it was worthwhile to share. I found this video (again on Pinterest...no surprise) a little before the school year started and I've watched it a few times since. It's a man's "open letter to students returning to school".
http://www.youtube.com/watch/?v=x78PnPd-V-A
We tend to think of education in terms of the students and learners. In other words, we advocate for education because the learner benefits from the learning. This video takes a bit of a different spin on things, in a way which I had never really given much thought to. He suggests that education is not necessarily for the benefit of the student, but rather for the benefit of society as a whole. We pay education taxes and support education in other ways because students learning things has the potential to make our lives better.
If we are not educating our students properly and inspiring them to continue learning and discovering, who will be the scientist to put humans on mars? Which doctor will discover the cure for breast cancer? Which composer will be the next Beethoven? Or who will discover a method of making microwave pizza so that it actually has a crispy crust? (Suggestion courtesy of the man in the video.) If we do not inspire our students to be lifelong learners, these things may be impossible.
As I mentioned in my first blog, we are preparing students for the future, not the present. We are not training them for jobs, but rather helping them to become lifelong thinkers and learners so that they may thrive in an environment that we cannot even imagine today. To think of it in terms of this video, we are preparing our students to be beneficial for the future of our society so that we might all have better lives.
Just thought this was an interesting way to think about education in general.
Post your thoughts in the comments.
(P.S. Please note that I don't like to think of education as simply preparation for future employment, but I just like that the video shows a unique view of education that is less thought of.)
That's such a great perspective to have on education! It's crazy to think that people like Gandhi once went through grade school and that the kids in our classes may be the world changers of the next generation. I also like to think that if we truly believe that our students can change the world, that we will teach them much better and look at them in a totally different light.
ReplyDeleteGreat post Justine!
It blows by mind that our students will be working, living, and raising families in a society that will be totally different from ours. What can we teach them that will be useful in that society? Something I've been thinking about as well!
ReplyDeleteI'm with you, education is for MUCH MORE than mere job prep. We need to help students embrace their passions, think for themselves, create - not be automatons.
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