We Need Schools….Not Factories!

Winner Of the TED Prize 2013, Sugata Mitra 

What a great statement..."But what got us here, won’t get us there. Schools today are the product of an expired age; standardized curricula, outdated pedagogy, and cookie cutter assessments are relics of an earlier time. Schools still operate as if all knowledge is contained in books, and as if the salient points in books must be stored in each human brain — to be used when needed. The political and financial powers controlling schools decide what these salient points are. Schools ensure their storage and retrieval. Students are rewarded for memorization, not imagination or resourcefulness". Sugata Mitra, blog is an excellent look at where we need to take education. Unfortunately, I don't think these type of experimentation in education will take place in Public Education due to the control of the politicians and the failed but continues thought process that testing is the answer to quality education for all students. 

This statement "From Plato to Aurobindo, from Vygotsky to Montessori, centuries of educational thinking have vigorously debated a central pedagogical question: How do we spark creativity, curiosity, and wonder in children?" was the starting point for teachers and their desire to educate people.However, the education community today starts with, "how do we measure learning and hold teachers accountable". Mitra goes on to say..." But those who philosophized pre-Google were prevented from wondering just how the Internet might influence the contemporary answer to this age-old question.

Mitra experimented with children in India by giving them computers and no help. The children with no prior experience, and unable to speak or write English, taught themselves how to use the computer and then began to teach each other. This experiment is know as "The Hole in the Wall" . This experiment challenges the way we educate children today and if we could get the politicians out of the business of education I believe we would experiment more and take risk that would help our young people learn and grow. 

With Standardized Testing as the driving force behind our public education, it's unlikely teachers  will start with the notion of "how do I spark creativity, curiosity, and wonder in children". Most teachers are going to take the safe route and that's "TEACH THE TEST". 

This education blog by Mitra is a GREAT READ. I encourage you to read this article and take a hard look at what is going on in the world in other countries as compared to the USA.  

Derek Fitzhenry 

READ FULL ARTICLE HERE.