miércoles, 18 de enero de 2017

My view of education

The world is changing. And it is changing at a very fast pace in every field you can think of. Think of fashion: What is regarded as fashionable now may not be so in a year´s time. Think of technology also: The latest smartphones may be outdated the next year.  And what about technology? Nobody thinks of having an eye operation with a stone. Science has moved us from myths to logos. The same applies to other areas of society. We continue teaching students as they were 500 hundred years ago. the only difference is the material aspect, but there has not been any change as far as methodology. We continue judging students by their ability to memorize for tests. But, should they be taught so in a changing world? If the world is changing, why don´t we, teachers?

So, how to educate children in a changing world? How to educate children to get into a world where most jobs have not even been invented yet? Complex? Yes, it is. It is impossible to prepare students  to (or educate for) this changing world. At least with current "systems" of education. We have to bear in mind that we have educational systems that stem from the middle ages (with changes), with teachers trained in the 20th century but with 21st century demands. And the answer is not more exams or memorization (by the way, do you remember all you have memorized?). The answer is an education ("system"?) where everything is integrated; where you learn things through other things; and where you do (useful) things with the things you have learnt. At the same time, we should bear in mind that not everybody is good at (or should be good at) the same things.

I do not consider education "instruction. I would rather consider it "extraction"! Governments should aim at "extracting" student´s talents rather than "inserting" concepts into their brains.







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