Reflection time. One other thing that I really like about this conference (amongst all the others) is that everyone gets together at the end of the day and reflects together. You would think that it would be common sense for a conference to build in reflection time, but it’s actually pretty rare.
Heh, we’re starting off with The World Is Flat. I really need to read this darn book. Friedman says that the US is fantastic at exporting media: movies, media, video games, music, etc. Lots of these things have violent overtones throughout them. Interesting, if you remember the movie Contact, they were worried about what aliens would think of us if all they’ve seen of the Earth is our TV transmissions. Anyway, the point is that our media exports perpetuate a gigantic misunderstanding about what the US is really all about. Also, since we (Americans) don’t get out of the country much, there’s a common perception that we don’t understand what’s going on in the rest of the world (Asia, India).
Alan has gotten down to the bottom line. We are not producing students who are globally competitive. What does he mean by competitive? Does it come down to $$$$? Is it about being competitive or being successful, or perhaps cooperative?
I just asked Alan that very question. Initially he said that he IS referring to dollars and cents, but after elaborating on it for quite a while, it doesn’t sound like that really is his emphasis. It’s about knowledge, understanding, and learning. The point is that we do need to make grand sweeping changes, we clearly don’t have the most effective model for education. However, I don’t want us to create a generation of Enron execs and when you make dollars and sense the key end result I think you are leaning in that direction. Don’t get me wrong, I want our kids to achieve all that they can and if possible I want them to all reach upper class economic levels. However, I don’t want it to be at the expense of the community around them. You don’t want the stairway to the top to be lined with the people you’ve stepped on. Nor do I believe that it’s the most effective way to get there.
I can’t find a link right now, but Jeff at One Big Head has spoken on this subject several times and much more eloquently than me.
Here we go, the really important thing is to shift control to the students and to empower them to be self-directed. Can I get an Amen? It’s not about teaching technology skills, it’s about teaching students to teach themselves.
Reflection time is over. Time to do some individual reflecting later.
Thanks Steve! You’ve given me a ton of stuff to digest this evening. I’ve only read this post so far, yet I get the distinct sense that this is the kind of conference I would really, really enjoy! ;O) Enough on that topic though…
Regarding “The World Is Flat…” I went through this stuff in April. Backwards. First, I watched “the movie”. (Freidman does a great job in a speech for Minnesota Public Radio). 1 hour, 30 minutes.
http://minnesota.publicradio.org/radio/features/2005/05/collaboration/ I bought the book. Thick sucker. I changed my mind and opted for the audio book. I’m about 6 hours into 18 hours…can’t say that I’ve come across anything that I didn’t get in the link above.
I don’t want to spin it as a negative…there may be more good content coming down the road with this book, but the “movie” version above will give you a great crash course to get you started on the main idea.
Huge implications for education. Listen closely to the Q&A at the end. ;O)
I almost forgot.
Doc Searls has some “must reads” regarding the flattening as well.
Comments RSS TrackBack Identifier URI
Leave a comment
2 Comments