I don't know what Einstein had in mind when he said this, but I like to believe that he'd apply it to our initiative and content-laden
curriculum:
"Any intelligent fool can make things bigger and more complex... It takes a touch of genius and a lot of courage to move in the opposite direction."
I have the nagging feeling that we are getting the cart before the horse when it comes to technology in schools.
In the attempt to provoke dialogue (and perhaps healthy debate), I propose that our academic curriculum is too heavy with content (facts and isolated skills) and, hence, burdened with its preparation, dissemination, assessment and reporting & recording. This type of content can be more easily managed and quantified, of course. And, while it is absolutely correct for teachers to prepare, disseminate, assess and record & report student work I put forth that we move away from a content-based curriculum to the skills and applications which empower problem-solving. It is a deeper, more complete curriculum in terms of building the scaffolding for the infinite (and growing) amount of content now available
My professional (as a veteran teacher) and personal (as a student, parent and lifelong learner) opinion is that kids in school are learning to follow directions and not how to follow a procedure to solve a problem (with the exception of how to do "problem 42 on page 342"). The world today is full of examples of short-sighted solutions to problems which end up creating even bigger ones. We should be preparing kids to:
* define a problem
* make a plan to deal with it
* execute the plan
* evaluate its efficacy.
* propose a new plan if the problem wasn't adequately reconciled (be open to making a mistake and then learning from it).
Technology is made to do just this sort of thing. The research, collaboration, communication and presentation skills necessary to do the above are inherent in today's technology (which is more comprehensive, powerful and portable than ever). Facts and figures are readily available on the web. The web is universally accessible.
Therefore, content is at our fingertips.
(The Khan Academy has put our current paradigm of classroom instruction in serious question. We are being outplayed at our own
game.)
What will separate our students from the rest in the next ten years?
It will be our instruction. If we continue in the current paradigm, we will produce students that are, perhaps, the best and brightest at following directions. If schools are making the commitment to take the 21st century steps to incorporate technology then we should be taking the steps to align our curriculum to prepare our students to solve 21st century issues.
The Ivy League is not the only answer for our best and brightest:
Getting the Right Answer isn't the answer:
Depth not breadth
It's time for Rubicon Atlas to shrug
Thoughts?
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