Our current education system is like a huge factory. Students are grouped together by their age and are pumped through the exact same classes, and learning is generally confined to the classroom. Although this has some benefits such as it being relatively simple to teach the same content year after year to student after student, and this system worked great during the industrial revolution to train people to work in large factories. I believe this system is outdated.
I would think that a great deal of us have seen this video which explains this issue very well.
How can we fix this, and what does it look like? I don’t have all the answers but I think that this video I came upon helps point to the right direction.
The video talks about taking education and sharing it online so much more people can have access to it, -and even more importantly- making it individualized for each student. After all, we are teaching individuals, so why is the education they receive individualized? This idea is awesome and it baffles me that our education system is the way it is. Now I understand that it would be difficult to change the way our education system is. After all it would probably be a bit expensive, and difficult to create a system where students are allowed to study what they want and even more difficult to assess on the large scale. But is that really what education is all about? Easily assessing and grouping, and keeping it cheap? I think not, but my hopes are high for the future. Some great things are happening with education through the internet.
We now have MOOCs, (which I had no idea even existed before taking this ECMP 355 course), and more people are becoming aware of the need for change. This begs the question, what will happen to regular old teachers like us? I think the part of the answer is that we should be on the forefront of this change. How does it look though, and how can our voices be heard. How can we change this system.
Even though I am new to the education program (it’s my first year at the University of Regina), I see the need for change and I am thirsty for it. I want to see an education system where students are encouraged and empowered to find and follow their passions. I want to see an education system where our students’ future do not hinge on a test score or a final grade that is determined by bits of information that they remember. I realize it’s not all bad and that progress is being made… I guess I just want to see more.
I am curious to hear other peoples opinions on this and started following the hashtag #edrevolution, and #edchat is another good one to follow as well.
Benjamin Ironstand 