Guro

In an article by Robert X. Cringely, he points out that the educational institution that we so hold dear is being threatened by today’s generation.

we’ve reached the point in our (disparate) cultural adaptation to computing and communication technology that the younger technical generations are so empowered they are impatient and ready to jettison institutions most of the rest of us tend to think of as essential, central, even immortal. They are ready to dump our schools.

Whilst kids today may not be bold enough to decide and dump schools outright, Cringely pointed out that it is their parents who are ready. This point clearly reflects ours when we decided to dump the traditional schools and opted to sacrifice our time in providing education for our kids – the way we see fit. It may seem hypocritical considering that my wife used to teach in the university and I am still connected with the university, but it isn’t, since it is the basic education that is lagging so much behind that the colleges and universities are now feeling the effects.

In my short stint as a university faculty member, I have handled several batches of students and I can, based on experience, outright say that the quality of each batch is lower than the previous! There are, of course, exceptions to the rule, but in general, the students today do not fare well against the students 2-3 batches before. Nobody is to blame but basic education.

Unfortunately, the structure of the basic education system has remained stagnant despite of advances in technology. Imagine how news is delivered today — from printed dead trees to the radio to the TV and now it is pushed to your computers and mobile phones. How about healthcare – ever heard of 4D ultrasound? And transportation – carriages to automobiles to airplanes and soon, even spacecrafts for inter-planetary travel. And where has education been since? No where, it is still the same! 

It is this very same stagnancy that pushed us to dump the school and let our kids learn using today’s technology and not by some old ways of learning. Just ask this question to a basic ed teacher — how do you use today’s technology in teaching your students? I just hope that you’ll find someone who can give you the answer you are looking for.

[Images by Flickr:Art Poskanzer and Flickr:Menlo School]