Monday, September 1, 2014
21 Century Education, Why are we not there yet?
Why are we still struggling 21c pedagogy?
We are 14 years into the 21century and we are still struggling with the 21c pedagogy concept. Why?
It seems simple, as a matter of fact, it is so simple that Socrates was engaging in the practice 2300 years ago.
Here is why I think it is so simple and it stems from a simple quote that Socrates so eloquently articulated a very long time ago.
He said, "I cannot teach anyone anything, I can only make them think."
Wow, do you not see how this perfectly describes our current reality? If we think we can teach people things, think again with exponential growth happening all around us it is impossible for one person to be current.
With the use of a few search engines you can get the answer to almost any question you have. Educator's role is to help individuals sort through all the fluff and find the useful information.
At the end of the search you will find a lot of valuable information and now the thinking comes into play. What can you do with all the information that one finds?
The most important part of education now happens when you take all the information you found and use your imagination to create something new from what you found.
The role of 21c education is not to impart knowledge, but to ignite thought. If, Socrates, Plato, Aristotle and the rest of the crew were able to engage in 21C learning over 2000 years ago let's take a page out of the Republic and replicate it today.
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I said it once, and I'll say it again: I'm so happy that your blog is featuring more of your thoughts Mario. I love our conversations, debates, disagreements, jousts about learning. I like that we now have another medium in which to chat.
ReplyDeleteIn terms of 21C... I can't wait for the day that the name dies. I can't wait for the day that we just call it learning. Progress is a natural part of the world around us; learning and education should not be exceptions to this rule. In fact, they should be paving the road for everyone to follow.
The more professional writing, reading and conversations (face to face and through social media channels) that educators can find the time to engage in, the better off that we are as a profession. I've seen first hand how contagious progress can be when done right. It engages and excites. It stokes the passion fire.
Your blog, Mario, is powerful kindling for this fire. Keep it coming.
Much food for thought in your post Mario! Thanks. My daughter who is in grade 5, came home the other day with spelling homework. SPELLING!!!! "Copy each word 3times and use each word in a sentence". AHHH!!! Unfortunately, there are still far too many teachers in the system that consider this futile exercise to be "learning". I echo Stepan's sentiment when he says he can't wait for the day when 21C is just called learning. Sadly, I fear that day is still far,far away!
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