Q1 2012 Special Report: Campus Infrastructure
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Building on the Bring Your Own Device Revolution
The Fall of the Education Wall
on November 11, 2009
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When I was in high school, I sat in classrooms with the smart kids. When I took physics, there were members of the "Future Teachers of America" present,...
When I was in high school, I sat in classrooms with the smart kids. When I took physics, there were members of the "Future Teachers of America" present, because in order for any of us to get into a decent college, we all had to have a broadband preparation to enable us to choose any future within our capabilities. If there is a wall of education, it is built of bricks that inhibit possibilities, of which our youth become painfully aware when they are called upon to name the little number above and to the right of the big number or letter. The wall was built, brick by brick, by those whose capacities to teach had been progressively weakened until, in order to do it at all, they were required to 'bake' from a recipe. Not all! Just most!
on Nov 17, 2009
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I was in high school when the Berlin Wall fell, and I can hardly believe it has been 20 years. As a kid growing up in middle Tennessee, I didn't have a lot of contact with anyone from a communist country; I just remember hearing they were "bad."
The freedoms we experienced in the U.S. were pipe dreams to those living under communist rule. I cheered loudly when Rocky Balboa beat the Russian in Rocky IV (still the greatest workout soundtrack ever).
But I remember seeing those people atop the Berlin Wall. I remember the smiles and the absolute euphoria being experienced by people who never thought that day would come. I remember that once the first wave of people starting going through the gate, things would change.
In fact, a tidal wave of people and emotions started pouring through. The old ways were gone. It was now up to a new generation of people to experience life and freedom in ways they had only dreamed of.
I sometimes feel like we are standing on the wrong side of the education wall. The wall is too big to climb over, and even if you did succeed, you would be shot with tired, old ideas and traditions that no longer are relevant to today's student.
But I do have hope, and I do have drive and perseverance. Looking back at some old video clips from the fall of the Berlin Wall, that's what I see most: People who tried for years and years to claim a new way of living finally saw the reward.
For education leaders who are trying to break down the "education system" wall, we cannot give up. Perseverance must win out, because the reward of seeing kids learn in a way that makes sense to them will be a great victory. The reward of seeing a tidal wave of innovative schools and student-centered approaches will be priceless.
I ask that you join me as I say, "Mr. Education System, tear down this wall!"
You may use or reference this story with attribution and a link to
http://www.convergemag.com/edtech/The-Fall-of-the-Education-Wall.html
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on Nov 17, 2009
When I was in high school, I sat in classrooms with the smart kids. When I took physics, there were members of the "Future Teachers of America" present, because in order for any of us to get into a decent college, we all had to have a broadband preparation to enable us to choose any future within our capabilities. If there is a wall of education, it is built of bricks that inhibit possibilities, of which our youth become painfully aware when they are called upon to name the little number above and to the right of the big number or letter. The wall was built, brick by brick, by those whose capacities to teach had been progressively weakened until, in order to do it at all, they were required to 'bake' from a recipe. Not all! Just most!
