Mr. Burnett began the session by describing how much our world has changed in recent years. He then shocked participants by telling us about the technology of our near future, including the Internet of Things that has gained a lot of traction in the last couple of years. The point of his introductory remarks was to remind teachers that our system has not changed along with society. The needs, he said, are different, but we are still teaching the same content and using the same methods.
Much of what Burnett presented has been said before, and while I agree for the most part, I can't help but continue to ask my question: how has technology advanced at such a pace in spite of our outdated education system? Could it be that our system has allowed and promoted those adancements? And if so, should it be changed? I'm constantly reminded that there should be balance in our processes - that there is a need for tradition and algorythm, while at the same time, there are also advancements and new tools that we need to be using.
Mr. Burnett, in his Australian accent, shared the age-old information that we should teach, in the early years, using the natural language of students rather than the symbolic language of arithmetic. Again, there is nothing new in the information here, but I did receive some affirmation that the questions I ask - very simple questions - are on track.
What do you notice? | How do you know? |