Where do you think education is headed?

LoveEeyore

I heard a discussion about schools stopping teaching cursive because it's obsolete.  But then I was just thinking when DH travels he sends DD#1 an email each day with a clue about where he is and we try to find him on the globe.  By thetime she gets to school, they won't use globes anymore, will they?  Or dictionaries? 

How are kids going to learn about the world or be passionate about subjects if all education is moving towards e-learning and communication?  Do you think we have more "ADHD" and other "movement disorders" because we're cutting so much recess and moving learning to a sedentary computer-based style?  It sounds dramtic but to me it feels like the ever-so-slightly shifts in education to modernization is bound to the same out come of plate tectonics.  Will we have a bunch of little nerds running around with glasses and wide asses from sitting at the computer?

I worry about this for my kids, and more so, theirs... but do you think education is going that way, or am I off my rocker?

eesome

I completely agree with you, and the more things evolve, the less I like it.

I have a feeling we are going to end up with a bunch of anti-social children (soon to be adults) because they can't even walk across the street to talk to their friends anymore...or pick up a phone for that matter!

They will have worn down fingerprints from texting all day, and absolutely ZERO communication skills. 

I also don't like how things are all computer now. Rarely is anything going to be drawn up on the board or will real handwriting be used. This saddens me. 

People's children will end up with glasses by the age of 4, obese from lack of exercise and won't be able to complete a real sentence. They will only be able to communicate via "text jargon".

Call me old fashioned, but technology scares me.

Court0026

I am a teacher (out on extended leave) and I was shocked to find out how very little they worked on cursive.  It isn't just that it is "obsolete", but also that they are under so many constraints to teach other things.  There "simply" isn't time to teach cursive (in their opinions).  There was still one teacher in our building who wrote a lot in cursive (4th grade) and seemed to care, but the rest did the basic lessons and then continued on as they wanted.  I worked with teachers who did not take the time to let the kids do their own science experiments (even in preparation for the state wide test) and would, instead, stand in front of them and demo the lessons.  Awful.  Really awful.  My job was half push-in (usually with 6 different classrooms) and I saw all kind of awful, lazy and not "best practice" things.  LOTS of expectations for sitting, etc.  I don't know where I am going with this, but I agree with you!  Even as a resource teacher, I had to follow all the same district initiatives for teaching which made no sense.  Weekly/monthly unit (topic) lessons for kids who can't read in 2nd grade?  Really?  I just wanted to be able to do my job and kind of dread going back.

2-Step

I don't know, call me optimistic but I think there are a lot of teachers out there that do a lot more than sit their kids in front of a computer for their lessons. The quality of the education is going to be very dependent on the school district and budget IMO. Most up and coming teachers I know are very interested in using technology to enhance their lessons in really cool ways. I'm not afraid of technology, I think it is an amazing learning tool. A good teacher with good techonology can do amazing things. A bad teacher is a bad teacher period, no matter what tools they have to work with. I think the biggest issue with our education system is apathy. People want it just to work and their kids to learn and blossom and yet they don't want to pass taxes to fund the schools or join the PTA or get directly involved in state education standards planning. There are things we all can do to shape the future of eduction, but most people are really happy to whine about how awful it is, but haven't lifted a finger to do a thing to change it. Not saying this is what you are doing, I'm just commenting on how many people complain and you ask them if they have ever attended a school board meeting and they give you a blank stare.

As for the physical exercise, I agree that it is really sad how much has been cut out of our children's lives in general. It is becoming more the responsibility of the parents to instill in their children the practice of getting physical activity. I would bet that many kids come home from school and sit and watch TV and play video games, when 25 years ago they were outside playing. I think it's a joint effort between parents and educators to prioritize on small budgets and work together.

KathrynMD

Meh - I think education and institutional "schooling" changes all the time. We don't use the same technologies we used in the 1850s or even the 1950s (or 1980s). Do the still have typing classes? Its certainly not a perfect system but I'm not sure what the value of cursive writing is at this point in time?

HSartteach

I'm kind of torn.  I agree with some of it, but yet I contribute to it.  Thanks to many grants, our students will be getting laptops this year.  I am very excited, but cautious.  I think for somethings it will be great.  I plan on using them in my classroom for writing.  I teach art btw.  My students will talk about art history in their writing.  When I do it by hand, I can't always read what they write--their hand writing is atrocious.  I try to use technology in my classroom, but not to the point where it is boring.  They will be able to drop it in my box electronically which is great and will save a ton on paper.

I think as a society we have to teach our children what/when technology is appropriate and when it is not.  Just because we can doesn't me we have to all the time.  I am lucky that my subject is so hands on.

wall0307

fredalina:

2-Step:

I don't know, call me optimistic but I think there are a lot of teachers out there that do a lot more than sit their kids in front of a computer for their lessons. The quality of the education is going to be very dependent on the school district and budget IMO. Most up and coming teachers I know are very interested in using technology to enhance their lessons in really cool ways. I'm not afraid of technology, I think it is an amazing learning tool. A good teacher with good techonology can do amazing things. A bad teacher is a bad teacher period, no matter what tools they have to work with. I think the biggest issue with our education system is apathy. People want it just to work and their kids to learn and blossom and yet they don't want to pass taxes to fund the schools or join the PTA or get directly involved in state education standards planning. There are things we all can do to shape the future of eduction, but most people are really happy to whine about how awful it is, but haven't lifted a finger to do a thing to change it. Not saying this is what you are doing, I'm just commenting on how many people complain and you ask them if they have ever attended a school board meeting and they give you a blank stare.

As for the physical exercise, I agree that it is really sad how much has been cut out of our children's lives in general. It is becoming more the responsibility of the parents to instill in their children the practice of getting physical activity. I would bet that many kids come home from school and sit and watch TV and play video games, when 25 years ago they were outside playing. I think it's a joint effort between parents and educators to prioritize on small budgets and work together.

Sorry, but higher taxes for school funding are NOT the answer.  Adjusted for inflation, we spend 3.71 times more money every year on education compared to the 1960's (over 26 times as much in unadjusted dollars).  You definitely can't say that schools are 4 times as effective today; in fact, they are incremental at best, SAT scores are flat (and down in reading comprehension), and internationally we continue to drop, and drop, and drop.

The answer is not more money.  If it were, i'd be the first person to insist we throw money at it.  But we've thrown money at it for the last several decades, with basically no results whatsoever.  We need REAL reform, not higher taxes.

Teachers aren't plopping students in front of computers during the day.  Most schools do not have enough money to do this .  I'm a teacher (in a great school district), and while I do some activities on the computer, I also do a lot of hands-on activities and group work.  Traditional is not always best.  It's also important to prepare children for the real world, and the real world has computers. 

I do think it's unfortunate physical education, art and music programs are being cut at schools.  I also think parents can and should keep their children active at home.  I'm a parent, and I get it.  I'm tired at the end of the day, but I don't let my son sit in front of the tv. 

I think we are dropping in international rankings, to some extent, because these countries are now placing value on education and spending more money on it.  Most of these countries do not send the majority of their children to school either.  It cost a lot of money to educated special needs children.  I don't think we were doing as good of a job, or educating as many special needs children in the 1960's.

wall0307

I'm not saying it's a perfect system either, but I think the comparisons to other countries are unfair.  We educate at test almost all our children.  Most countries don't do this.  We also didn't do this in the 1960's.  There is a reason education cost more today. 

WiggleBaby

i know everyone is speaking in generalizations, but some schools really are grossly underfunded... like inner city schools.  a friend's mom worked at one, not because she needed to but because she WANTED to and actually commuted into the city just to do it for the good of the children.  that school had nothing, it was so frustrating. 

i agree that the whole system is messed up - we teach to the tests etc - i just wanted to point out that for the funding argument, it is also very unbalanced. 

LoveEeyore

I am excited by this discussion.  As a mother, I want my kids to have the education that will benefit them most in this techno-geared economy and workforce.  But I feel like it is compromising the sensory exploration of the world that seems important to owning what they learn. 

As a child from the midwest whose only exposure to technology as a child was Pitfall and PacMan on Atari, who had a panic attack when her PhD program required email and Blackboard participation, I am glad my kids will be "schooled" in technology.

But as a human who is moved by art and music and remembers using an actual physical card catalogue and the excitement of "getting it" I am maybe nostalgic and wanting my children to take pride in doing and finding and learning on their own.  I am proud and cringe that my 3 yr old asks me to google the questions that I  say I'm not sure on.