An individual’s beliefs and values are the main foundations that guide a person to form their own personal interests and knowledge. Depending on the individual, these can vary greatly. Whether you grow up in the inner city, a middle class neighbourhood in the suburbs or a rural area, these values can change and shift greatly depending on different factors. As a teacher we see this on a day-to-day basis with our students. Each child that walks through our doors brings in their own beliefs and values that impact the classroom culture and what we teach in the class. Education is a broad concept that can take many forms, and can alter depending on our students’ needs. In my experience teaching is way more than mathematics and grammar, as it spans across learning social skills, empathy, responsibility and many more topics that are not traditionally viewed as part of institutional learning.

 

In the movie, “Most Likely to Succeed”, they investigate the origins of our preconceived notions about traditional education and where they came from. The basic premise is that our current education system developed during the industrial revolution and despite drastic changes to our society it has remained relatively unchanged up to the present. Although the film is focused on the American school system, the premise is still relevant to the Canadian system.

 

In the film, the students are encouraged to focus on broad topics with endless amounts of content. This brings up the question: what is the end goal of such projects? The film alludes to several possibilities:

 

  • To score high on a standardized test?
  • To all the students to follow their passions and interests?
  • To prepare the students for post secondary school?
  • To prepare them for the work force?

 

On the other side of the coin, teachers from High Tech High focus on encouraging students to do a deep exploration into a specific topic which integrating other subject matter into it. This shift allows the teachers to cover less content (the film suggests an estimate of 40% of the curriculum) but also allows the students to fully investigate the topic at hand.

 

These two stances on education are on different ends of the spectrum and there are possible issues with each. On one hand you have schools that promote memorization and rote learning and do not promote teamwork, problem solving and creativity. On the other hand, you have students who are not traditionally prepared for the standardized tests that will allow them to enter post-secondary schools. This is why it is such an interesting time to be in education. I believe that this is where technology is going to play a greater and greater role in schools. The world’s perceptions of education are shifting and we are the generation of educators that are going to be at the forefront.

 

I look forward to learning more about how technology can be used in meaningful ways in schools. I believe that technology can be used to bridge the gap between schools and families to create learning communities that use collaboration and innovation to shape how we look at education and how it can impact our students in a positive meaningful manor.