Global Education: PDK Seminar I

Tonight I attended the first in a series of seminars in Global Education presented by PDK under the theme "Looking out to join in". Here is a somewhat disjointed summary and reflection on what I heard.

Our speaker began by sharing some quotes from some famous people to humble those of us who would think too highly of our educational system:

"The only time my education was interrupted was when I was in school" -George Bernard Shaw

The question we should ask as educators is "what knowledge is worth the most?"

As we look around the world, most countries are in the process of reforming their educational systems.

Current models of education:
China - knowledge centered, decentralized, discipline based, outcome oriented
US - child centered, decentralized, activity based, process oriented

But now they are copying each other. China wants everything American. US looks at China's superb standardized test scores and is quaking with fear for being overtaken.

What's going on?

This is a question I've been asking myself in my courses at OISE where I'm constantly encouraged to adopt the model that is process oriented and accommodating to students needs rather than a strict and rigid outcome orientation. I've wondered, if the strict discipline approach seems to work so well in other countries, why are we avoiding that here? How are we preparing our students for "real life" when we are constantly accommodating special needs and learning styles?

Our speaker suggested that we should not be looking at the standardized test scores to see how we are stacking up. He pointed out that despite the lower apparent achievement of US students, the bulk of the patents in the world are still being granted to US based researchers. He suggested that facts and figures and knowledge are not the keys to the world our students will be entering.

Technology redefines Talent

In 1859, a students typical course load consisted of Latin, Greek, Theology, Religion, and Grammar. Around this time, Herbert Spencer suggested Math and Science be introduced to the curriculum because these were important skills for the industrial revolution. What about Today? We are faced with a new revolution in the form of globalization and information (internet) promulgation. What skills are relevant to the world our students are entering?

Tomorrows world is characterized by:
-Globalization
-Social Inequality
-Global Consumerism (including cultural exports)

Our students are affected by global forces, cultural clashes, different value systems, but they need to be prepared to compete and be globally employable.

Standardization in schools (such as the recent US reforms) is killing unique talents that are marketable in the global economy. Yet in North America we seem to be racing to catch up to the past.

We are moving from an Information Age to a Conceptual Age
-sequential to simultaneous
-factual to creative

The line between "real life" and online virtual worlds is increasingly becoming blurred. There are already "sweatshops" popping up in which third world youth are put in front of video game consoles to win virtual loot that can be sold to western gamers for real cash. There are law suits in real courts examining the legal status of virtual property (ex. in Second Life). Students need to be trained to be good Global Citizens as well as good Digital Citizens.

At this seminar, I had the opportunity to evaluate some of my attitudes and assumptions about the role of teaching in our society. I have been reassured that a focus on creativity and understanding instead of facts and figures is the right way to go even if quantity of material is sacrificed. I have had to consider the world as it will look in twenty years. Although I am young myself, I am not very familiar with the social dimension of the internet and all of the ramifications it presents to the role of education. Should I join Second Life just to stay in touch with the virtual world my students are increasingly occupying? Humph ... I just don't have time for that!