Last week in the UK, the government has announced plans to reform education in information technology (IT) in schools. This follows an imminent report to be published soon in which existing education does not fare very well. I read some of the news paper articles and could pick up a feeling of 'boredom' with the ways in which IT is being currently taught. There are complaints about the tutors who often do not inspire their pupils to get interested in what technology (mainly computers, computer programmes) can to for them.
During last week also, other news reported that school children are not happy, again, they get bored easily, they become anxious with the current economic climate. The family home does not seem to be for many a place where anxieties can be soothed or transformed positively into opportunities for learning and sharing life together.
IT education is not and should not be about getting pupils to consume more technology. The government is encouraging collaboration to find ways of motivating pupils to program their own software applications. This is only part of a more comprehensive plan to bring joy back into education. Joy is about discovering who you are and who you can become with appropriate support. Joy is also about recognising other important things in life than preparing ourselves to get a job and get on with plans to grow up and be 'someone'.
IT should be a window (but not the only one) through which pupils discover the world and by doing that they discover themselves. It should not become a communication barrier in the family environment. Yes, the kids are enjoying the latest video games, they all have mobile phones and tablets, they have a computer and they draw and paint fantastic works of art, but they do not talk to their parents as they used to...
There is a deeper problem here. The problem of collective joy. Who does not remember watching a film together at home with siblings. In my house it was me, my brothers and sisters, my parents. My father also took us to watch films at the cinema. He wanted all of us sitting in the same row. Many of these experiences were very joyful. They remind me of me and the family, of the family and me.
I keep encouraging my students to work together, and help each other whenever possible, so if they discover something, they did it together. I hope the UK government and others who are looking at transforming education keep the simple and joyful things that make education worth going for.
1 comment:
Very rightly said.
When you ask someone about his IT skills, he may start counting the technologies like C, Java or other software that he learned and worked with. But what about the basic real education and skills, that makes IT work.
As discussed in one of the earlier blogs (http://proejct-management.blogspot.com/2011/12/it-skills-vs-real-education.html) "Education is the best friend", but the catch here is about the real meaning of education.
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