Can you imagine how we would live without technology? Live
by writing letters and sending messages through people? That’s how people used
to live. People used to need to know how to write, read and do simple math like
multiplication, subtraction, addition, and division. Children nowadays, are
learning the same way. But is it the best method for learning? Some, like
Sugata Mitra, believe it is outdated. They don’t believe it is needed anymore.
Children who are less fortunate, and with less opportunities
than others often do not succeed as much as children who go to school and have support
and education. But is it because they can’t learn or simply do not have the
skills or support needed to flourish.
What I found interesting was Dr. Mitra’s findings about the
necessity of schools. I never thought of schools becoming unnecessary and
eventually…just gone. Dr. Mitra gave children in less fortunate parts of the
world, a computer. What he really gave them was an opportunity. They were able
to learn when they were not in a classroom. They learned about neurons and
science and things children well older than they were learning in schools. A
question he then posed was what is the point of schools? Are we evolving into a
generation that does not need teachers and schools when we can use a computer? We
can learn everything students are in a span of two minutes with a computer.
What really stuck with me was when Dr. Mitra talked about
letting learning happen instead of forcing it. That is absolutely what
educators and schools should be focusing on. Children do not learn when they
are forced and/or threatened. Learning needs to change from children being forced
to learn and punished, to a pleasurable experience.
Laws, fads, and people change over the years but the school
system rarely does. Children are different now than they were when the school
system was created. They cannot be expected to learn the same way children in
previous generations have. Technology is a thing of the future, and educators
are facilitators of future learning.
