Monday, October 8, 2012

The Face of Education Today

What does education look like today? Does it match what is expected in the real world?
"We are so trapped in the memory of what school was like for us. When we were students, the world outside of school looked like the world inside of school. Now, it does not. The paper based system does not make any sense to kids who are coming up in school. Is our educational system geared toward innovation? Do we want an 18th century model or a 21st century model for our schools?" - Susan Patrick U.S. Dept of Ed.
Though I would not agree with many things that Ms. Patrick would say, I do agree that we need to give our children an education that is geared toward real life. It is true for many of our public schools are modeled after what education looked like when we were young. Yet, educational methodology should be changing to represent the changes in our culture, but so often we are late to incorporate this change in our government schools. Understandably, the vastness of the infrastructure prevents constant change, but this is the problem. The change belongs to the medium in which the education is given - the knowledge itself does not change except to grow and improve in its breadth as more discoveries are made.
Homeschool families tend to adapt their education to model a real world example, and I applaud the many homeschool families that are embracing technology as a day to day integral part of their homeschool. With the path that our society and culture is taking, this new method of education models the real world. Online curriculum, tools, and resources that educate through technology are the 21st century model of education, and one I believe most families are ready and willing to embrace. To accomplish this, adapting our methods of education to model the real world must become a necessary part of daily education. This can be done by adding technology to the training we give our children. There are many wonderful sites available on the internet today to make this a reality. From public education to private to homeschooling - education must be geared to model, train, and prepare students to function well in the future.

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