How New Technologies Can End Age-Graded Schools (Part 3)
Using high-tech devices smartly can customize the age-graded school out of existence. But it won’t happen.
Nowhere in Parts 1 and 2 on age-graded schools did I mention the uses of technology. I have claimed in those two posts that, first, as a mid-19th century reform the K-12 organization has been a resounding success. It is the model for school organization here and abroad; its longevity as a reform is unchallenged. Second, while efforts to ungrade schools with teams of teachers leading multi-age classrooms have appeared from time to time, they have never seriously challenged the dominance of age-graded schools.
So what about high-tech as the vehicle for upending the age-graded school? Why not replace self-contained
