We're in the midst of an education paradigm shift. Are you on board? How do you know? More importantly, do you know what's driving it? Knowledge? Technology? The institution itself? We may have as many different definitions of the paradigm as we do of the shift.
I would argue the true paradigm shift is the move of focus from an individual to a communal orientation to society; a global view. This is a challenge in a culture were rugged individualism is a virtue. Our lore and legend are full of examples of strong individuals standing staunchly against adversity: Paul Bunyan, John Henry, Superman, Rambo. Then again our historical heroes are also larger than life: Washington, Lincoln, Patton, MacArthur. They are revered for altering history against all odds. So how did this become our defining ideal, when the earliest settlers focused on the virtue of community? From colonizing in the new world to finding salvation in the afterworld, everything was achieved through communal life. How did we get from The Pilgrim's Progress to Walking Tall? It feels like a shift in paradigm and a paradox; a paradigm-a-dox.
The romantic notion of the rugged individual persisted over time, as pirates, gunslingers, and gangsters were celebrated as daring rogues living by a maverick code. People prided themselves in living within "decent" society, but they were fascinated with the dashing figures living on their own terms outside the law. Even as we moved toward standardization a century ago, people flocked to theaters to cheer on renegade characters portrayed by Edward G. Robinson, Marlon Brando, Clint Eastwood, and Robert De Niro. Individualism
