Watch What the World Would Look Like Without Any Teachers
Imagine a dystopian future in which reading is criminalized. Or a parallel universe in which the end of the human race hinges on the correct answer to a simple math question. Or how about a world in which the U.S. government replaces all teachers with large devices called “Brain Boxes”?
Those scenarios seem far-fetched, but what about a world in which our favorite teachers don’t exist at all?
Earlier this year, Project ED teamed up with Participant Media’s TEACH campaign on “A World Without Teachers,” a contest that challenged filmmakers of all ages to inspire the next generation to become educators. In Oscar-winning director Davis Guggenheim’s initial call for submissions, he asked filmmakers to imagine what a world without educators to spark curiosity, serve as mentors, and develop kids’ creativity and critical thinking would look like.
The competition garnered 62 video submissions that ranged from the absurd to the apocalyptic, from the humorous to the tragic. While you might expect students to rejoice at the possibility of an all-day recess period, submissions from some of the youngest contestants celebrated the important and ongoing legacy of their teachers.
In her untitled contest submission, Savannah Wakefield wondered how different modern art history might be without the existence of the old masters, artists who honed their craft and passed their knowledge and skills on to their apprentices. We wouldn’t have abstract expressionism and impressionism, two styles of art developed by students of art instructors. Where would Claude Monet be, after all, without the direction of his high school art teacher?
Other video submissions veered into the genres of science fiction and fantasy, deploying doomsday scenarios and injecting their stories with magical plot devices.In Derrick Ostalaza’s short film, “World Gone Wrong,” electronic teaching devices called L-Pads replace teachers. While the protagonist of Ostalaza’s film is initially thrilled by the prospect of a homework-free future, he finds that without guidance from educators, the world slowly descends into bleak chaos.
Likewise, in Brett Pokorny’s untitled submission, teachers begin disappearing into thin air any time they try to dole out knowledge to their students. As they gradually vanish, there is no one left in the world to teach us how to ride a bike, drive a car, or do a magic trick.
Or take the winning adult submission, “The Brain Box,” by Miles Horst from Valencia, California. The surreal animated clip imagines a world in which a Brain Box—a device that programs students with information rather than teaching them—replaces schools. Human interaction is traded in for the cold touch of computer coding. Algorithms, it turns out, just can’t kindle the imagination of children like a great teacher can.
Even when these short films make use of humor or harebrained schemes, they remain earnest in their attempts to illustrate a single idea: Our educators are crucial to the strength and empowerment of our communities.
As 17-year-old Fort Mill, South Carolina student Marina Barham noted in her winning video submission, excellent teachers don’t just inform—they inspire, which means L-Pads or Brain Boxes can’t replace them.
Our greatest teachers must struggle, in a society that vastly undervalues them, to shape and illuminate the minds of our future leaders and change makers. A world without teachers is a world without a future—at least, not a future anyone would look forward to living in.Watch What the World Would Look Like Without Any Teachers - Yahoo News: