Terrifying Post On the Computerized Learning Future from a Teacher From a Southern State
I was recently at a training where the state superintendent of education .........., was speaking to the......... county teachers. She began her speech with trying to inspire and motivate us to prepare the students for the future they will be entering into.(last I checked the students I'm teaching create the future. There isn't a predetermined future we are streamlining students into) "There is a hotel completely run by robots," she said and "there will soon be driverless cars" she also told a "cute" little story about the time when operators were no longer needed in elevators because of inventions and technological advancements!!!!!!
She then switched gears and began saying that it is of the utmost importance that we move in the direction of standards mastery education(computer based learning) instead of the regular grade progression we are implementing now.
It was at that point that I walked to the front of the auditorium, raised my hand was called upon and asked June, "is what you are telling us is that we are preparing our students to enter into a future where there are no longer jobs for our students, there will no longer be a need for educators as well?" She gave me a political response stating something along the lines of if I stay for the remainder of her speech, that is not the case....I walked out.
I now have a formal letter in my file for my behavior and was told I have lost my credibility as an educator for doing what I did. And my administrators told me that I would be upset if any of my students did what I did. Mind you, I teach social studies and constantly encourage my students to ask questionsWith A Brooklyn Accent: Terrifying Post On the Computerized Learning Future from a Teacher From a Southern State:
Computerized Learning ; A Great Strategy for Undermining Resistance in the "21st Century Labor Force"
As School Reformers unveil their new strategy for public education, which involves having children sitting in front of computer terminals all day, where their progress in various subjects can be monitored on line in daily assessments, I ask myself this question:
Is any elite private school in the country switching to this model?
The answer to this question, of course is no. Those schools continue to have small classes, much direct interaction between student and teachers, students and students, as well as a great many opportunities for group activities
Then I ask myself, why are students in public schools, most of whom are working class, middle class or poor, being forced fed individualized computer driven instruction with little opportunity for interaction and discussion, while wealthy students get the opposite?
The answer seems clear;Our elites want a compliant, atomized labor force that has little experience with any form of discussion that might lead to resistance.
Lets be blunt, children brought up separated from one another in school, almost entirely free of opportunities to influence one