Needed: A New Model for Public Education

It’s possible to streamline learning and improve teachers’ salaries without raising taxes

Two thousand years ago, somebody (like the future Alexander the Great) who wanted to learn from a famous philosopher (like Aristotle) had to visit him in person, or vice versa. Written correspondence was of course possible, but every letter had to be written by hand, and it could take months to reach its destination. It was hardly possible to have an ongoing, two-way exchange of ideas under these conditions.

With the invention of the printing press, it became possible for one teacher’s ideas to reach hundreds or thousands of students, and the mass production of books increased literacy rates enormously. Today, using the Internet to eliminate much of the traditional, but previously unavoidable, built-in waste of our traditional educational system is simply the next step in the evolution of information science.

…

Want to continue?

By logging in you agree to receive communication from Quality Digest. Privacy Policy.

Create a FREE account

Forgot My Password

Comments

Not quite a solution....

In concept i agree with your assessment. Find the best solution for everyone and dont cut corners.

HOWEVER, i believe a virtual only education cuts some significant corners. While the technology certainly exits to do all the things you mentioned, there is still some things missing. There is the personal interactions and socialization that comes with a scholl that would be missed with a virtual solution. additionally, the technology to FULLY replicate experiments would be (at least for know) more costly than the real experiments. For example, you mentioned a virtual disection of a frog. while there are certainly computer based simulations for what is inside of a frog, the actual variety of frog-to-frog, the textures of different "frog parts", the tactile touch to examine, the development of the fine motor skills to disect without damage, even the smell are things that are not represented by a virtual simulation. while the technology may exist, it is certainly far more expensive per student, than a modestly equiped biology lab.

If the solution is to use the virtual envirnoment to suplement parents to educate the local children, what is the economic impact of multiple earing familes now not multiple earning to support the local home school? havent we just traded teaching duties to parents who may or may not be qualified to educate topics? how are parents assessed to be qualified? if they aren't then what? for example: a musically illiterate father has a daughter that is musically gifted, how does he educate her when the only source is virtual? or perhaps a mathematically challenged mother has a mathematically gifted son, how does she answer calculus questions for her son? certainly the children can look up answers, but will again lose the personal interaction and not be able to practice teh skill to apporach a living person, begin a discussion, discuss an issue, and then reach a conclusion.

I would propose that the benefits (e.g. VALUE) presented by in-person schooling is the practice for the social interactions extremely necessary for proper development.

this response to your atricle is another example. this would be the quality of discussion a virtual education would support. the cost of the computer, internet connection, electricity, etc. all added up make this a very expensive proposition. talking to you in the same room: free.

just my 2 cents.

Here, here!

“I would propose that the benefits (e.g. VALUE) presented by in-person schooling is the practice for the social interactions extremely necessary for proper development.”

Thank you, RAJOHNSON.