If You Can't Beat 'Em...

While watching two interesting videos on the past and present states of the education paradigm often made me reflect on my own experiences during my time in different public education systems. Reflecting on the memories I can still remember vividly; most of them have a common thread: some form of technology. I most often remember the videos that were played in class. The whispering rumor about the "Miracle of Life" video that would be played in our next health class. Or the first time I was introduced to computers (outside of playing Solitaire) to learn and identify the geography of the USA.

It was while watching Changing Education Paradigms it dawned on me that while I was a kid in elementary school I searched for a different way to learn about the new culture I was immersed in while learning the proper grammatical features of my L2. The documentary covers the emergence of public education and the state in which it is now. With our society being so heavily reliant on social media and the technology that ties us to it we have begun to exclude the very things that hold our interest from our classrooms. It is notable that the documentary elaborates on the growing rate of stimuli children are confronted with on a daily basis and the direct correlation to the growing rate to ADHD diagnosis.

"We already live in a time of disconnect, where the classroom has stopped reflecting the world outside its walls." Educational Change Challange confronts the great debate on why all students grouped in the same age are supposed to be on the same learning level and are supposed to learn the same way. Incorporating technology in our classrooms and our lessons will help not only make our students excited to learn but also to incorporate what they so often use at home for an educational purpose. Instead of fighting to keep technology outside of our classrooms we need to begin an emphasis on incorporating it. As both documentaries point out; the purpose of an education is to prepare our students for the world outside of it. If the world outside includes many facets of technology, why aren't we incorporating them inside our classrooms?