I thought about the parallels of the rise and fall of the
compact disc to education. The compact
disc was a way for the world to hear music.
Music was as popular before the compact disc as it is now, but the
compact disc changed how we can hear it.
MP3s, ITunes, and digital media have both changed and enhanced how we
hear music again. Is the same not true
for education? The acquisition of
knowledge and learning in general has always been the goal in education,
however educational innovations and trends that come and go allow us to enhance
learning and increase the ability to enable children to think critically. The challenge for schools is to recognize
when an innovation or new idea may not be new anymore. Educators must see the new innovations that
enhance learning as they come out. We
don’t want out educators to still be listening solely to Discmans when and IPod can
provide so much more. With this in mind, there is still a lot of good music that 1 can listen to on a Discman.
At Unity Christian School this year, we have had 2
professional development days that have focused on 21st Century
Learning. SCSBCs 2 learning leaders,
Greg Gerber and Darren Spyksma each spent a day with our staff sharing new
innovations in learning. Greg was able
to focus more on the technology end of educational innovation, giving staff web
based tools to assist in good pedagogy.
Darren was able to focus on the structure of a classroom, sharing with staff
opportunities for hands on and student centered learning. Darren was able to draw from experience and
provide many examples on how collaborative learning can help grow a school
culture of innovative young minds. All
staff at Unity Christian School were challenged to build on their already
excellent teaching in new and innovative ways.
All staff at Unity were challenged to keep their Discman but embrace the
IPod.
In 1762, philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau argued that,
“reading is the plague of childhood”. Rousseau’s thesis was that children under
the age of 12 need to explore and experience the world themselves before
reading about it. Rousseau wrote, “Books
are good only for learning about babble about what one does not know. I am convinced that in matters of
observation, one must not read, one must see”.
Rousseau recommended that books should be avoided completely until
children were 12 years old, so that children could have the opportunity to
explore, interact, discover, and be adventurers of the world. Fear not, we don’t subscribe to Rousseau’s
“no books” philosophy. Books are an integral part of education and this should never be lost. However, as a
Christian School, we do want our students to recognize and appreciate God’s
sovereignty over His beautifully created world as our students head out to explore,
interact, have adventures, and discover.
In combining solid classroom instruction and the acquisition of
knowledge through experience and adventure, it is our goal to help our students
recognize their God-given gifts, see their calling, and enable them to join in
the work of building the Kingdom of God.
Before I retire, MP3s and IPods will be dated
technology. Some new way of accessing
media, likely all cloud based, will take over.
Before I retire, research based innovations on how students will best learn
will change as well. At Unity Christian
School, we want to use experts, research, and ongoing professional development
to stay on the cusp of helping all students reach their God-given potential.
