A week or so ago I commented on the “education” chapter in What would Google do (Jarvis). After generating this post, Cindy and were listening to TWIT podcasts (This Week in Tech) while driving to and from Minneapolis and the guests on one of the podcasts (TWIT 197) included Don Tapscott (Growing Up Digital; Grown Up Digital; Wikinomics) and Jeff Jarvis (What would Google do?). These are very interesting books (and authors) and I would recommend them all. I would encourage you to listen to this podcast. You can just use the link I provide if you would rather not subscribe using iTunes. The entire episode does not address education, but tech types will likely not mind.
When people outside a field tell those within a field what is necessary for improvement, I assume there is often a sense of frustration among the “insiders”. Serious professionals usually have strong opinions about the practice of their profession and these opinions often include both positives and negatives. However, when outsiders take the position that your profession is a lost cause the reaction is likely to be one of bemusement.
A few bemused comments:
a) Educational institutions cannot be innovative? My initial reaction was that such a position could not possibly be further from the truth. Research is pretty much equivalent to innovation and many researchers supported by institutions of higher education can pursue innovation without regard for whether the developments can be monetized. We are cheap in comparison to the private sector and spend time on long term goals. We also share our results for free (if you read the research literature). Then, I decided the concern for the lack of innovation was intended as a focused criticism of teaching/learning? Perhaps, but ….
b) Educational innovation requires an active “learner”. Jeff Jarvis brought his son to the program. His son, a high school junior, develops apps for Facebook as a sideline .. The anecdotal approach to argument is unsuited to logical thinking in the social sciences. Yes, Bill Gates did not graduate from college. Yes, the same was true of the Google guys and Steve Jobs. It may be relevant to note these folks dropped out of Harvard, Stanford, etc. and worked with faculty members while in attendance and afterward. If we were talking about professional basketball and inner city kids, how would the reaction go? Don’t be a fool, finish school! Consider the reaction to a proposal that anyone over 6’6” ditch classes and spend more time working on his cross-over. Visionary? Follow your passion? Or perhaps, this advice only works for those interested in tech. How many can make it in either of these fields without advanced and general training? Does the fact that a very gifted individual who has already had many unique opportunities (e.g., the younger Jarvis, with mentor parents, a summer at MIT, etc.) and can presently make some money offer a model for most high school students? How much time has this adolescent invested (see Outliers for a discussion of the 10,000 hours and the story of Bill Gates)? So – pick an area in which you think you have talent and spend 10,000 hours. Too many wannabe actors waiting tables already.
c) Opportunities for innovative experiences are not available in higher education? Nonsense – we have experiential courses (field based), individual readings, research, etc. We have equipment to share, work Saturdays, etc. – what more could you want. Often, these pursuits can be lonely for us. If you find a connection and are willing to invest the time, we are thrilled by the opportunity to share our interests and our time. The IF thing here is important – if you are starting from scratch, you have very little to offer to this process. We will likely find something for you to do, but few stick with repetitive low level tasks for long. The general courses are a way to acquire the background and are an efficient way for both the student and the institution. The TWIT conversation and many reformers seem to ignore the money thing. Jarvis, in his book, seems to assume that we find mentors online. I will stick with higher education until I see proof that there are enough freebie mentors out there willing to meet the educational needs of the masses.
Making it in the NBA is a long shot. What do you think the odds are of any given HS student working in her garage becoming the next Bill Gates?
