Changing Paradigms

This is a video entitled Changing Paradigms. The "changing paradigms" being referred to are related to education. The first thing I did after watching the video was to find the exact definition of the word "paradigm." According to Dictionary.com, a paradigm is "a set of assumptions, concepts, values, and practices that constitutes a way of viewing a reality for the community that shares them." So, in this case, we are talking about how the community views education. Here are some of the main points of the video:

• We need to do much more in education than is currently happening
• Every nation in the world is reforming public education. The major difference from past reforms is that they are doing it consistently and systematically.
• Reforms ae occurring for two main reasons - economic and cultural. How do we get our children to take their place in the 21st century? How do we pass on our cultural genes to the community while joining globalization?
• The problem is that people are operating on the premise that to reform education is to simply make it a better version from what it was - to improve on what is already there.
• What really needs to happen is a major overhaul - going fom an industrial model to an organic one.
• Industrial ---------> Organic

utililty --> vitality

linearity --> creativity

conformity --> diversity

standardization --> customization

I thought that this video was very informative. Most people that speak about educational reform are always suggesting legislations, new curricula, more resources, etc. One really doesn't hear anyone talk about the fact that education itself has to be completely restructured. What students need in the 21st century is very different from what they needed in the 20th century. This is not to say that there aren't some common strands that still need to be taught - of course there are. But, they can be approached in much different ways.

If you are a teacher, I hope this video and my post makes you think about how you run your classroom. Are you preparing your students to succeed in the 21st century?