The Coming Educational Landscape Pt. 2
by max ~ June 10th, 2009. Filed under: Education, Learning.First I recommend you read the previous post on this subject.
Concurrently to that facebook discussion I was having this discussion over Instant Messenger as a result of this tweet: Hypothesis: Future of education is the structure of unschooling combined with resources of a Harvard/Stanford. What do you think?
i find ur stastus interesting
do u mean something like an online school?
11:40am
Max
well I think that’s one model, but it’s not sufficient, face to face is still very important for learning
I’m thinking something more decentralized but in a local area
11:42am
so essentially there are still “schools”
but every school has resources like harvard
?
11:43am
Max
hm, I don’t know if that’s possible, one school will always have more resources. I suppose every school could have what harvard has now, if harvard then had even more…11:45am
Max
but more specifically, what I’m proposing, is that the structure of unschooling combined with resources comparable to that of Harvard is better than what Harvard currently provides. This would create more engaged, and effective people
11:46am
hm
i like your goal for sure
11:48am
Max
And I think many colleges could provide more value by adopting that model, instead of trying to emulate harvard
I sense a ‘but’
11:49am
i cant say but yet, cuz im not totally sure what a more local education would be like
11:49am
Max
I”m actually working on this btw, I’m taking a gap year and working on a startup that aims to foster this , by allowing more young people to actually make big ideas happen, instead of it just being momentary enthusiastic and losing interest.
Entrepreneurship and startups give you the early signal of what it will look like
21st century demands being entrepreneurial in my opinion, that doesn’t necessarily mean starting a business though.
11:51am
Max
ex: Preben Antonsen, close friend who went to Lick, wants to get todays youth more into classical music, so as part of “Formerly known as classical” he organized a concert. That’s entrepreneurial, it’s making things happen and it’s way more empowering than anything that happens in the classroom.
11:55am
another great idea
you always appear on my newsfeed
and sadly
no one else is really enthusiastic or about the world or engaged
Max
at lick that was true
I’ve begun to surround myself with people who are
most of my friends are 21+ now
but it’s small crowd
and I’m lucky to be in SF
[FYI: Lick is the name of the high school we went to]
yeah def
cuz i go to a school where everyone is focused only on one thing [music]
Max
right
do you think solely focusing on one thing is a bad thing
I’m mixed
oh man
so many perspectives
Max
it’s definitely better than not being engaged in anything, which is what most people do,
but I’m not sure if being so narrowly focused is better than being interested in a lot of things
I think doing things in cycles can be effective though
one of my friends always preaches balance to me because he was pretty miserable just focusing on grades and such but when he started to socialize more and pickup other interests he became so much happier with himself
thats one
Max
But even if you’re aiming to optimize for music skill, there’s a good chance maximizing number of hours isn’t the best option
I agree with elements of what Jason said
productivity is a big interest of mine
so I think one very important lessons is adopting a paradigm of energy management not the conventional time management
absolutely
at my school, there are people that practice 0-7 hrs a day
just because you practice 7 hrs doesnt mean you are being productive
Max
one thing that I think made Jason more miserable is focusing on grades, because it’s an artificial construction with little tangible value, — I think focusing on music wouldn’t bring any misery though there would be a longing for variety
thats the problem with parents forcing their child to learn music
and attempting a career
Max
So energy management theory says how much accomplish is directly proportional to how much energy you put into things not how much time, and that resting and recharging is essential for long term progress
so you have to recharge energy, in four distinct categories intellectual, spiritual, emotional, and physical
after learning all these things do you use it in daily life?
Max
yes, not perfectly
but I try
and I’ve definitely seen results
good
wont there be a time where you’ll have to stick to a method
cuz there is always a learning phase
and if you are into productivity
you dont want to keep on relearning things
Max
right
I’m not often learning totally different things
I’m trying to incorporate it into what I already do
and build slowly
I’m curious, what gave the impression that you have to jump around all the time
i wouldnt say “have” to, but there is a ton of information out there
so the option is available
even like a simple task of cooking
with the internet, there are a million different ways to bake cookies
Max
I’m pretty good at getting a sense of what’s worth the time to dive deep into
So yes information overload is something to worry about
but Clay Shirky says, “There is no such thing as information overload, only filter failure”
so it’s a matter of learning how to develop better filters
but i agree that a person must have a “sense” of what will work
right
did you take psychology
Max
not at Lick, but I’ve read a lot of psychology
why do you ask?
jw
what do you think of the god filter
where a person lives by the bible
the christian filter
Max
ha
not a fan or a supporter
I’m an atheist
I think that filter leads to a lot of poor decision making
but not always
it’s not all bad
but has many flaws
what do you think?
ive met some really true christians at my school, and i just think their god limits their life experiences
espeically when they use their religion not to face their fears and challenges
there are so many flaws
but putting myself in their shoes it makes sense
cuz they were raised that way, and their parents have sheltered them, etc.
Max
sure
I think almost all worldviews are internally consistent
my friend wrote a good blog post to this effect: http://andymckenzie.blogspot.com/2009/06/envision-victims-but-no-villians.html
there are no evil people or villians, only misguided people. Everyone thinks they are right.
Self-deception is very easy.
yeah, but sometimes i cannot deny the urge to get pissed off at someone if they do something stupid
while i can have emphaty for someenon, its easy to show emotion
Max
yea, I know what you mean, I was in an atheist rage for a little while after reading a few of the seminal books, like sam harris letter to a Christian Nation, where I wanted to make all the believers see the light
but I’ve realized it’s nearly impossible to change a person who doesn’t want to change — you could try if they are already a close friend AND you have an opening where they express some doubt, but it’s better to just appreciate their virtues and focus on what you do have in common. As long as they aren’t hurting anyone it’s not THAT bad. Though I do agree with Sam Harris that accepting irrationality from religious moderates gives permission for the extremists to exist.
oh, another quote I really like
you can’t convince anyone of anything, you can only give them the information they need to convince themselves
but non-believers are the fastest growing religion I hear
so I think eventually social pressures will force most of them to become more rational
so how focused are you on music?
its def one of my main focuses
the time dedicated to it
etc.
or energy
heh
but it doesnt stop me from exploring other interests
the people who are focused only on music, literally dont do anything else besides eat and poop
they are weird
Max
do they even end up being the best musicians?
and the sad thing is, no famous professional musician had a background like that
12:56 PM
Max
Hmm, do they end up getting a short burst in skill in the short term?
is there at least the appearance of an advantage?
theres another balance a person has to find
like you said
about how efficient the hours put in are
so back to your hypothesis about schooling
one of the things that was great about lick was they emphasized analyzing
which as great
but nothing really came out of it
which is why i like ur idea
like people can sit around debating…
but to fully engage they should probably act on their words
but it takes a certain kind of individual to do that cuz not every kid wants to be proactive
some need to socialize more
Max
yea I agree analyzing was better than nothing
but without the next step it feels hollow and empty
and made me not want to do it anymore, even more so I suspect with other kids
so yes, some kids are innately more proactive
but then that’s the central skill Lick should foster
if they want to achieve what they claim is the central mission of the school
they should be training proactivity not analytical ability
even papers aren’t a bad thing all the time
learning to write is very important
but first of all I don’t even think they taught us how to write, just to write.
The feedback mechanism, which is the essence of good learning, was terrible— wait a few weeks and get some comments
papers should be shared with the world…possibly through blogs and the ideas should be built upon in class, not just read by one teacher and stuck in the trash
essays are where people, allegedly, spent the most time crafting solid ideas, it is highly processed content, these ideas should be built upon, and used as the basis of a plan that is then acted upon
I see
one of lick’s views was that it shows you as much variety as possible
then the student chooses
acting upon a plan would take alot of time
but then again people waste so much time…
Max
the variety model doesn’t work because the school isn’t flexible enough
with scheduling, with changing classes, with deciding a few weeks into it that you want to do something else
most of the curriculum sounded nice on paper, in my opinion
but was very unsatisfying
I agree with the variety, experimentation model
and I have some ideas about how that could be done better
1:19 PM
true
but the school has to create a curriculum for all students proactive or not
Max
Lick does
But learning institutions (of the future) do not necessarily
unschooling does not have curriculum
it can have a little but it is very loose and informal
it seems more of a personal education
Max
that’s would education should be
so instead of a personal education we should be education ourselves for the state?
*raised fist*
*communist salute*
1:27 PM
for the state, or more for self joy
what feels better, watching tony break up with amber on mtv or freakin learning !’
ha
Max
learning makes you more lastingly happy
tv is junk food
and studies show people actually are on average mildly depressed while watching tv
Tv has very similar effects to drugs
it’s fine to do sometimes
and it’s addicting but it’s not very satisfying, over time it will make you depressed and live an uninteresting life
they’ve found one of the best barometers about whether a child will be successful is whether they can delay gratification
cool study
http://www.ted.com/talks/joachim_de_posada_says_don_t_eat_the_marshmallow_yet.html
1:36 PM
so many temptations in this world!
this is hilarious
the people who eat the marshmallows will live the hedonistic lifestyle
—
(more to come)