Paradigm Shifting

The elephant in the room for education is the degree to which the majority of teachers and administrators believe that slow and steady can continue to be the pace at which educational change can be embraced.

All around the web there are dramatic examples of rich, amazing educational experiences that leverage the power of 21st century learning skills.

Sadly though, examples of these occurring in traditional brick and mortar schools are extremely rare.

My theory is that 20 years of standardization has made administrators and teachers wary of any instructional approach that does not have the teacher firmly at the center of the learning experience. Using the reap what you sow model, it should not surprise anyone that students are less engaged than ever under this paradigm of instruction. Information has been liberated by the internet. So, why do we (educators) still treat it like a finite commodity which must be parceled out to students in measured, uniform doses?

True educational reform will start when education ceases to be something we 'do' to students during the 7.5 hours they are in a building each day.