I cannot tell you who wrote this passage; I'm sorry. I have obviously cut and pasted it from somewhere but I didn't copy and paste the source. If you don't know who Rip Van Winkle is, Google the name...
The computer and the internet's evolution these past few years have been staggeringly fast. A computer that used to fill an entire building in 1965 has about the same computing power as a modern-day cellphone. Most of the popular forms of media like TV, radio, and print are slowly being nudged from their pedestal by the internet. Everything seems to have changed drastically these couple of years, and this includes the K-12 education system.
Some say that this change has been a long time coming. There is an analogy that uses fairy tale character Rip van Winkle to describe this; Rip van Winkle has just woken up from his hundred year slumber and stares in amazement about how much everything has changed in the time that he was asleep, he almost did not recognize anything, until he went into a classroom. Rip van Winkle recognized immediately that it was a classroom because nothing much has changed in the K-12 educational system since he fell asleep in 1906.
Thankfully, educators are starting to change with the times. The trend in K-12 education these days is that learning institutions should try their best to keep up with the recent advances in technology to better teach their students.
Another thing to ponder:
Peter Mansbridge's Thoughts on Ontario Teachers
Please understand, I do not mean to be getting political. My point isn't that this award-winning journalist supports Ontario teachers. It was to my amazement that Peter Mansbridge didn't finish high school. Let's just be clear - Wikipedia states this about him:Peter Mansbridge, OC (born July 6, 1948), an English-Canadian broadcaster and news anchor. He is chief correspondent for CBC News and anchor of The National, CBC Television's flagship nightly newscast. Mansbridge has received many awards and accolades for his journalistic work including an honorary doctorate from Mount Allison University where he is serving as chancellor until December 2017.[2]
This man is incredibly smart - but he didn't finish high school. At least not the first time he went through. He joined the Navy and then finished high school. My point (and I do have one) is that this man didn't fit the education mold that we try to push all young people through. He quit school, but he didn't let that stop him with his ambitions.
If you sometimes wonder if you 'fit' in at school - please remember this: we have an institution that is more of a, "one size fits all" model. Your worth as a person is not measured by your academic success. Your academic success is measured by your academic success. That's it. Am I saying to quit school and join the Navy? No. What you are learning by staying in school might not be calculus (my nemesis), but perseverance, commitment and 'grit'. Mansbridge did quit school but he then joined the Navy, not sat around in a dark basement playing Grand Theft Auto. Let me be clear about that.
If your dreams don't seem to be in line with your schooling right now, hang in there. Live in the moment of each and every lesson and think, "What could I be learning from this experience?" Sometimes it might only be patience while your science teacher drones on about molecules and changes of state. Keep an eye on your dreams and build a road map to get there. Start right now. The education system is changing, but I guarantee not as fast as you are ready for it.
