Morgan Bayda

An Open Letter to Educators Video:


In the video above, Dan Brown confronts the issue of education. He talks about his thoughts and ultimately his decision to drop out of college because "his schooling was interfering with his education". Education has been grounded into the heads of every student that is an essential need, but what does it mean to receive an education exactly? Because education has become institutionalized, we follow a very structured system. Even down to how classrooms function, especially at the university level. The professor feeds the paying students information, they write down the facts, the memorize the notes to be tested on an exam. Receiving an education used to mean following this schooling plan that has been used for hundreds of years, but in the Information Age, the meaning of receiving an education will have to change.

Technology advancements are becoming more and more widespread and information is free. This liberation of information through the internet makes the concept of paying hundreds of dollars for textbook seem a bit senseless(especially when they are rarely used--ask any college student). This is why the exaggerated concept of "school is interfering with education" has emerged. Society has to change and accept that the same model of schooling that has been used for hundreds of years is not longer valid.

Sitting through hundreds of hours of lectures over the past 4 years of college, I understand why one would question what exactly we're gaining from this traditional model of "education" society has instilled on us. I always take notes in every class I attend, but half of the time I'm thinking about all the things I need to get done for the day. The rest of the time I'm contemplating what I'm going to eat for lunch. I don't have A.D.D. or A.D.H.D., I just get bored during lectures on Shakespeare, Med evil Literature, and my other upper level classes. It isn't that I don't gain anything from the material or that I am uninterested, but sometimes it's hard to have an active brain sitting through lecture after lecture.

Education has not been re-invented yet, at least not in my experience either, but I do think we are beginning to make strides in the right direction.Education during the Information Age will become more individualized I think. Information through the internet will be utilized as well as student networking too. By utilizing blogging, and networking with other students, this information being thrown at us seems more relevant way to learn.

Society HAS lost site of what education is. It is supposed to provoke creativity in order for us to change the world, not make us contemplate our insanity every time we enter a lecture hall. Educators need to keep in mind that how we gain information is changing, thus there needs to be a change in the way we teach. I guess Einstein said it best:

"Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results."-Albert Einstein