During the summer we heard Bill Gates’ plans, and frustrations, and how to improve our schools.
In the new biography Steve Jobs comes across as not a particularly nice person, but the book is an excellent read and he does point out what he thinks is the key to improving education:
“Jobs also attacked America’s education system, saying that it was hopelessy antiquated and crippled by union work rules.
Teachers should be treated as professionals, he said, not as industrial assembly-line workers. ย Principalsย should be able to hire and fire them based on how good they were. Schools should be staying open until at least 6 p.m. and be in session eleven months of the year. ย It was absurd, he added, that American classrooms were still based onย teachersย standing at a board and using textbooks. All books, learning materials, and assessments should be digital and interactive,ย tailoredย to each student and providingย feedbackย in real time”
What do you think?
P.S. ย This 6th grader probably agrees with him!
(Thanks Elizabeth!)
Yes, that is an awesome book. I am reading it now.
I tend to agree with jobs, but I am not sure about 100% digital. We are not all the same, we learn in different ways, I think a balance is better.
I agree that all books, materials… should be digital and interactive as genkienglish is, because if you can see and act you learn better, but it’s very expensive:
a) each child should have a computer and internet in their house.
b) every classroom should have an interactive board, computer and sofwares.
c) In every school should be a person who could mend computers…or understand a little more.
e)And today, european or american countries don’t have money to spend in schools.
f)To be a good teacher it’s a hard job,we have to be studing and researching all the time and children know more than some of us in technology.
But I’m not agree with being at school all day, pupils have parents, and they should spend time with them.
Thank you very much Richard.It’s great to share our thoughts.
Well, I’m not usually a negative person but of course he’s going to say that (All books, learning materials, and assessments should be digital…) because he’s the one who’s selling the digital stuff and is going to get richer because of it!
There is nothing wrong with ‘traditional’ teaching (marker boards, chalk boards, text books, etc) but the best teachers mix their lessons with a variety of methods. It would be a bad path to go down if we eliminate the traditional ways too quickly.
Dillon (Poland)
Yes, good point Dillon. Apple is in the business of new tech and so its only natural that he would like to see a bigger market for his products.
Yes, having digital materials have merit, but I wouldn’t over sell it. I have often been surprised how lessons have gone with almost no materials at all