The Future of Education
The artifact I’ve chosen for my second reflection is the parallel text presentation I made on Friday, December 6th, 2019. In the presentation (at the bottom of this web page) I talked about Albuquerque Public Schools’ Profile of a Graduate (P.O.G.). Districts adopting a P.O.G. is something I’m familiar with since my former district did the same thing a few years ago. In fact, my former superintendent, Dr. James Neihof, participated in a webinar with Ted Dintersmith and others to talk about the profile.
In truth, it’s something I read about in a book by Ted Dintersmith that I want to reflect on. In What School Could Be, Dintersmith paints a stark picture of the future, where artificial intelligence (A.I.) and machine technology are replacing human workers to catastrophic economic degrees. While not everyone may agree with Ted Dintersmith, the fact remains that technology is impacting our society in new and unpredictable ways. Sugata Mitra and Kai-Fu Lee don’t mince words when they explain how serious the situation is regarding technology and the future, especially when it comes to A.I. The kinds of jobs that will be available in the near future are about to undergo a sea-change. Let me give you an example. Truck driving is a field that many unskilled laborers turn to to earn a decent living. I have at least one former student who does this work. However, there are currently more companies than you might believe working to build vehicles that will drive themselves. The technology already exists. It’s just a matter of time before humans no longer drive themselves. Goodbye Uber drivers; we hardly knew ye.
Vehicles won’t be the only area impacted by technology. I already drive out of the way to go to a grocery store where I can scan and bag my own groceries as I shop. I don’t have to talk to anyone at all. Robots could be stocking the shelves for all I care. The point is that we are living in a liminal time. It’s not even difficult to see. We are racing ahead technologically while simultaneously trying to hold onto the past. The problem is that many educators don’t seem to be doing anything to address the issue. So many teachers and teacher educators are still teaching and training pre-service teachers with outdated pedagogical practices because they lack a better model.
I quit my job to become a teacher educator because I can see these problems. I can see them like Sarah Connor in Terminator 2: Judgement Day could see the end of the world as she knew it. Just like Sarah Connor, I am freaking out about it. This is why I want to be a teacher educator. I want to teach future teachers how to incorporate the types of skills featured on profiles and portraits of graduates into their pedagogy so that their students are not robbed of a future before they even get there.
In truth, it’s something I read about in a book by Ted Dintersmith that I want to reflect on. In What School Could Be, Dintersmith paints a stark picture of the future, where artificial intelligence (A.I.) and machine technology are replacing human workers to catastrophic economic degrees. While not everyone may agree with Ted Dintersmith, the fact remains that technology is impacting our society in new and unpredictable ways. Sugata Mitra and Kai-Fu Lee don’t mince words when they explain how serious the situation is regarding technology and the future, especially when it comes to A.I. The kinds of jobs that will be available in the near future are about to undergo a sea-change. Let me give you an example. Truck driving is a field that many unskilled laborers turn to to earn a decent living. I have at least one former student who does this work. However, there are currently more companies than you might believe working to build vehicles that will drive themselves. The technology already exists. It’s just a matter of time before humans no longer drive themselves. Goodbye Uber drivers; we hardly knew ye.
Vehicles won’t be the only area impacted by technology. I already drive out of the way to go to a grocery store where I can scan and bag my own groceries as I shop. I don’t have to talk to anyone at all. Robots could be stocking the shelves for all I care. The point is that we are living in a liminal time. It’s not even difficult to see. We are racing ahead technologically while simultaneously trying to hold onto the past. The problem is that many educators don’t seem to be doing anything to address the issue. So many teachers and teacher educators are still teaching and training pre-service teachers with outdated pedagogical practices because they lack a better model.
I quit my job to become a teacher educator because I can see these problems. I can see them like Sarah Connor in Terminator 2: Judgement Day could see the end of the world as she knew it. Just like Sarah Connor, I am freaking out about it. This is why I want to be a teacher educator. I want to teach future teachers how to incorporate the types of skills featured on profiles and portraits of graduates into their pedagogy so that their students are not robbed of a future before they even get there.
Artifact #2
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