This morning we (teachers) watched a great TED talk presented by a young girl named Adora Svitak. You can watch it on this blog, or click this link: http://www.ted.com/talks/adora_svitak.html
The theme of the morning was addressing change, and why there is resistance to change, staying in ruts, (metaphorically and literally). We collectively read an article titled, “Beyond TTWWADI” by Ian Jukes and Ted McCain (c) The InfoSavvy Group 2007.
Change is good. Change is inevitable. But who decides what changes will take place?
Politically, we elect, and re-elect leaders because we believe they will either change what we think needs changing, or stay with the status quo that works for us, as individuals and corporations (as entities).
Financially, we determine how money shall be spent, saved, or squandered. One man’s fiscal responsibility is another man’s waste, usually because what one man needs isn’t what another man needs. We think in terms of only our own narrow lives.
I really appreciated young Adora’s clearly articulated points. If an adult had made the same points, given the same speech, the message would have been lost. The messenger, in this case, was the message.
During the TTWWADI conversation, I fantasized about a time during the turn-of-the-century when a group of educators sat around a large oak table and discussed how the industrial revolution was going to change students’ educational needs.
Do we need to change ways that we teach and reach students? Yes. And nothing will change my mind about that.