Ways Education Might Change By 2020 (5)

Elaborate 5

I title this post a bit different from the article it was inspired by because I always find myself a bit skeptical when it comes to saying something "will" happen within a certain time frame. After all, the Jetsons cartoon was supposed to take place in the year 2000 wasn't it? This wasn't the only case either, many other movies and TV programs have given such glimpses into the not-so-distant future, and been incorrect as well. That beings said, all of the predictions given in the article all seem fairly reasonable, and like they are what education will indeed be striving towards in these upcoming years, even if it doesn't quite get there.

Many of these predictions can be seen to already be coming true now. The issues about whether or not students have a voice is in particular, a current change taking place. Student opinion about their education environment matters in many schools today, and the students have the power to make a change in these schools if they really want to make a difference.

Technology has already begun introducing more remote interaction to student life both in and out of the classroom as well. Students can work on project with each other from the comfort of their own home, and teaching techniques such as flipped classrooms support this idea that not all learning has to be done within the classroom, and that in fact, much can be done from right at home.

Personally, I would love to imagine that the author of that article was correct in that the students' wants and needs will become a bigger factor in the field of education. I hope for this more than almost any more change in particular because this change could hopefully bring about a change in the system as a whole. It would be wonderful if as a society, we could further distance education from politics -- this intermingling is the source of much unnecessary complication when it comes to doing what is best for students, and while the closeness of education to politics and government can bring about change for the better, that is not always the case, and I have all too often seen administrators more concerned with their political career and position than with the well being of the students. People working in education with this sort of attitude only hurt the students, and I sincerely hope that the future brings a concerned eye to see what is going on and what needs to change.

Link to the referenced article.