Wired Pursuits

Holy academic turmoil, Batman. What’s all this I’m hearing about the state of education today?

Some say students don’t care.

Professors, researchers, parents, and even the kids themselves say students today just don’t care. They’re not interested in education. They would rather be Facebooking, IMing, or otherwise engaged even during class.

Check out this video made by students at Kansas State University. It’s not a pretty picture.

Some say higher ed refuses to change.

There’s another vocal group that say it’s not the students but the teachers who are the problem. Don Tapscott talks about this in his book Grown up Digital. Academic Commons also explores the issue in a series they published earlier this year.

They suggest that today’s teachers are stuck in the old “I know more than you, so I’ll talk at you for an hour, and you listen” approach to teaching. They refuse to cater to their students’ latest whims (i.e., social media). Teaching isn’t about entertaining but learning.

It’s starting to freak me out a bit.

I’m going back to get my PhD for many reasons, but one of the biggest is because I love teaching and I want to get back into the classroom. I imagined myself teaching at a university, engaging students in great discussions, opening them up to new ways of thinking, and having them do the same for me. (Insert heart warming, inspirational music here.)

But there appears to be a lot of negative energy out there especially in regards to today’s youth, their commitment to education, and the future of education as we know it.

Is this really the right time to go back to school and start a new teaching career?

Not knowing the answer is what makes it fun.

To me that’s what is so amazing and interesting about where we are today – we don’t know the answer. We get to experiment and play with new ideas. Some will work, others will fail. That’s the fun part. So, for me, this is exactly the time to get back into the educational system.

I want to be one of the ones that get to experiment. That get to try new things both as a student and as a teacher.

Come to think of it, that’s what excited me 11 years ago when I started designing web sites for businesses.  We had no idea what we were doing. There weren’t any accepted right and wrong ways of doing it. That’s what made it so exciting. We were breaking new ground.

Pockets of hope.

What’s interesting is if you read deeper and avoid the “sky is falling because social media has ruined the world” types, you see many examples of teachers and students who are revolutionizing learning.

There are many professors out there actively experimenting with new media in a sincere effort to connect with their students. There are universities that embrace new media and actively look for the best ways to leverage it.

I choose to listen and follow those forging a new path. Those excited about the potential of new technologies, and who fundamentally believe students do want to learn.

It’s an amazing time where students can learn form teachers, teachers from students, and teachers from teachers. I believe that social media is revolutionizing our world – business, personal, and education – and those who embrace the change and share their stories will help the rest of us get smarter about what makes sense and what doesn’t.