When educational theorists ponder what we have created to help our kids learn and become the adults we’d like them to become, it is often mentioned that the model used for schools has been the factory, and automatons in a system, such as the British Bureaucracy in India.
If we are tying to jettison that model and start over on a different basis, first we might need to realize some of our unspoken but very real assumptions about human nature, and what sort of adult we’d like our kids to become. Should they be parts in a machine, or should they be adept critical thinkers that maximize their, and others, human potential.
This question is not just applicable to education, but also to the jobs, employment, and carreers the children are being prepared for. What will those jobs look like? It’s up to us to figure that part out, and as Barry Schwartz says below, we don’t need to rely on Adam Smith to define those models for us.
Psychologist at Swarthmore, Barry Schwartz, does a TED talk about “idea technology”.
And another talk about thinking about jobs by Economist David Autor, which complements Schwartz’s talk in some important ways.
IOW lets examine the assumptions underlying the present model of jobs and work, (and the education system tailored to that old model) and envision a future built on different assumptions that accommodates what advances in technology make possible.
Henry Blodget venture Capitalist on “It’s Only the Beginning”
Here’s additional thoughts on the future of labor by venture capitalist Fred Wilson. Kudos to Gary for the link.
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