Education vs. School

"In times of profound change, the learners inherit the earth, while the learned find themselves beautifully equipped to deal with a world that no longer exists." —Al Rogers, pioneer in long-distance learning 

What exactly is the educational role of schools these days? Are schools flexible enough to meet the challenges of 21st century learning, or are they dinosaurs on the brink of extinction? Are stakeholders—teachers, administrators, students, parents, politicians, and bureaucrats alike—prepared for the looming academic cliff?

Are we brave enough, heroic enough, humble enough to discard the failed systems of thinking and finally embrace authentic, intrinsic, hyperconnected learning... or will we continue our desperate cling to a technophobic past that is doomed to collapse under the crushing, extrinsically-motivated weight of grades, test scores, heartless competition, and race to the top?

(And how complicit am I in perpetuating this anachronistic march toward obscurity?)

Of these questions and more I ponder...

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Thanks to for the love of learning, et al., for sharing this video

Ouch

The 2012 state of science standards: Colorado = D

"American science performance is lagging as the economy becomes increasingly high tech, but our current science standards are doing little to solve the problem. Reviewers [at the Thomas B. Fordham Institute] evaluated science standards for every state for this report and their findings were deeply troubling: The majority of states earned Ds or Fs for their standards in this crucial subject, with only six jurisdictions receiving As. Explore all the state report cards and see how your state performed."

I'm looking forward to the Next Generation Science Standards...