Working At The Edge

A silver lining

Throughout all sectors of society, including education, we are feeling, in 2022, the tensions between two worldviews.

One worldview is systems-centered, emphasizing order, standardization and hierarchy; ambiguity is the enemy.

Another worldview is human-centered, emphasizing the individual as part of the whole; ambiguity is expected.

I wonder how the work our journey toward transforming education might actually benefit, even be accelerated, as a result of the chaos being created throughout society.

Might it be a good thing that education is feeling these tensions? Might the tension lead to more students, parents and families uncovering and confronting their own assumptions about the realities of the current dehumanizing model of schooling?

How might we who are working on school transformation approach these tensions in ways that reflect our more human-centered visions, desires, being?

We could believe that we are just part of what seems like a situation that can only spiral down into darker territory.

OR…we could embrace the messiness…the ambiguity...and be a model for how to untie these knots of conflict.

If we choose the later, we need educators….leaders of this movement willing to be OBJECTORS first, but not in the strident way we see so many objecting now.

But we also need leaders…and our learners should be a part of this as well..leaders who are skilled at enrolling others.

Enrollment is the art of creating conditions for others to see new possibilities…it’s not debating, arm-twisting or bullying others into believing something else.

Enrollment is creating the conditions that lead to individuals convincing themselves of what to do…in this case embracing the shift to a more human-centered system of schooling. A transformation.

I’m optimistic. I see the tensions we feel today…even the ugly ones…as a sign that we are on the right path.

Our movement is growing. And it will keep growing.

We are in a period of ambiguity, but a period of acceleration toward a more stable future.

Will you be the OBJECTOR? Will you be the OBJECTOR who takes action…and leads…enrolls others in this great and noble work?

Is our use of tech working against us? 🤔

By Randy Ziegenfuss

Yesterday’s post was about focusing on the human. Today, I’m wondering how our use of tech in schooling is working against our human focus.

The question was sparked by this article in the MIT Technology Review:

Eliminating the Human

The author, David Byrne, isn’t specifically talking about education, but about life in general. While technology has provided us with many affordances, there’s a big constraint: eliminating human connection.

I have a theory that much recent tech development and innovation over the last decade or so has an unspoken overarching agenda. It has been about creating the possibility of a world with less human interaction.

Evidence he presents: online ordering and home delivery, digital music, ride-hailing apps, driverless cars and automated check-out.

Think about how each of those limits or eliminates human interaction….

My mind went to education and test-prep programs where learners work in isolation to build skills, usually for some kind of standardized test.

We’ve got lots….way too much…of this going on in our schools….driven by obsession with standardized test scores.

But what other uses potentially reduce human interaction among our learners: productivity software used in isolation (type documents, presentations), quiz/flashcard apps, single player games to learn facts, some types of internet research…

These are all pretty low level uses of technology. What others can you think of?

And then there are ways to use technology to enhance human interaction; connecting with experts outside school, Google docs for uncovering group thinking, multiplayer games….

What else?

If we are focused on humanizing schooling…and schooling is taking place in an exponentially changing world of tech and non-tech, we will have to consider our use of tech through the human lens.

—–

❓ Provocations:

How are we in schools using tech to increase human connection and not eliminate it?

💎 Resource:

What are the effects of technology on human interaction?

🧠 Mindsets:

Inventor

💡 Mindshift:

Navigating from tech uses that eliminate/reduce human interaction to tech uses that support human interaction.

📣 Drop your thoughts in the comments, or in the Facebook group, and feel free to share resources. 🔥🔥🔥

What’s NOT going to change in the next 10 years? 🤔

By Randy Ziegenfuss

I texted a couple of friends this quote from Jeff Bezos yesterday… "I very frequently get the question: “What’s going to change in the next 10 years?” That’s a very interesting question. I almost never get the question: “What’s not going to … [Continue reading]

Is it time to rethink how we frame “curriculum”? 🤔

By Randy Ziegenfuss

We can all agree that we are in the midst of exponential change, largely driven by technological innovations. Check out this short video on the Fourth Industrial Revolution to get a sense of the change we are dealing with. Some further … [Continue reading]

Have we focused too obsessively on individuality? 🤔

By Randy Ziegenfuss

Our reading group is currently reading Thrive: The Purpose of Schools in a Changing World. The authors propose that a new technologically advanced planet needs a new purpose of schooling and that it should be… ...thriving in a transforming … [Continue reading]

Are we missing this key voice in the transformation conversation? 🤔

By Randy Ziegenfuss

I have mixed thoughts about the World Economic Forum...I love some of their stuff, and then there is some that kind of falls short with a too narrow focus. That narrow focus of the economic/jobs context. BUT… ...they recently released a … [Continue reading]

The Human Library

By Randy Ziegenfuss

The pairing of those words piqued my curiosity. I suppose in some sense we are a library..a collection of life experiences…. Unique experiences that make us the individuals we are… And also shared experiences that make us part of identity … [Continue reading]

Does power have to be a zero-sum game in our schools?

By Randy Ziegenfuss

The role of teacher is no longer to disseminate knowledge to passive learners. An alternate way for the teacher might be to co-design memorable experiences that acknowledge the identities, experiences, knowledge and wisdom each person brings to … [Continue reading]

Outcome-driven learning? Curiosity-driven learning? Or somewhere between the two? 🤔

By Randy Ziegenfuss

One of the challenges of the current standards-based system of K-12 education is that as educators we feel we need to approach the design of learning with highly scripted opportunities. In the extreme, it’s right there in the textbook… …”hook” … [Continue reading]

Preparing graduates for the future? Focus on these…

By Randy Ziegenfuss

One of the ways that schools and districts are exercising a future-focused mindset is to develop a Portrait of a Graduate. (If you are interested in this work, check out the https://portraitofagraduate.org site for resources and see lots of quality … [Continue reading]