Turning the ship around…

I spent 2 days at the Learning Disabilities Association of Alberta’s annual conference last weekend. It was a fascinating learning experience and I left with two words dominating my thinking. Opportunity. Dignity.

Every child enters this world under very different circumstances, with distinct heritage, parentage, genetic makeup and areas of potential. But with a common yearning – to find their role within society. Through the processes of nurturing, socialization and education every child ought to be able to reach their potential and find their place in the world. Yet on any measure, Albertan children are not all getting to where they could go – doors are shut through poverty, dysfunctional parenting, developmental challenges or physical or mental illness, failure to learn or have access to an environment in which they can.

None of the answers to changing their story are easy, or solely the responsibility of government. But they are largely understood, much studied and possible to address. The research base is there. The returns on investment in our most valuable resource are clear to any economist or humanist. That is, if we value the concepts of collective and individual opportunity and dignity for our citizens.

I have advocated for and been involved with the fields of education and social services for the past 9 years. Many positive policy initiatives have been proposed, debated, and some championed, funded and implemented with limited success. But many others have been cast aside as too costly, not politically important or have been ideologically hijacked during the process of implementation. And that is why I am going to Reboot Alberta. Our political system is failing a fair number of our children, not to mention other marginalized populations.

I wish I knew what the solution is. I don’t. I have read many other blogs suggesting possible solutions. The one I tend towards is the need to engage the silent majority of Albertans in a discussion about our political system – it is overwhelming to me that the majority of Albertans simply don’t vote, nonsensical that political parties expend so much energy and dollars on getting out their apparently committed voters, the opposition once elected is constantly marginalized, the roles of local politicians (councillors and trustees) are not recognized, respected or valued, and finally, having a political discussion at the dinner table is simply not the norm here.

Coming from a country where voting is compulsory, has a preferential voting system, where governments change on a regular if not frequent basis, and political happenings are grist for the mill at many social occasions, Alberta is a democratic dinosaur. Yet it has all the elements required to be something so very different and better– an underlying commitment to public education and healthcare, a potential revenue base that many small nations would envy, and a rich and diverse physical and intellectual landscape.

Its time to turn the ship around – the icebergs are now within view. The concept of, and enthusiasm surrounding Reboot Alberta from players across the ideological spectrum has already sounded the alarm in political circles – our current course is leading us into dangerous waters. Hopefully Reboot Alberta will play a part in plotting a new course.

Techno-teaching - how far should we go?

A question raised by Inspiring Education is how can we appropriately use technology in engaging students in learning?

I have to say that like most parents I am a little fearful of an onslaught of technology in the classroom. I still value cursive writing and good grammar, although struggle with both myself. (Its got to the point that I can’t actually think about writing without a keyboard in front of me.) I limit my teenager’s computer game time, have given him an email address but not allowed him to start with Facebook yet. He is one of a small percentage of his peers that doesn’t pack a cellphone to school. The logic is, he goes to a school in the neighbourhood, needs to be able to problem-solve his own issues since my work does not always allow me to take phone calls at random times of the day and finally, in a real emergency, he can use the phone in the school office where there are also adults who can help him if required.

But my thinking around technology in the classroom is thawing. The first nail in the coffin was a compelling presentation by a professor in Library and Information Studies at U of A at Literacy & Learning Day last year. She described her research of interviewing young adults about their experiences when gaming, reading and watching a movie. They were gamers, but as it turns out, also avid readers. They described how they got very different things out of each experience, but most identified reading as the richest experience. She also analyzed “strategy-based” computer games in terms of the information inputs and the complex, strategic thinking and problem-solving involved. Finally, she pointed to indications that many gamers are also avid readers and when gaming is in the mix, TV viewing, not reading, is the victim. Almost sold.

Next, the propositions put by various speakers during Inspiring Education about what sort of thinkers our children will need to be to be successful in the future is aligned with what I have experienced. That is, people who can take in a lot of disparate information and make sense of it all will be sought out, highly valued and lead a fulfilled, productive life. And the role that technology plays in that? The internet is the gateway is a vast amorphous sea of information and opinion. What we know or think we know is not containable in textbooks any more. Those that can find a sustainable path of action in the morass of fact and fiction will lead the rest. Sort of like a strategy-based computer game – lots of inputs, its all about what you do with it. We can’t therefore exclude it from the classroom – it’s the world they are entering into.

But the caution is, they need to be avid readers and scribes first – they need to experience the richness of imagination that books and the well-constructed written word allows. They need to understand the human condition, the social tapestry. They need to understand that often answers are not instant - even if information delivery might be. That solutions are not constant- they need to evolve. Their success will lie in taking time, contemplating and coming up with a measured response – using both logic and intuition – with technology as the slave, not the master.