A Student-Centered Cloud

I had previously heard the idea that present-day schooling has its roots in industrialization and preparing working-class children for working-class work. Students sit in rows and work on repetitive tasks until a bell rings to tell them to move to the next thing -much like a factory. Suga Mitra discusses another historical aspect of modern-day schooling that I had not previously considered in his TedTalk, A School in the Cloud. He explains that during the reign of colonialism, the British Empire, specifically, had to figure out how to run the whole word and communicate data with paper alone. I was slightly surprised by Mitra’s positive outlook on the impact of British Colonialism but his goal and purpose here are to explore and explain his wish for the future of education - not to dwell on the past. 

He argues that education was developed to create essentially identical people who have good handwriting, read, and do basic math. All of the skills necessary for a “bureaucratic administrative machine” that no longer exists and yet schools have not changed all that much. He maintains his positive outlook - he explains that schools are not “broken” as people like to say but simply that their purpose is outdated, perhaps even obsolete. 

Hearing his stories and experiments of giving children in rural communities a computer to play with and then coming back to see that they have taught themselves some kind of complex topic or programming was absolutely fascinating. I think it really proves the point that students (children) are innately curious and intuitive. They just need an engaging question to hook their interests and an adult figure to support and admire them. 

As we begin to look towards the next school year, it is entirely (and likely) possible that we will be teaching “from the cloud.” My colleagues and I have expressed mixed emotions regarding this… on the one hand, we take the global pandemic seriously and do not want to put ourselves, our families, and our students at risk. On the other hand, we truly believe that face to face learning is crucial for forming bonds, establishing trust, and building a safe learning environment for students to take risks. 

Mitra seems like he disagrees with our final premise and I am struggling to reconcile with how I perceive my own role as an educator. I want to believe that my role is a little bit more important than just being a cheerleader who asks strong questions. In my last post, I discussed how much I strongly resonated with Wesch’s argument that the classroom space is just as important as the content itself. I think Wesch would agree with what Mitra believes about the importance of good questions. As I reassess my role and think about myself in the classroom, I want to continue to reflect on my skill of asking questions and encouraging collaboration.