3 ms·

From a very narrow point of view of economics (thus not trying to make any statement or provoke any flame of what is better as it isn't what economics about) th

by trhway 4y ago

From a very narrow point of view of economics (thus not trying to make any statement or provoke any flame of what is better as it isn't what economics about) the teachers - large unionized workforce in the style of yesterday and working at small scale and producing small batches of "product" - reminds me of the sharecroppers who were displaced by large industrial agriculture due to the technology development - large tractors - with the displacement triggered by the stress of the Dust Bowl. For teachers i see the same situation - technology development and the stress caused by the society having changed a lot economically/politically/socially since the times when a small town had its teacher. The importance and the task of personal development of your pupils is pretty much gone, and the teachers today are limited to the instruction only - that narrow task can and will more and more be made much better and efficiently using technology at industrial scale.

willnonya 4y ago
This comment is completely detached from reality. Our education system is broken and archaic but not for the reasons provided. It's an idealized view of reality and history not indicative of what's actually happening. For one this isn't a matter of scale, most school systems are enormous and structured like most large bureaucracies. Which is the root of the problem.
- trhway 4y ago
  Exactly, gigantic workshop of manual craftsmen (or a huge bureaucratic coop of sharecroppers) instead of an industrial factory. And related classic to enjoy https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=axWVMr-RpMM https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=axWVMr-RpMM :)
  - ajmurmann 4y ago
    How do you imagine that to happen? I could see more self-guided and technology-driven learning work well for older kids, but not for even young teenagers. The kids at that age lack discipline and a lot of subjects start it quite boring (basic reading and spelling, math doesn't get fun to several years in, rode memorization in there beginning for foreign language studies etc). Many kids will find ways to distract themselves from that without supervision. We've seen that parents providing that supervision for remote studies doesn't work in many cases
    - trhway 4y ago
      i don't know in details for everything, yet just for example >rode memorization in there beginning for foreign language studies that is how i was taught English, and that loses orders of magnitude on all metrics to how for example Russian immigrant children of my friends naturally picked the language upon coming here. Technology provides a lot in the direction of such an opportunity without actually needing to physically visit the foreign country. >The kids at that age lack discipline and a lot of subjects start it quite boring (basic reading and spelling, math doesn't get fun to several years in ...) ... Many kids will find ways to distract themselves from that without supervision. Couple things come to mind: - one can imagine something like competitively organized quests in Minecraft built around knowledge to learn - FB spent enormous resources of how to turn people into dopamine monkey. May be some of that or similar research can be utilized here to provide for children focus on the learning. Status update broadcasted across the class "Alice just learned a new formula worth 5 shiny stars".

by trhway 4y ago

willnonya 4y ago

This comment is completely detached from reality. Our education system is broken and archaic but not for the reasons provided. It's an idealized view of reality and history not indicative of what's actually happening. For one this isn't a matter of scale, most school systems are enormous and structured like most large bureaucracies. Which is the root of the problem.

trhway 4y ago
Exactly, gigantic workshop of manual craftsmen (or a huge bureaucratic coop of sharecroppers) instead of an industrial factory. And related classic to enjoy https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=axWVMr-RpMM https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=axWVMr-RpMM :)
- ajmurmann 4y ago
  How do you imagine that to happen? I could see more self-guided and technology-driven learning work well for older kids, but not for even young teenagers. The kids at that age lack discipline and a lot of subjects start it quite boring (basic reading and spelling, math doesn't get fun to several years in, rode memorization in there beginning for foreign language studies etc). Many kids will find ways to distract themselves from that without supervision. We've seen that parents providing that supervision for remote studies doesn't work in many cases
  - trhway 4y ago
    i don't know in details for everything, yet just for example >rode memorization in there beginning for foreign language studies that is how i was taught English, and that loses orders of magnitude on all metrics to how for example Russian immigrant children of my friends naturally picked the language upon coming here. Technology provides a lot in the direction of such an opportunity without actually needing to physically visit the foreign country. >The kids at that age lack discipline and a lot of subjects start it quite boring (basic reading and spelling, math doesn't get fun to several years in ...) ... Many kids will find ways to distract themselves from that without supervision. Couple things come to mind: - one can imagine something like competitively organized quests in Minecraft built around knowledge to learn - FB spent enormous resources of how to turn people into dopamine monkey. May be some of that or similar research can be utilized here to provide for children focus on the learning. Status update broadcasted across the class "Alice just learned a new formula worth 5 shiny stars".