They say that doing the same thing over and over again, while expecting a different result, is the definition of insanity.? “They” are not always right, but when it comes to how we spend money on public education in this country, they may be.
We spend a great deal of money on education in this country – both in total, and on a per student basis – and over the last 40 years, that number has doubled.? With all that, we are not getting the results we need and kids are not getting the education to which we claim they are entitled.? So, how do we stop the insanity?
The answer, according to a whole slew of people – many, if not most of whom stand to make serious money from the answer they are touting, is technology.? I mention the profit angle, not because I think that it disqualifies them from necessarily being correct, but simply in the interests of transparency, which they themselves too often dance around.
The hottest new trend is tablets.? No, not ADHD meds, but tablet computers which, we are told, will revolutionize education.? Not so fast.
I actually think that tablets can be a useful tool in helping us improve public education, but to presume that there is a purely technological answer to what is clearly a cultural/ethical question is na?ve to the point of dangerous.? And what’s REALLY interesting, is that is exactly what even the most strident supporters of tablet-based education admitted in this week’s New York Times magazine.
Bottom line, the tool cannot be better than the one using it, and unless we invest seriously in teachers, not to mention address the larger needs and obligations of students, no technology, no matter how cool, will make anywhere near the kind of difference that is being promised.
Listed for many years in Newsweek as one of America’s “50 Most Influential Rabbis” and recognized as one of our nation’s leading “Preachers and Teachers,” by Beliefnet.com, Rabbi Brad Hirschfield serves as the President of Clal–The National Jewish Center for Learning and Leadership, a training institute, think tank, and resource center nurturing religious and intellectual pluralism within the Jewish community, and the wider world, preparing people to meet the biggest challenges we face in our increasingly polarized world.
An ordained Orthodox rabbi who studied for his PhD and taught at The Jewish Theological Seminary, he has also taught the University of Pennsylvania, where he directs an ongoing seminar, and American Jewish University. Rabbi Brad regularly teaches and consults for the US Army and United States Department of Defense, religious organizations — Jewish and Christian — including United Seminary (Methodist), Yeshivat Chovevei Torah (Modern Orthodox) Luther Seminary (Lutheran), and The Jewish Theological Seminary (Conservative) — civic organizations including No Labels, Odyssey Impact, and The Aspen Institute, numerous Jewish Federations, and a variety of communal and family foundations.
Hirschfield is the author and editor of numerous books, including You Don’t Have To Be Wrong For Me To Be Right: Finding Faith Without Fanaticism, writes a column for Religion News Service, and appears regularly on TV and radio in outlets ranging from The Washington Post to Fox News Channel. He is also the founder of the Stand and See Fellowship, which brings hundreds of Christian religious leaders to Israel, preparing them to address the increasing polarization around Middle East issues — and really all currently polarizing issues at home and abroad — with six words, “It’s more complicated than we know.”