As society, culture,
and communication have evolved over time, so has education. Education is essential part of life
today. It has become an expectation that
people attend high school and college.
However, education would not be held at the high standards it is today
without the many developments in technology and culture. For children today, it is difficult to
imagine what education would be like without technology as it is used on a
daily basis. Before technology, books
and plays were the interface of education.
Today, with the advancements of technology, education revolves around
visuals such as the internet and film. It
is an essential part of education and learning.
Nevertheless, there is always more to improve upon within education. Most of the criticism today comes from the
belief that schools are standardizing each and every aspect of education. This makes it difficult for children to
improve in specific subjects in which they excel. Standardized testing has also caused an
enormous amount of conflict. The
immense developments within culture, communication, and technology have led to advancement
among education, however, the controversy continues as education is becoming
more standardized.
Mass communication
and technology have greatly changed the face of education today. Since the 19th Century, society
has vastly changed in many different ways.
Mass communication, mass production, and technology have changed the
face of society today. “Political
democracy, public education, and the Industrial Revolution of the 19th
century ushered in a new mass society that depended on mass production and mass
consumption of goods and services” (Culture
and Communicatoin 40). The
Industrial Revolution marked a huge turning point in human history and almost
every aspect of daily life has been influenced in some way. For example, as the social structure of
society changed with the Industrial Revolution, more children attended school
and received an education. The goal of
the Industrial Revolution became to reestablish the way society works. Philosopher, Slavoj Zizek, says, “The real
aim is to try and reconstruct society” (First
as Tragedy, Then as Farce). There
have been numerous advancements within society, especially with technology,
that have led to the technology-dependent society that exists today. It is evident in classrooms all across the
country that technology is a necessary part of today’s education system. Many schools have even turned to programs in
which each student has a laptop, creating more of a paper-free and
technology-dependent society. Although
some believe that pop culture and technology has a negative effect on society,
this topic instead helps one better understand culture today. “In the early years, many academics looked
down on pop culture, believing the study of everyday culture was not
appropriate…Supporters of this study of popular culture point out that it is a
part of our history and holds as much relevance as war, slavery, and
revolutions. They note that by examining
the themes and styles of a culture, we can better understand the values of the
people” (Culture and Communication 5). The benefits that technology and pop culture
bring to the world of education are endless.
Through technology, students are able to learn an immeasurable amount of
information and are able to better learn about and understand society. As technology has become a vital part of
education, improving the standardization of the system is becoming the next
important step to an improved system.
The
importance of education is growing rapidly in society today. It is becoming a necessity across not only
the country, but also the world. Due to
the significance of education it is absolutely essential to have an effective system
of education. The current system
revolves around standardization. Sir Ken
Robinson, an education expert, says, “The current system of education was
designed, conceived, and structured for a different age…If you are interested
in the model of education, you don’t start from this production line
mentality…It’s about standardization and I believe we have to go in the exact
opposite direction” (Changing Paradigms). Today’s system is based on the “production
line mentality” in which children are held back from excelling in their own
strengths. Each and every student is placed
and defined by standards. Instead
students should be treated in a way in which each can excel. “Civilize” is
defined as to bring to a stage of social, cultural, and moral development
considered to be more advanced. Society
must empathize with those children placed in the standards of the education
system in order to create an improvement.
Jeremy Rifkin says, “To empathize is to civilize and to civilize is to
empathize” (The Empathic Civilization). In order to create an enhanced system,
society must empathize with the students and realize that standardization is
not the best thing for the future. Society
must learn to look to an improved system of education that is best for the
students. Philosopher and author, Roman
Krznaric says, “So the 21st century needs to be different. Instead of the age of introspection, we need
to shift to the age of outrospection.
And by outrospection I mean the idea of stepping outside yourself,
discovering the lives of other people, other civilizations” (The Power of Outrospection). By putting oneself in the shoes of another,
society will become more aware of the struggles around them. Through the power of outrospection, both the
education system and society as a whole will become a more cohesive place.
It is easy to focus
on the violent and negative events that that occur all over the world. However, society must remember the many good
deeds that overshadow the bad.
Especially with the controversy over the standardization within
education, it is important to focus on the many positive aspects of the system
and the people that make this system function successfully. Craigslist
Joe is a film about a man named Joe who lives entirely off of the kindness
of others for one month. He encounters
many different people who restore his faith in humanity. After meeting a family from Pakistan and
being kindly invited into their home, Joe says, “Just sitting in this living
room with all of you and just your spirit is so positive and just inviting us
into your home, it really means a lot” (Cragslist
Joe). From his journey, Joe is able
to realize that there are a multitude of generous people who are willing to
help even among the violence in the world.
As Joe continues on his journey he meets many different people including
a man named Mohammed who works with kids in an after school program for kid who
need help with homework, but do not necessarily have parents who are fluent
enough in English to help them understand.
Mohammed says. “She asked me, ‘Why do you want to do this kind of work?’
and I told her ‘You know, I want to be a hero in a kid’s life’” (Craigslist Joe). It is thanks to these kinds of people that
children are able to have a beneficial education. There are many people who go above and beyond
to be there for others. Society needs to
learn just that, to step outside of oneself and be a hero in someone’s
life. It is easy to become caught up in
the business of daily life and the crazy world around, however, sometimes it is
necessary to take a step back and see the beauty in the simple things. Olafur Arnaldus, a musician, says, “But I
think it sounds good, and that’s what matters and I hope that people realize
that it’s not about elitism and rules, but about doing something nice” (PressPausePlay). For Arnaldus, it became important for him to
not become caught up in himself, but instead do things for others. Ourtospection is the key to a better system
of education and overall, a better world.
The system of
education has greatly evolved over the years with the help of technology, the
goodness of people, and the concept of standardization. Technology has created not only a change in
education, but has also created a social change. It has changed the way the world is viewed
today. Through social media such as
Facebook, Twitter, and the internet, our society is able to view and learn more
than ever before. With technology, more
children across the world are able to receive an education that they may not
have been able to receive before. As
technology continues to evolve and change, so does social change. By slowly limiting the amount of
standardization within education, students will be able to excel with their own
strengths, creating a brighter future.
“We tend to see, hear, and believe only what we want to see, hear, and
believe. As the late Canadian
Philosopher Marshall Mcluhan pointer out, ‘Everyone has his own set of
goggles,’ and we all think that what we see with our set of goggles is what
everyone else see” (Culture and
Communication 11). Finally, with the
overbearing kindness of others and a world leaning towards outrospection,
society will continue to evolve creating a better system of education. Today society must take action to improve the
flaws of the current system. Education holds the future for the betterment
of society.
