How times have changed. There was once a time when many people would have loved an opportunity to attend school and still learn. There are still people like this today. Those who were educated were highly looked up to by everyone. But now, students are bored and most do not want to attend school. What has changed? What do we value in education that has changed.
The purpose of this infographic is twofold. It is first to show students what education once meant, and to hopefully inspire them to work harder, or at least to learn more. Secondly, it is to make students thing. I want students to think about the state of education today and how the way they are taught affects what they learn.
Show this infographic to your students, as well as give examples of how they would have learned in different time periods. In other times, students were taught through apprenticeships, case studies, and by teaching their teacher who “knew nothing.” Try each of these methods for a short period of time. Have students intern for a day with someone in the field that interests them, give them case studies about what is being taught, and have them teach you after learning some information. See what students think about all of these methods.
After this, encourage your students to write a blog entry about it, but teach them how to organize their thoughts. First have them write down what they learned from each method, what they think is wrong with the education system, why they don’t want to school. Have them think about it for some time and write down any thoughts. Ask them to think about what they would say to an official if given the opportunity, and encourage your students to even right well written letters.
After this, help your students organize their thoughts and write a blog entry that makes sense. If your students are interested, maybe pass this information along an official to hopefully influence reform. At least use this information to help reform education in your classroom.
Good luck!