My response: I was a teacher in Korea. And the system here is just as f’d up as it is in the United States. If you want to compare math and science scores… ok Korea and Japan do have a significant edge on the United States, but you should see what these kids have to go through. A lot of these kids are addicted to coffee by the time they start middle school. It is not unusual for them to go to school from 7am to 10pm, Mon thru Fri and throw in another half day over the weekend. This can’t be healthy in the long run. And now I hear that people in the United States are saying that we should make our education system more like Korea and Japans? My honest opinion is that that would be a terrible mistake.

Why? Well if you are looking for solid data proving why this would be a terrible move, I don’t have any. But I do want to show you a YouTube video that I recently came across that will serve as my anecdotal evidence. This video (created by Kutiman) is a compilation of other user created music videos scattered across YouTube, blended together to create one longer video song. The result, an incredible creative audio endeavor.

But more important than the result itself was how it was created. You think that somebody went to school and was taught how to do this? You cannot be taught to be creative. Creativity comes from free time. And as Kevin Kelly suggests creating this video must have been a total waste of time and it will probably bring the artist immeasurable success.

What I am trying to suggest with this is that free time is important. The ability to waste time is important. Granted many of the things children do with that free time will be pointless (in our eyes) but we must still give them that time because one day they will create something that will bring them immeasurable success using that free time. 

Related posts:

1. Education Trends: Manga Meets Learning Long a popular form of media in Japan and the...
2. Who to blame for our education woes? This is an interesting article from the Stimulist on what...
3. The Asian model is not the answer to our edu-woes Asia is not the answer to our educational woes. I...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

But video games have moved well beyond entertainment. From addictions, to ADD therapy, to providing comfort during economic recessions and depressions, video games are playing an increasingly active role in defining us.

With the role of video games growing in importance, is it really any surprise to think that education will have to follow suit? I don’t think so. Video games as education have existed for as long as I have been breathing. Growing up I played Number Crunchers, Math Blaster, Oregon Trail, and US Presidents to name a few. Even games that I wouldn’t have considered educational at the time contain educational value (Sim City) according to Mark Prensky. Simulations (like Sim City) were once “the province of gamers, scientists, and the military, [but today] has emerged as a huge buzzword in training.” Take for example the flight simulator. The “flight simulator was originally conceived as an entertainment device for fairs. Nevertheless, the flight simulator is [now] acknowledged as a revolution in learning and training [by the military and commercial flight schools].”

The real question is will games ever be accepted by those who need to accept it – the teachers and parents? That is a much more difficult question to answer. According to a 2007 survey conducted by Project Tomorrow we have some work to do in this area.

Among the survey findings:

• More than half of students in grades 3 through 12 believe educational gaming would help them learn.
• Only 16% of teachers, 15% of administrators and 19% of parents are on board today – although there was significantly more support for further exploration of the potential.
• And 11% of teachers say they’re already using video games in class, no matter how much you roll your eyes.

To download the full report by Project Tomorrow click the link below.

Speak Up: 2007 National Findings

Related posts:

1. Educational Technology Review: New Ways To Bring New Media into Education | 17 October 2008 The world market for e-learning and Educational Technology is estimated...
2. Education Trends: Manga Meets Learning Long a popular form of media in Japan and the...
3. A good education needs free time One of the questions that I have been wrestling with...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.