What would happen if I allowed students to study whatever they wanted? What if, when students came into class, I set up my homeroom class in the computer lab and told my students that we would not have Math, Science, LA, Socials, or language, but that they could just go wherever their minds took them; what would happen?
Clearly, I would have a few angry parents descending upon me, showering me with epithets, warnings, threatening joblessness. What if, however, I was able to get them on side, and they agreed that this might be the way, what then?
I suppose, eventually, The principal would haul me into her office and ask me what I was doing? She would tell me that I must get the PLOs from the IRP completed in time for the AGM, or else I would be SOL for next year. But what if...
What would students learn? What would they want to know? Would they look up sex to try and get a reaction? Maybe, but that would get old fast. A few would look up Justin Beiber, and other celebs, cruising gossip magazines, and fast cars, long boards, Neff clothes, and Quibids, until they got bored. And then what? Would they come to me and plead to be instructed? Would it be my place to instruct? I would send them back to the technology. Everything is on the internet, anything they would every need for life is accessible from that cord in the wall, so I would tell them, "Sorry. I will not instruct again. It is up to you to find your own way, and that way is through technology. We all know that. So get back on there and Google something."
Eventually, students might get a little pale, and sickly, but I suppose I could get them ipads, and we could continue lessons outside for a hour or so, just to get a little fresh air.
What would students do? I suppose they would find something eventually. And I further suppose if they got stuck, I could suggest different websites that could provide an answer to unstick them. They would become like computers themselves in a way, accessing information from other computers, and filing it away for future reference.
And the children would learn everything they ever needed from the internet, from ipads, kindles, blogs, tweets, and youtubes, and facebooks, and others yet to be invented. And they could move on knowing, without a doubt, that whatever the situation, a solution could be found within a search engine, bound to the internet, a part of the digital revolution.
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