Many think teaching is about passing on knowledge. If this were true then teaching would be redundant. There is no need in this age for an individual to hold knowledge to then pass on. Knowledge is now held for, and by, everyone. The Internet has, or will in time, given us all free access to information. So in this new world what is a teacher? What is their job? Is education no longer necessary? Why go to university if I can simply download all the lectures for free? What will education need to become to stay relevant?
Teachers are necessary. Teaching information is not. What we now need to teach is this. How to see, listen, respond and most crucially how to build work and our future from that response.
We are bombarded with media. We are confronted with a world struggling economically, socially and environmentally. At the moment most are absorbing this information just like we have been taught to, passively. How many of us are looking, listening and responding? Some. You can see thousands in fact on the streets of Egypt. How many know how to practically translate their response into a better future? Not many. I doubt I do. How many are trying?
The world needs us to be active participants in building new pathways. The future for education and teaching must focus on preparing us to do just that.
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