In class on Friday, we discussed Greg Whiteley and Ted Dintersmith’s film, Most Likely to Succeed. I found it really interesting that some people said that they had the same feelings as the parents of students at High Tech High about how this new type of schooling might affect the students futures as they enter the world structured around traditional schooling. I had not thought of this perspective as I watched the film, being so enamoured with High Tech High’s near-revolutionary approach to learning. As we discussed in class, I would be very interested as well to see a “Part 2” that might provide us with some insight on the long term effects of the High Tech pedagogy.
In addition to the focus on High Tech High, I enjoyed the beginning of the documentary where it outlined the absolute urgent need for a change in our educational system. Things such as the subjects that we choose to study that we never really question were actually established more than a hundred years ago, in a completely different world than we live in now. In the possibly near future, every job that does not require human creativity or critical thinking will disappear. Of course, we have known this for a while, but I had not yet thought about this fact from the perspective of an educator. I will have to take this into account as I think about my approach to teaching, adhering to the curriculum but also having an eye on the future and how I can best set up my learners for success.