Alvin Toffler on Education

[nalejbank]

Hey Alvin! How's that public education thing working out for you? Not tooo gooood!!!

Reading, writing and arithmetic is no longer taught well and 80 % of freshmen college students need some form of remedial education. "Industrial discipline" sounds a lot like"Industrial Armies", doesn't it? Do you know who called for that? Karl Marx, the father of communism.

Alvin and Heidi are statists too! Why don't you collectivists leave people alone to be free instead of hamsters for your treadmills?

[miazagora]

Newt Gingrich wrote the forward to one of Alvin and Heidi Toffler's books, and recommends it. Newt Gingrich is a statist.

[margerylathem]

ew vids come on! I really like your videos!

[4GTechGuy]

Fantastic video...we are preparing our children for the past, not the future.

In the description it is claimed this is evidence we live in a police state.

I submit that because people are creatures of habit, we cling to old ideas...institutionalized obsolesence. Mike Judge's movie "Idiocracy" is recommended.

Our republic may be failing, but the police state is not here...yet...

[MrBeautifulba1]

@4GTechGuy I hear you brother. Please read SUMMERHILL by A.S. Neil. Please !!!

[FIGHTFANNERD3]

indeed

[gordon2611]

Learn how we got "industrial discipline" and not public #education...

[davidcaro79]

el problema en latinoamerica es que muchos niños no pueden estudiar, porque no tienen recursos, no hay escuelas, o simplemente deben trabajar desde temprana edad, entonces no habria educación y todo lo que han dicho no aplica, en africa y suramerica, y la viejita de rojo tiene actitud de canchera.,,,

[TheFutureUnquiet]

For many of Iraq's citizens there's no electricity & no clean water. 500,000 of their children have succumbed to hunger & disease because of the U.S./U.N. blockade. At least Iraq's oil is now in the protective mitts of the international petrochemical cartels.

[csarmiento3]

Globalization killed too many proffesional jobs in United States, there are a lot of ENgineers, Architects, etc. working in clerickal jobs to survive. Those jobs have been exported to India, Pakistan, South America, etc.

The main problem is that the Advantages are for the Corporations, with a cheaper labor. But the Boomerang comes back,

[JMRRF]

The advantages are for the Multinationals and for those developing countries' workers, although their labour force becomes cheaper and cheaper once demographic explosion grows more than economy.

But have any developed country planned a sustainable economic growth? Sure not: research per capita remains under 1% of GDP in most of the countries; students must pay large fees to attend Universities being not selected by their minds but by their money (look at GW Bush, mastered by Harvard).

[JMRRF]

So in developed countries, companies are fewer and fewer - they research, grow up and run away to employ cheaper labour force. Governments can't do anything to stop this circle because they don't invest like that. The USA use taxes to fund a military state, not a researching one. They built a fictional growth based on speculation and subprime; but "boomerang comes back" as you said, so they should build another sustainable economic growing model - that'd really give Obama the Nobel Prize!

[TheFutureUnquiet]

"The Third Wave" provides for an unquiet future.

[JMRRF]

Aren't you optimistic about Globalization? Don't you think it can bring peace and welfare to the World? "The Third Wave" is IMO the era of equality of opportunities among all people in the world :)

[TheFutureUnquiet]

When has an empire ever been egalitarian?

A planetary govt. would recognize my inalienable rights? History doesn't bear this out.

[JMRRF]

Rights should be adjusted among all people in the World. Sure we can't do that while the developing countries' demographic expansion grows more than economy turning labour force cheaper and cheaper. G20 should pay UNO and ILO to fight for egalitarian labour rights, and WHO (World Health Organization) to stop demographic expansion. Regards.

[TheFutureUnquiet]

Rights are inalienable, therefor

they cannot be "adjusted."

[rettie]

@TheFutureUnquiet

Amen.

Such a huge power would need a nigh-perfect system of filtrating corruption and opportunism in it's hierarchy to prevent disastrous consequences.

And there's not a thing like that in sight. Not on the horizon.

[Olivatar]

I'm from a developing country. Developed countries became developed only because they colonized and exploited countries who are now only developing. For decades ppl from developing countries took on low-paying jobs and often faced prejudice in order to move to where the work was. So now it's the other way around. Yes, it is the era of equality of opportunities. At least Western ppl won't take life for granted anymore and realize we are intellectually, morally and physically equal.

[pjt03]

Facinating analysis, what a great couple.

[adrian11111]

I agree,industrial sistem is diying and maybe in less than 30 years will dissapear(i fell sorry for the right wings and left wings).

be creative is more important than memorize useless data,the idea is in the air now we need somebody that belive in it.

[JMRRF]

Well, I think well always need industrial system (things must be produced somewhere) in spite of rich countries being less industrialized. The worlds main problem (apart from environmental crisis) is this: the economic development is too low for the demographic explosion and so poverty is increasing. But nothing is done to improve this vicious circle.

[JMRRF]

Even democratic governments don't encourage research because this doesn't bring short time success and they're afraid of loosing multinational enterprises that would result in unemployment. So instead of a global policy of sustainable development in which everyone would have equal opportunities to improve its own life, we maintain a greedy capitalistic system that brings financial crisis.

[lesXXXVIinvisibles]

What about Montessori school system?

[JMRRF]

There are many educational systems in the world that pretend to be alternatives, but none of them proved to have more efficiency in the creation of competitive jobs or researching minds. The main problem of our system is the incapability of teaching to think; pupils (and unfortunately students also) only know how to memorise and come not able to discover or invent. I guess this might be resolved with national tests totally different from a year to another with no model exercises.

[MrBeautifulba1]

@JMRRF Please read SUMMERHILL by A.S. Neil. An educational system based on freedom.

[JMRRF]

But none of european (nor american, nor asian, nor african) governments want this. All they want is educational statistical success. I'm afraid of this politics because in this way every individual stays subdue to the capitalistic behaviour, none has the chance to create or improve, and poverty will increase with demographic explosion.

[JMRRF]

É obvio que ensinar a tábua da multiplicação até ao 100 é um absurdo: um jovem treinado demora 15 horas a preencher os 10000 resultados, e apenas 10 min a completar os 100 produtos da tábua dos 10. O nosso sistema é decimal e não centesimal!

[JMRRF]

Os Toffler esquecem-se duma coisa: não podemos pedir a alguém que faça um novo software sem lhe ensinar previamente a linguagem de programação; não podemos criar um cientista sem lhe ensinar Matemática primeiro. É preciso disciplina para ensinar as bases, e depois então permitir o progressivo desenvolvimento da autonomia e da criatividade.

Não tenhamos dúvidas que o 1º ciclo precisaria de 9h lectivas diárias, enquanto ao secundário bastariam 6h e ao superior 4h.

[adoteessaideia]

As crianças vêm descobrindo a linguagem de programação brincando com a tartaruguinha do LOGO por exemplo. Acho que a autonomia e a criatividade já são características inatas do ser humano. Não precisa de disciplina para desenvolvê-la. O que assistimos diariamente em nossas escola é justamente o contrário: a disciplina escolar tolhendo totalmente a genialidade de nossas crianças e jovens.

pense a respeito.

Abraços fraternos,

Sandra.

[JMRRF]

A aprendizagem livre de que fala tem sido adoptada em diferentes escolas no mundo. Os resultados não têm sido concretos mesmo no acompanhamento a longo prazo, excepto numa coisa: os génios são descobertos mais cedo. Infelizmente para esses raros alunos, tais escolas nem sempre dispõem de aprendizagem nem avaliações ajustadas. Mesmo no ensino superior, a investigação implica método ao qual não se adaptam por falta de disciplina, e os grandes inventos são obtidos pelos mais dedicados.

Um abraço.

[rajasri571]

yeah...........and in india the number of holidays , vacations in schools are further being lowered.a time when the kids were on their own....this time being taken away from the kids means their.imagination, creativity , socialization hours are further being eroded

[andrebrighamsilva]

Muito interessante, mas, apesar das críticas (com as quais concordo), não apresentam soluções... Como ensinar os jovens a pensar? Por onde começar o processo de reconstrução do sistema vigente?...Ficam as questões...

[JMRRF]

Exames nacionais com exercícios totalmente diferentes de ano para ano (em todos os anos de escolaridade) e não subjugados a uma prova modelo obrigariam os alunos a pensar em vez de os fazer memorizar. Infelizmente o ministério e as escolas trabalham para as estatísticas e há um medo enorme de voltar ao sistema que em 1992 conquistou o 7º lugar do mundo segundo a UNESCO, pois nessa altura a média nacional dos exames de Matemática era 2/20 e não 7,5/20 como agora.

[adoteessaideia]

Amigo,

Acredito que Paulo Freire tenha algumas respostas às suas indagações. Vale a pena ler "Pedagogia do Oprimido", "Pedagogia da Autonomia" e especificamente sobre esse tema "Saber Pensar" do Pedro Demo também é bastante esclarecedor. Indico esses livros pois foi o próprio Toffler quem indicou em palestra proferida a convite do Ministério da Educação no Brasil, o "método" de Paulo Freire como o mais indicado para educar as gerações do futuro.

Abraços fraternos,

Sandra.

[JMRRF]

Há alguns teóricos da educação em Portugal (que por vezes citam também P. Freire, P. Demo e outros). Mas independentemente de cada modelo, abre-se sempre a porta do facilitismo. Todos sabemos que o ensino é um trabalho árduo que implica paciência, tempo e dedicação de alunos e professores. Ao invés, opta-se por "aprender brincando" e os resultados acabam por ser mediocres... Como diz Heidi "é preciso ensinar a pensar" e isso não se faz livremente nem facilmente.

Obrigado pela sua participação.

[marialva123sp]

A educação é um processo social, é desenvolvimento. Não é a preparação para a vida, é a própria vida. Portanto, cabe a nós repensarmos o modelo que está sendo adotado ainda hoje...