I recently read the following at the Scientific American website
Sometime early in this century the intelligence of machines will exceed that of humans. Within a quarter of a century, machines will exhibit the full range of human intellect, emotions and skills, ranging from musical and other creative aptitudes to physical movement. They will claim to have feelings and, unlike today’s virtual personalities, will be very convincing when they tell us so. By around 2020 a $1,000 computer will at least match the processing power of the human brain. By 2029 the software for intelligence will have been largely mastered, and the average personal computer will be equivalent to 1,000 brains.
Although such advances in technology are both exciting and scary at the same time, this passage struck a nerve with me for a different reason. As an educator, it made me question how well we are doing in preparing our students to thrive in this type of environment. In the year 2020, our youngest students will be completing their educational careers in District #1, so it is not that far away. Have we started to think about the social and economic challenges these students will face upon graduation? Have we thought about what changes we need to make to curriculum and instructional pedagogy to prepare them for these challenges?
In short, are we teaching them the way we were taught, or are we teaching them for the world they will encounter upon graduation? I would be anxious to hear your thoughts on this challenging subject.
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Although change is inevitable and we have to be ready to jump in with the changes, we need to be open minded to accept the changes that our children will require. But there is an old saying "that the more things change, the more they stay the same." This is true as our children need the basics. Some of the core values such as integrity, hard-work, perseverance, dedication, cooperation are traits that will help our children succeed in any career.
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