Most educators recognize the need for reform in the American education system if our children are to keep up in an increasingly global community. Part of that reform must come from demanding higher standards from our students, educators, and institutions – areas we thought would be addressed by No Child Left Behind legislation, and hope may still be accomplished. The other area of reform must be in embracing technology in our classrooms and making our students comfortable with interacting efficiently and responsibly in the digital world. But there is still something to be said for the traditional methods of imparting knowledge. While I am benefitting from the advances in technology which allow me to complete my entire Masters degree online, there are things that can only be learned through interpersonal communication. Mikhail Epstein, writing for the Academic Exchange of Emory University, discusses some of these benefits in an article entitled “Why the University is not a Strip Mall of Knowledge.”
While Mr. Epstein is addressing these issues as they relate to university level education, some of the same arguments can be made for secondary education as well. He refers to education as a “truly existential experiment and revelation about self and other.” Nothing could be more true, especially when dealing with teenagers whose entire existence revolves around these revelations about self and other. While it helps to engage and motivate students by using technology, there can be no replacement for the so-called “teachable moments” that occur only through the interactions of educators and students. Only there can we help the student to navigate through the confusion and vulnerability of a period in their lives when they are learning so much about themselves and the world around them. Education is not simply bringing them to the knowledge, but teaching them how to incorporate it into what they already know and where it can lead them. Epstein argues that “genuine education requires three in’s that cannot be copied for mass output and consumption: intuition, inspiration, and invention.” Technology may make sharing knowledge easier, but it will never replace the personal interaction that is essential to a true understanding of any subject.
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