Simulation

Somehow I am afraid that I don't get it sometimes. I've been laying low in this blog because I have to work out some ideas concerning computers in education. Many of my classmates are strong advocates of computers in education. So am I, but I also think we might be selling them a bit too hard, especially those that simulate reality, like games. It doesn't help that much of the arguments for computers and simulations can often call on the ideas of modern cognitive science to develop a principle of education called constructivism. I like constructivism quite a bit, but I'm worried anyway.

In another class I just had to read a brief critique of radical constructivism by Kurt Reusser, who hails from the University of Zurich. It's interesting to say the least, especially since he starts by mentioning Comenius, one of those gentlemen whose name is carved into the exterior of Horace Mann who was an educator in Prague in the 17th century. While I remain a constructivist (and a radical one) at heart I think it too often fails to take into account the culture of education. Here the ideas of Bildung and the concept of pedagogy really come into their own. Constructivism is an excellent theory of the mind, but it sort of is like saying you can teach driving through a better understanding of the internal combusion engine or the way a drive train and gears work. When you teach driving it really doesn't matter what your conception of a car is, and it matters less when you teach someone how to drive. You are more concerned with the factors external to the car, like what to do when you see a pedestrian or a traffic signal. You really have to worry about other drivers more than the other cars! While I think constructivism is more than that in our field, I think also that the failure of computer technology to make the dramatic changes that the advocates expect isn't because they have an inadequate theory of the mind, but because they have an inadequate theory of the school. Most technological ideas are in fact good ideas and they can certainly be made to work with enthusiastic teachers, but they can just as easilly fail. We have to think of the road, not the car.

Of course another big fallacy is that we do like to think that school should be fun and that kids need to be entertained. Computers are, or course, fun, while books are boring and old. As one who actually doesn't mind programming computers and who actually took Java without it being required for two semesters I have to say that the idea of really working on a computer being an entertaining form of education is one that I think is pretty bizzare. Challenging? Yes. All-consuming? Sure. Fun? No way!

I am sure if you asked a woman if she had fun or was entertained having a baby she would be very offended, yet most women I know who have children and can have another want to have the experience again and consider the birth of their child a major milestone and achievement in their lives. I think the same can be said of accomplishing something significant in school, and I think most kids would like to find something important to do with their time rather than be entertained. Teachers aren't entertainers, rather they are midwives for wonderful ideas, great accomplishments and beautiful lives. If you are going to use a computer, make sure it is for this.

With this in mind, I think the best thing you can do with kids is not have them play with software, but make software. Have them use computers for powerful explorations, but not simulations. They can use spreadsheets, programming languages, electronic mail and so many other tools to make their experience worthwhile and challenging. They can give birth to new ideas. Eleanor Duckworth of Harvard has said that you have to keep things complex; you have to honor the difficulty of ideas. I do too. And this is where the real radical constructivism comes in.

Other Thoughts

Back to the real world. I'm sure most readers are aware of the present problems in Iraq. It is a mess for sure, but much of it I think is based on simple ideas. The good guys versus the bad guys. I think the current occupant of the White House grew up watching John Wayne movies and that is where he learned how to be a political leader. Imagine if he played video games!

Back in ancient Greece an exiled general from Athens wrote one of the greatest books ever, the Peloponnesian War. Thucydides chronicled how the great city of Athens, a powerful and beautiful city that produced some of the greatest thinkers and heroes ever known and which created democracy in the midst of a world of kings came to ruin through arrogance and stupidity. This book was a staple of classical education, but when you read it today you realize that it means more today at a time when it is ignored by contemporary education. It is a book we all should read in the light of the current war and as citizens of a democracy. I am sure the last resident of the White House read this book just as I am sure that the current resident did not.

So, in terms of education, back to idea of the road instead of the car. We are all on that road. It is our shared culture, values and ideals. While we think we are rugged individualists who can go anywhere seeing ourselves as Sport Utility Vehicles, in truth we need the road. The road isn't a simulation or a video game; it isn't always fun or go places we want to go, but if you are lucky you will read Thucydides because he is there, as are so many other things worth knowing. If you value the road you will help preserve it, and you might help it lead others to where you wish them to go.