Technology: In Plain English טכנולוגיה: באנגלית פשוטה: Hello Folks... I'm Baaaaak

Hello Folks... I'm Baaaaak!!

And it feels good to be blogging again!!!

So, what is it that I am going to write about as the first entry of my triumphant return?

...A lamenting of the ingenuity of students in the Jewish Day School System today.

Ok, ok, I hear some of you saying; "Well Yossie, that it is because we have driven the creativity out of our kids." - and I would agree with you - but that begs the question: what are we going to do about it??

Now, what was the "straw that broke the camel's back" and prompted me to write about this?

It's actually quite simple. You see, my glasses broke...

Yep, they snapped right in half while I was cleaning them.

So, I asked a group of students, what I should do to fix them? They responded with; "use tape!" (My own son said this, but at least he added that I should use the super strong "Flex Tape" of Internet fame.)

The only problem with this solution is that the tape won't hold on the metal and the glasses would flex way too much. At this point most of the students just threw up their hands in defeat.

So I gave them the following challenge:

Using a bit of copper wire (14 gauge and some jewelry wire) with a bit of soldier, could they fix my glasses.

Not a single one could figure out a way to do it.

So sad...

This made me think that perhaps we educators have spent too much time giving our students "an education" without really giving them an education. We have taught them WHAT to think without showing them HOW to think!

So what can we do about it?

Well, let me suggest the following...

We must become familiar with the different ways that can "teach" our kids to live in the world that they are inheriting. We can expose them to different forms and methods of approaching a situation/learning opportunity/problem to be solved. We can help them develop (note: not GIVE them) the tools that they will need to survive in the 21st Century and beyond. And it all starts with a simple problem - a pair of broken glasses.

Over the next few months, I will making suggestions on how we, as parents and educators, can begin to, perhaps, achieve this lofty goal. I invite you to join me on this journey.

As for my glasses...

I fixed them myself and showed my students. Now they want to learn how to solder and "tinker." So, you can see that there IS HOPE!!!