Saturday, May 23, 2015

Speculation on Education

Pieter Brueghel the Elder (1526/1530–1569) [Public domain or Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
speculate: to invest money in ways that could produce a large profit, but that also involve a large risk. Can also be used in the sense of to form theories, or conjecture on something without any firm evidence. The combination of these two definitions is the backdrop to the phrase, "put your money where your mouth is."

There is risk in speculation. 

We need to know where our mouths are. Often they're in the same place, repeating the same stories; a broken place where our deepest passions like science, governance, and education are just big problems in need of fixing.

The Conversation, Arnold Lakhovsky [Public domain or Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
As this blog nears 10 years (a fact pointed out to me by a student in Genius Project) the Pedagogy of the Compressed still consumes me; but now my speculation on transformation is gaining it's mouth and it's money. If I invest in this, what will profit look like? What would the risk entail?

Is public schooling an outdated concept? What does divorced from the workplace mean? Are examinations as assessment a relic of modernity? How do we continue to "lift all boats"?