imagine it!

in class, my champion and a beast of an algebra teacher (i won't post your name for your own privacy, but you know who you are) showed us a video called "imagine it!". it was all about engineering and the applications of math and science in changing the world in the future. it was really cool, so much so that i decided that my reflection on it would be interesting for you guys to read.

"imagine it!" reflection

"what's more important, asking questions or answering questions?" this was, to me, the most important issue discussed in "imagine it". all day in school, we are asked questions with only one right answer, but in real life, this is not the case. there are often many different ways to achieve the things we wish to achieve. yes, kids do need to learn discipline and order, but there can be an order in chaos. it's called emergence. according to wikipedia, emergence is "the way complex systems and patterns arise out of a multiplicity of relatively simple interactions." ants don't really know what they're doing as individuals, but as a group they're more evolutionarily successful than human beings. maybe learning could work the same way. the seemingly simple interaction of a large group of students asking questions of each other could create a complex learning environment where everyone learns from each other and the teacher is a facilitator rather than an instructor. our total collection of knowledge as human beings is expanding by the day, but schools are required by their districts, who are required by their states, who are required by their countries to teach the same standards every year. my little sister is ten years younger than me, but in all probability the main difference between my education and hers will be that she will never learn to call pluto a planet. the world constantly shifts and changes, and asking children to ask questions will make sure that our education system can keep up.

note: you can find out more about "imagine it!" at imagineitproject.com