November 2005

Volume 9 Issue 10  Nov  2005

Just as in the first education paradigm, the second education paradigm is providing an even richer compilation of communication and resource availability, coupled with providing people with time to develop their skills and ideas. The scale of the “Nouvelle Compréhension” is almost impossible to imagine as the slope of the line representing the rate of change approaches vertical which is the equivalent to an infinite rate of change, which in turn potentially represents an almost infinite opportunity for innovation. If we thought the last 50 years was a time of great change, the period of time from 2007 - 2012 will be absolutely overwhelming in comparison as the technology of the Internet pervades every aspect of our lives and provides and almost unbelievable level of potential. The first modern education paradigm, from which we inherited our present schooling system from was made possible by the technology of the book and was set against the backdrop of European Renaissance. This first paradigm didn’t just evolve, mature and flower in the European context but it is from this context that many school systems today have derived their essence.

In the previous chapter we examined the transition from the first education paradigm to the second education paradigm using the graph to the right to demonstrate this transition process.  You will notice that the horizontal axis is not to scale. By setting the horizontal axis to scale the presentation of the first and second education paradigms looks considerably different as in the diagram which follows.

We can see that the compression of the second education paradigm over only a few years creates a much steeper slope in the rise to 100% efficiency in comparison to the first education paradigm which took somewhere between 3-400 years to reach the same 100%efficiency.

If we examine the first education paradigm we can see that where the slope of the efficiency increase was at its greatest there is a good correlation between this and the period of time we refer to as the Renaissance period.  This is far from coincidental.

During the period of time when change in the efficiency of the new teaching and learning, book-based environment (the first modern education paradigm), was at its greatest we would also expect to see a rising capability within the teaching and learning environment to evolve new ideas and new concepts. The increase in the slope of the efficiency line tells that we will see an explosion of potential as long as four key parameters are in place. These key parameters which intersected at this point in time were:

·  [1] An openness and honesty in regard to intellectual pursuits

·  [2] The technology of the book providing the impetus for a new education paradigm.

·  [3] A significant increase in the number of “researchers” (musicians, artists, scientists, philosophers . . .) combined with the capability of the researchers to work collaboratively.

·  [4] An increased access to the research tools required to creates new theoretical frameworks.

The first Renaissance period was a period of history when each of these parameters intersected. The decay of the influence of “the church” over scientific matters allowed both science and philosophy to mature and provided an environment where all ideas were considered and tested. The technology of the book was allowing information/knowledge to be distributed more effectively and efficiently and with cost reductions in printing, new iterations of ideas were published more quickly.  Support from wealthy patrons allowed thinkers, painters, philosophers, artisans, scientists . . . to become full-time “researchers”.  New technologies allowed new tools to be developed including everything from the telescope through to improved paints and musical instruments. The Renaissance period was a confluence of breakthroughs which set the world on a new course.

If we view the graph on the previous page in light of the parameters identified above we see that there exists the possibility that we are entering a second Renaissance period. Indeed, if we look at the table below based on the two different paradigms we see that each of the parameters has been greatly enhanced and the technology we refer to as the Internet is initiating an exponential growth in almost all four aspects.

The Internet provides a publishing medium which is not controlled by any city-state, sectarian belief systems or political ideologies

If there is to be a second Renaissance period based around the technology of the Internet in each of these four parameters must be evident.

In order for ideas to flourish the Renaissance period required an underlying technology, in this case the book, which increased the availability of knowledge, and also allowed knowledge to iterate much faster. Couple this with a supportive intellectual environment where wealthy patrons sponsored intellectuals to think about science, mathematics, art, music, technology . . . . and you have a recipe for a sudden explosion of new ideas in almost every area of intellectual pursuit.  The end of the Renaissance period was not an end to new ideas but rather the Renaissance period was a gateway which brought together new possibilities, new combinations of different disciplines, cultures and ideas.

We are possibly now staring in the face of a second Renaissance which we will refer to as the “Nouvelle Compréhension”, (new understanding), a period brought about by a compilation of events which provide the human race with the potential to find a new set of solutions to complex global and local problems, extend our understanding of science and technology, and create new artistic concepts and ways of communicating ideas, emotions and concepts.

With the second education paradigm being driven by the Internet we are suddenly confronted by the possibility of a second Renaissance period.  Remembering that the first Renaissance period was brought about due to the simultaneous confluence of a number of factors, we can examine the second paradigm shift to see whether or not it also contains a similar confluence of these factors.

Any subsequent Renaissance period will require a quantum leap in all these areas and the comparative effect of these quantum leaps are thousands of times greater.  Just as in the first modern education paradigm, when the efficiency curve reached its steepest the Renaissance period occurred, we should expect the same effect to take place in the second education paradigm.  The first education paradigm took between 4-500 years to mature and the second education paradigm is now expected to be fully mature by 2012. This compressed maturation timeframe, coupled with the fact that each contributing parameter has increased at an exponentially greater rate means that the second Renaissance will be on a scale which will overwhelm the significance of the first Renaissance and what is more, it will not be confined to a particular geographical area but rather it will be a global phenomena, although not evenly distributed.  If we graph the two paradigm shifts on an appropriate timescale we can begin to appreciate the significance of the Internet driven second Renaissance period; the “Nouvelle Compréhension”. Looking at the graph above we can see that the rate of change is greatest somewhere between 2007-2010!

Just as in the first education paradigm, the second education paradigm is providing an even richer compilation of communication and resource availability, coupled with providing people with time to develop their skills and ideas. The scale of the “Nouvelle Compréhension” is almost impossible to imagine as the slope of the line representing the rate of change approaches vertical which is the equivalent to an infinite rate of change, which in turn represents an almost infinite opportunity for innovation. If we thought the last 50 years was a time of great change, the period of time from 2007 - 2012 will be absolutely overwhelming in comparison as the technology of the Internet pervades every aspect of our lives and provides and almost unbelievable level of potential.

There is a degree of inevitability about arrival of the “Nouvelle Compréhension” but at the same time there are global issues which could easily take the world’s focus away from the potential for good which should arise from this transition and instead our focus could easily become internalized and focus on threats such as global terrorism, pandemics, cultural intolerance, nuclear war, biotechnological accidents, peak oil . . . . It is the very nature of a global community coupled with sustained growth, which provides the seeds for each of these threats and suspicion and the associated mistrust could easily shift the tipping point[1] in regard to future Internet growth. The cultural backbone of the Internet is based on a global community underpinned by openness and sharing which are fundamental to the open and free philosophy which is the Internet. Take away trust and potentially the culture which form the core ethic of the internet at a governmental level changes significantly.

Even when such potential loss is so obvious, unfortunately our nature as human beings is based on fear and a focus on self. A shocking example of this is the story behind Easter Island which is told extremely well in the book by Ronald Wright entitled “A Short History of Progress”[2]. To summarise the story: when the Dutch came across Easter Island (Rapa Nui) in 1722 they saw hundreds of massive stone carvings (Moai) some as high as 12 metres and weighing over 100 tonnes. But they could not understand how these could have been built when there was not a single tree on the entire island which could have been used to move the massive sculptures from the quarry to their place of residence.  Many years later the riddle was solved when pollen studies showed that there had indeed been trees on the island. In fact sometime previously the island was home to a huge variety of flora and fauna.

The transition from “Eden” to dust bowl was a result of short sighted human intervention.  On the small island tribal groups flourished and then started to destroy the forest in order to plant crops to provide sufficient food for the growing population.  At some point in time one of the tribal groups created the first small Moai and erected it on the hill overlooking their village. Other tribes grew jealous and carved larger Moai until there were thousands of Moai on the small island with the largest being almost 30 metres tall and weighing hundreds of tonnes. With flash floods now washing top soil into the sea, it was becoming more and more difficult to feed the population and finally the tribes turned to using razor-sharp obsidian (a volcanic glass) to make weapons. Between the Dutch visit in 1722 and Captain Cook’s visit in 1772 many of the great Moai statues had been toppled.

Such was the desire to maintain tribal status that the sustainability of the small island, cast into stark relief by the extremely obvious degrading quality of soil for cultivation and lack of trees and vegetation for resources and to build homes and to fuel fires, that all the energy was spent on ensuring that their Moai stood tall and provided them with status. The destruction on Rapa Nui continued for 70 years with each visiting ship citing less and less statues in the upright position until not one were left standing.  Finally all that was left was a few villagers living in caves, on a barren and windswept Island in the Pacific.

Despite the extremely clear indicators which were all around them pointing to the fact that they were destroying their own home, they continued to do so, driven by pride. If we scale up this experience and look at our earth in the same context, a very similar parallel comes into stark relief.  Unfortunately history tells us that as increasing threats loom on the horizon we have a tendency, as a species to turn on each other and pre-emptively attack the threat. This is a lesson we must learn from history otherwise the “Nouvelle Compréhension” will become the “Destruction Finale” (final destruction).

Historical epochs are impossible to recognize while they are happening and they require a historical context to appreciate their significance so the prediction of such an event is a first also but a prediction is no guarantee, after all it is very dependent on a vast interplay of chaotic events perpetuated by an irrational, illogical and passionate species!

The Mediated World

In we can survive this temptation to self-destruct there are some other aspects of this evolving new paradigm which need to be reflected on and appreciated. Every technology ever invented has the potential for both good and bad and the Internet is certainly no exception to this rule as we already know.  As the underpinning technology for the “Nouvelle Compréhension” it is imperative that we examine some of these more negative aspects to see how they may affect learning in the school environment.

The “Nouvelle Compréhension” is mediated, meaning it is initiated by and imbued with a rich/overwhelming media culture.  Although we can assume a conscious understanding of the influence of the media, we are often unconsciously taking in imagery, text, video and audio messages which are not fully processed in a conscious sense (this would overwhelm us if we tried), and the media ends up providing unconscious building blocks which contribute towards our conceptual models without our conscious consent! This is particularly true when companies engage in branding exercises as opposed to direct selling processes.  Through branding, companies build associations via the media and we find ourselves on warm days sitting on the beach subconsciously desiring a bottle of Coke (even though strangely enough, we mean a can of Coke).

I was alerted to a wonderfully entertaining (at our own expense) book by Thomas Zengotita[3] entitled “Mediated: How the Media Shapes Your World and the Way You Live in It” by a New Zealand educator, Malcolm Milner and this is an essential read for those who wish to explore this idea in more detail.

The slang expression “whatever” distils the essential situation into a single gesture. It arose and caught on because it captures so precisely, yet so flexibly, the Janus-faced attitude we assume as they negotiate the field of options that so incessantly solicit our attention and allegiance.[4]

The Nouvelle Compréhension has several characteristics relating to the effects of media on this radical increase in capability, that we as educators need to be aware of.

• The “media rich” environment has customised almost every environment we enter, whether it be the home we live in, hotels we stay in, theatres we visit, shops where we make purchases (surrounded by imagery which reinforces our buying decisions), holiday destinations in third world countries that are clean, where food is in abundance . . . . . We have been largely unaware of the effect of the media and how it affects almost all our decisions, how we feel about ourselves, how we value others and how we are subtlety and not so subtlety influenced in our purchasing and social decision making.

• Whether we like it or not we have options, options and more options whenever we need to purchase a service, or a product. This was not always the case, and this is a new cultural issue (some think it is a curse!), that previous generations did not have to work through. “Now what cell phone/power/internet/gas/credit card/gym/insurance  . . . . . .  company should I be with?” Couple these decisions with the social decisions they need to make such as “What hair colour/jeans/deodorant/shoes/party/drink/sport/subjects at school/summer camp/movies/friends . . . should I decide on. These decisions can overwhelm us very easily as we do not have a lot of time to consider all the options carefully and we end up almost always feeling we are being ripped off, no matter what decisions we make! This is especially true of young people. They are now making numerous decisions that is some cases overwhelm them and this applies in particular to those that put these decisions off (more a male trait than female), subsequently the backlog of non-decisions grows and grows and the resultant frustration and stress follow shortly.  
  
  In a report released in Nov 2005

Teens turn to drugs, drink, sex to cope with stress

28.Nov.05 By Jonathan Thompson and Sophie Goodchild

LONDON - Dr Dylan Griffiths has spent more than 20 years healing the minds of troubled teenagers. But the British psychiatrist is shocked by what he is now facing on a daily basis. He is treating record numbers of disturbed young patients, unable to cope with the pressures of modern life, who are hooked on drink, drugs and underage sex, or who are so desperate they even contemplate suicide. [more]
 

• We have the capacity to modify and control our environment and manage risk. This also is a new capability for those that “enjoy” this luxury. As is always the case additional “privileges” also carry additional responsibilities. We are quickly reducing all environments to “mediated environments” even those that are considered geographically and societally remote.  The world we inhabit becomes less and less real, more globally “clean, democratic, and where good people always win and the bad get their just desserts”. What we find then is that we struggle with anything we cannot control or modify to suit our needs (people close to us dying, getting unwell/hurt, being unable to afford a world trip this year, the latest car  . . . .).  We protect our affluent young people from the difficult side of life by moving to “safe” suburbs, sending them to “good” schools, they enjoy “safe” outdoor education experiences, we drive them 800metres to school, pick them up from piano lessons and suffocate them in a surreal environment and wonder then why they drink huge quantities of alcohol, take drugs, have multiple sexual partners in quick succession and race cars while fuelled by all the above. 
  
  If we do not expose our kids to risk, allowing them to feel threatened and engage with the real world otherwise they will find risks in other ways.  Will some of them get hurt by taking risks we expose them to?; of course they will but rather the “high” of crossing a mountain pass, bungy jumping or white water rafting than getting high on highly addictive drugs . . . Kids will take risks, they will search them out and find them wherever they can, so let them enjoy a healthy level of risk rather than bore then into taking extreme risks.

• We now know we are cultured and that our culture affects how we see the world and how we respond to it. You only have to look at photographs taken in the 1800’s and observe the strained facial expressions and the stoic stature of those being photographed to realise their culture affected how they interacted with the world, but surprisingly, unless they were well travelled they would have believed that all people were of this disposition. That people in different regions would have different values, attitudes and dispositions would not have been realised as most only communicated with those sharing the same values, attitudes and dispositions. The development of the global village is bringing our awareness of our own culture into sharp relief. Almost all previous generations were completely unaware of the culture in which they were embedded. Each person is cultured and yet this does not stop one generation from seeing clearly the shortcomings of the previous/next generation.

The end result of these experiences is that almost all our decisions are either consciously or unconsciously affected by the media messages we constantly receive. The Nouvelle Compréhension period sits within this pervasive environment and it is imperative that educators are aware of this and that learners are taught to be media aware and media literate. Learners need to be able to “feel” the impact of this subtlety and not become conditioned to its constant existence and hence screened out by the conscious mind. It is the very gradual increase in heat that allows a cold-blooded frog to sit in a frypan and not realise that temperature is increasing until it is too late. Before he knows that he has been cooked. The metaphor applies equally to mediation.  If we’re not careful we suddenly wake-up one-day and realise that someone else has been making our decisions for us, telling us what to do, where to go, who to be friends with, what to like and where we need to be seen.

The type and scale of change that this compilation of future events will generate is hard to predict but large corporations and businesses are increasingly attempting to manage our decision-making. The final outcome will depend greatly on the capacity of the education system, to recognise that the evolution of the second education paradigm presents educators with a unique set of opportunities and responsibilities. The greatest challenge here is to create a balanced curriculum where students are able to develop a broad range of competencies, focusing on developing lifelong learning skills and attitudes, whilst carrying out an audit to assess which knowledge bases are critical for the development of the essential conceptual frameworks while eliminating historical knowledge and concepts which are no longer or never were, appropriate. 

Comments and suggestions to

Mark Treadwell

Teachers@work.co.nz

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