One of my frequent chants these days is about students becoming our partners in their education. That they not be considered vessels for the flow of knowledge is a common way of putting it. But I’m even uncomfortable with calling them customers, though there is some value in thinking about services in that vein. In a phone conversation I was having this morning with some tech-ed and library folks in Minnesota, we were struggling with describing this new relationship, and one of the bingos was that we need to respect our students as active and responsible learners — and to show that respect.
I don’t believe that this new partnership between teacher and learning, or perhaps more accurately, the interconnected and transparent nature of teacher-learner, has better been illustrated than EAROS‘s recent event in Kuala Lumpur — an event that was keynoted by Korean high school student, Yeon Kuk Woo. It truly is an amazing address, saying much of what you and I have been saying in our conversations, but from the perspective of a school learner.
I was especially impressed with the speakers insights about global concerns, humanitarianism, and what individuals can do to assist and support people in dire need.
Many thanks to Thinking Stick’s Jeff Utecht for sharing this video.