"Rethinking Education" Ch. 4 Reflection

Chapter four in Rethinking Education has given us a better idea of how teaching and learning has evolved in America. This chapter also gives us a better account of how the different Revolutions have a major affect on how we are educating our students. The systems have been interchanged throughout the last few centuries of education. The initial system of education is called the apprenticeship system where the children are taught everything they know by those closest to them, such as their family or family friends. The children were taught by observation, guided practice, and trial and error. After using the apprenticeship system for a while, the responsibility of teaching was shifted from the family to the state when education was now under the universal schooling movement. During this movement students were taught content such as reading and writing by an instructor. This is different from the apprenticeship system because the children were now being taught other subject areas than just what they need to know for their future career. In day's generation I believe we are stuck in the universal education system but in need for change. Now that technology is widely available, it should slowly evolve us into more of an apprenticeship system because technology gives us the tools to customize our education to suit our individual futures.

As a result of this new thinking I will understand that since life is always changing and technology is always improving that the way we will educate our student will be changing as well. As a teacher I will need to adapt to the current system of educating our students and be open to educate my students in more way than one. After reading this chapter I have realized that there is a cycle of revolution in our education system and now that technology is evolving as well we have become more and more out of sync with what our students need to succeed both in and out of the classroom, but more importantly, for their futures. This means that we, as educators, need to help America get out of the universal schooling slump we have been in for the past decade and educate our students by using more of a apprenticeship style of educating.