Dystopian Education
By the year 2035, education could very well become a dystopian institution if current trends continue. Every year, technology use and prominence increases in the classroom and becomes a bigger part of children’s lives. If education does take a turn for the worse, we have identified five consequences that would likely lead to the demise of the modern school system, including technology replacing teachers, censored education, the decay of arts and humanities, tests determining society placement and effects on early childhood development.
Technology Replacing Teachers
By 2035, the role of the teacher will become obsolete, creating drastic job loss and pay cuts. By providing standardized information on a subject online or via holographic professors, schools may completely replace “live” teachers in the classroom.
With the trend of “online classrooms” already becoming prominent, teachers will eventually become facilitators instead of instructors, in the classroom to troubleshoot and provide supervision rather than teach the material. Technology and online classrooms allow students to work independently. Instead of relying on a teacher to provide all relevant information on a subject, students rely on an online program for answers. The disappearance of the traditional classroom has massive implications for teachers. Long-term instructors may lose their jobs or face extreme pay cuts as they become glorified babysitters. Additionally, education programs in college will likely disappear because the profession will no longer be necessary. This also eliminates the mentor relationships between teachers and students and could be detrimental later in life.
Censored Education
With the increase in online classes and technology in the classroom, students will increasingly rely on the internet for information. This opens the door, however, for the already growing issue of censored internet access and therefore censored education in schools.
In 2015, censored internet access has become a prominent issue in countries such as China. The Chinese government began blocking select foreign websites — such as Voice of America, human rights organizations and newspapers — and has advanced its firewalls to filter specific pages and search terms. Social media sites like Facebook and Instagram are only accessible via Virtual Private Networks in China.
In the future, it is likely that governments would take advantage of the increase in online classrooms to provide information that serves their agendas, regardless of historical facts. For example, “Tiananmen Square crackdown of 1989” is blocked on Chinese search engines. The threat of restricted internet access creates a dystopian education system by manipulating students’ knowledge base.
Decay of Arts & Humanities
With an increase in use of technology in schools, there is no doubt that curriculum will shift to focus on computer science and mathematics. While this change will be in hopes of advancing technology, it will be at the expense of the arts.
As of 2015, only 0.012% of federal spending in the US goes to funding the arts. In order to advance technologically, schools will likely cut music and art programs, which are typically viewed as less crucial to a child’s education.
Space and time will likely be taken from art education, too, as classrooms are converted to computer labs and teachers focus on technology trends rather than music or visual arts. By 2035, there will barely be any outlets for students to express themselves artistically. They will lack mentors, inspiration and encouragement and the flow of creativity in society will suffer for it. Additionally, lack of creative outlets has been shown to affect academic performance and decrease graduation rates.
Tests Determine Society Placement
In a dystopian education system, reliance on tests would reach an all-time high. Young children may be tested or “scanned” to determine their capacity for learning and other discernible traits, which could be used to categorize children into classes and later as job placement criteria.
Unfortunately, our society has already moved very much in the direction of standardized testing as a measure of a person’s intelligence and potential success, and as the basis for teaching material. Teachers’ lesson plans, curriculum and teaching methods are often structured in a manner that “teaches to the test.” This offers students very little feedback on critical thinking or suggestions to improve.
Categorizing humans based on test results cannot capture spirit and personality, so relating worth to test results would do a great disservice to society. With the advancement of technology and increasing reliance on standardized tests, it is likely that by 2035 school children will face societal and career categorization based on test results.
Early Childhood Development
An increase in technology in schools and in the classroom means that children will be introduced to computers and a variety of other screens at a very young age. The excessive use of technology during childhood will be extremely detrimental to early human development.
In 2010, the American Academy of Pediatrics cited statistics from a study that revealed the average 8- to 10-year-old spent nearly eight hours a day with media. With the scope and use of technology growing at an exponential rate, these times will certainly increase greatly by 2035.
The idea of “screen addiction” has already become an issue and will only increase by 2035. The fear is that children who spend too much time playing games or on social media will see the “real world” as fake and less important. Finally, the increase of technology in the classroom and beyond may pose health risks to children, such as obesity, vision issues and joint pain.
LINKS
http://neatoday.org/2012/04/05/the-good-and-bad-news-about-arts-education-in-u-s-schools-2/
http://science.opposingviews.com/negative-effects-using-technology-todays-classroom-1549.html
http://www.nasaa-arts.org/Research/Grant-Making/NEAFactSheetSpring2013.pdf
http://blogs.edweek.org/teachers/living-in-dialogue/2013/05/dystopia_a_possible_future_of_.html
