The future of Schools: ‘consumer kids, consuming culture’?

“School will be a different world within 10 years…if it still exists.” (Maslen, 2013) As it is well known, technology has had, is having, and according to Professor Neil Selwyn featured in the 2013 Sydney Morning Herald article will constantly continue to have an immense impact upon on all aspects of life whether it be mentally, physically, spiritually or emotionally. Today, we are being consumed in this “’age of desire’, interpreting and witnessing the ‘big cultural shifts’ which are reworking childhood and the school student. An eagle’s eye view of ‘consumer kids/consuming culture’ is created.” (Kenway, Bullen, 2001)  

Wadham, Pudsey and Boyd cleverly state that “Humans are cultural beings developing meanings and interpretations of the world around us…comprised of the artifacts, the material objects which express and embody our values, beliefs and interpretations.” (Wadham et. al, 2007, pg 4, 12) We witness the idea of culture constantly being subject to change, taking on a vast amount of definitions that could be morphed to accommodate the context of a particular social subject or idea of relevance. Today, this idea of relevance is technology thus creating this consumerist and technologically absorbed culture.   Kenway and Bullen (2001) propose that schools are becoming commercialized, heavily basing their educational implications upon the incorporation of technologies in the curriculum and classrooms as to suit the upcoming era of technology and consumerism.

The launch of this great technological era is already evident within schools although classrooms, students and teachers have become immensely reliant upon it and utilizing it whenever and wherever possible. Professor Selwyn says, “Students will no longer carry school bags laden down with books to their classes. Textbooks, along with computers and laptops, will have disappeared from the classroom, as will paper-and-pen exams. Then again, even the classroom itself may be empty of students.” (Maslen, 2013) All these great technological influences are being adopted into schooling and education. Professor Selwyn continues hypothesizing what limits will be achieved with technology as he states “Library full of books, will have been replaced by digital editions; laptops and PCs by palm-sized smart phones, tablets and ‘‘fablets’’, a cross between the small screen of the smart phone and the tablet computer; exams by online tests; and perhaps the school itself will have gone and a virtual teaching institution on the worldwide web taken its place.” These speculations are not far fetched. Already we see within classrooms today the installation of ‘smart boards’ in every classroom, the provision of laptops by the Rudd Government to high school students; replacing their use of textbooks; and the handy use of clever devices such as Apple iPads to enhance learning experience. We have and are definitely in a technology-immersed society and this does seem to be not only the upcoming future, but also the current state of our schools.

On the other hand, Professor Selwyn poses an extremely pertinent issue in the article, as there are now “concerns that learning is not necessarily the driver behind schools being persuaded by international corporations to introduce new technology. He finds it worrying that Philadelphia is adopting virtual schooling to cut its spending on schools, not to tackle the educational problems the technology is supposed to be solving.” (Maslen 2013) Thus, the predicament of whether the introduction of all this innovative, extraordinary technology is really for the student to achieve the best possible learning experience they could?, or whether its ultimate aim is to merely simplify and cheapen the high costs of education through this shift into a possible ‘virtual schooling’ phase.

I believe, technology has definitely changed the face of education and regardless of the constant suppositions it has improved education. I feel it was initially introduced into the teaching and learning curriculum in order for schools, students and teachers to receive the best possible education, however, I hope it would not ultimately succumb to this idea of ‘virtual schooling’ as school, nevertheless, is a significant step in ones life to learn, attain knowledge, be introduced to others, form relationships and gain the necessary tools for life.

References:

Kenway, J. & Bullen. (2001). Consuming children: Education-Entertainment-Advertising. Buckingham: Open University Press. Chapter 5: Designer schools, packaged students

Maslen, G. August 26, 2013, The Future of School, http://www.smh.com.au/national/education/the-future-of-school-20130822-2sdvz.html

Wadham, B. Pudsey, J. & Boyd, R. (2007). Culture and education. Sydney: Pearson Education. Chapter 1: What is culture?