Priorities in XXIst century EDUCATION

             

EDUCATION IN THE XXIst CENTURY

I´ve followed freely Yuval Noah Harari´s 21 lessons for the 21^st century and my own experience after learning from the Millenium generation, which is facing unprecedented transformations and radical uncertainties.  Teachers, being a by-product of the same "educashional"system, tend to reproduce parrot-like the same patterns, modes of thought and mental ticks they suffered/lived through as students themselves.

Schools nowadays should downplay content and  SELECT information, as nearly everything is on the net and Wikipedia, and emphasize life skills to deal with unfamiliar situations and the ever changing challenges of daily life.The only life certainty is Change. Kindly Learn to unlearn and relearn... 

Pedagogical experts argue that schools should teach the four C´s which I have enlarged up to over two dozen:

 

1)  Critical thinking: explore the contradictions in the grand narratives of the past

2)   Communication , perhaps the most important life skills

3)   Collaboration and solidarity (cooperation instead of fierce competition  )

4)   Creativity. Human beings are a very creative species. We enjoy experiments

5)    Courage and strength to preserve your mental balance in difficult situations

6)    Calm (emotional intelligence)

7)     Construction of your identities (multiple intelligences)

         Character definition: Consistency in y(our)      Contradictions.

8)     Conflict & Challenge resolution (Life´s never going to be easy)

9)     Courtesy:  Practise Politeness, Compassion, Kindness, Gentleness & Empathy

10) Climate cataclysm Deep awareness of  our human impact on Nature and global warming effects. Environmental  conservation.

11) Consciousness of cultural conventions and biological factors beyond our control.

12) Crosscurricular connections: Biotechnology; Bioengineering;

       road sense; Life-long learning, etc..

13) Common sense by applying it to every situation, knowing that reason, understanding and humour improve everyone´s lives.

(Common sense keeps on being the least common of all the senses)

14) Cleanliness, (especially after the COVID19 plandemics), by stressing the importance of cleaning habits and  both physical and spiritual cleanliness.

15) C.C.R.(Your ideal music);(Your dream life, man, woman, partner, friend..)

16) Cultivation of Constant Curiosity

17) Contemplation, Charity. Doubt versus Dogma: Warn against the dangers of Certainty

18) Question (y)our Consumer Culture.

19) Connectivity to those around you and the Natural world.

20) Cultural concepts contested: Arbitrary beliefs confrontation: Centuries of oppression

21) Crafting Confidence and resilience

22) Coping with crises : Climb every mountain

23) Commitment to action for a better planet, to improve your City, your Country, your Culture..

24) Construction of a Conceptual Self and Conceptualize alternative versions of reality

25) Contribute a values Compass in the chaotic, confusing circus around us...

26) Caring & Sharing: (Compartir para el Crecimiento personal)

27) Contribute to being a useful member of society, to feel part of something greater than yourself

28) Connect your whole being (Mind, Body and Breath)

                      Classical (Chinese) Culture

                      Carpe Diem

                      Quod nova testa capit, inveterata sapit (We best know what we learn first)

                       Vivere tota vita discendum est ( We are to learn as long as we live)

                       Verba volant, scripta manent ( Words fly away, writing remains)

                       Indocti discant et ament meminisse periti

                       Fas est et ab hoste doceri (Ovid)

                       Docendo discitur

                      Hominis dum docent discunt ( While we are teaching we are learning)

                      Mens sana in corpore sano (Meaning a balance between physical and intellectual abilities)

   

algorithms to practise CONDITIONAL sentences (On lockdown)

       

ALGORITHMS TO PRACTISE CONDITIONAL SENTENCES

An algorithm is an unambiguous method of solving a specific problem.(Wikipedia)

In mathematics and computer science, an algorithm /ˈælɡərɪðəm/  is a finite sequence of well-defined, computer-implementable instructions, typically to solve a class of problems or to perform a computation. Algorithms are always unambiguous and are used as specifications for performing calculations, data processing, automated reasoning, and other tasks.(Wiki Again) 

(Inspiration for this activity came from  Henry Alford´s  The New Yorker December 10 2018)

Write two examples of conditional sentences similar to the ones below:

If you like writing long e-mails you might also like going to a gym where you smash furniture with a hammer.

If you enjoy coffee you may like gossip.

If you read Nietzsche, you are great fun.

If you are into heavy metal, you might imagine the roar of tectonic plates smashing against one another.

If you prefer meeting weird guys you might like wearing big, dark sunglasses.

If you dislike staying at home you might like falling asleep on the bus/underground.

If you achieve tiny moral victories, you might easily feel offended.

If you enjoy unraveling complex expressions you might not wash your hands after using the loo.

If you like sometimes but not always doing the opposite of what´s expected of you, you might also try being offline for two months.

If you refuse to answer e-mails you might like to buy a house on the edge of a cliff.

If you get a penalty/ticket/fine for having an ancestor who reached the grand old age of 100, you might also like pretending that your phone is vibrating in order to avoid talking to someone.

If you are rushed to Hospital you might buy anything once you check out.

If you awaken from coma you are more likely to be fired.

If you are on voluntary lockdown, you might as well find more about algorithms.

Mistakes we often make

           

(A lesson in humility is highly recommended at all times to live in reality not in the fictions created by your ego. 

Nobody is perfect but some humans believe they are more perfect than other fellow human beings.)

MISTAKES WE OFTEN MAKE: 

kindness mistaken for weakness:  or even our weaknesses mistaken for kindness

friendship mistaken for trust.

Influence or price mistaken for value.

self-deception mistaken for freedom.

past record mistaken for future ability.

cunning mistaken for intelligence.

Passion, desire or libido  mistaken for love.

promissary notes (fiat paper) mistaken for money.

dominion mistaken for power.

Might mistaken for right.

wealth mistaken for health.

power mistaken for responsibility.

magical thinking instead of intellectual rigour. (Trivium)

quality mistaken for quantity.

kayfabe mistaken for history.

kinship mistaken for loyalty.

the law confused with justice.

popularity confused with influence.

obedience confused with piety.

ad hoc relativism confused with wisdom.

Credulity or information  confused with knowledge.

religion confused with spirituality.

entropic infotainment confused with learning.

anarchy confused with disorder.

Please add two more items to this general confusion.

The logical fallacies are considered trivial by those condemned by their hubris to be trivial people.

the more trivial the person the more arrogant his ignorance.

the crueller the torturer the duller his survival.

the louder the show-off the quieter his funeral.

the greater the inheritance the harder the discipline.

the lesser the honesty the more worthless the profit.

genius may be illiterate. honour may be innate.

hypocricy has no forgiveness.

it is the mother of all personal black holes.

Please add to this 

Proverbially we should not confuse:
 Apples & Pears or Oranges
Sheep & the goats
 Wheat & Chaff
Speed & Haste
Speed & bacon or Pork
Churra and Merina Sheep

 Think of two more examples:

Everything I´ve learned about life so far...

{                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               }




[









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Absolutely nothing, I´ll write nothing, do nothing, say nothing, think nothing and BE NOTHING  Nuffin,nuffin...

We now live in a planet  where

doctors destroy health

lawyers destroy justice

universities destroy knowledge

governments destroy freedom

the press destroys information

religion destroys morals

and our banks

destroy the economy.

--Chris Hedges 

or see Anne Lamott´s Ted Talk...on what she ´s learned......12 TRUTHS I LEARNED FROM LIFE..

A Typical Day

Often called our daily routine, this common project involves asking students a detailed analysis of their activities hour by hour, day by day.Some complained there was not such a thing as a typical day as every day should be new, unique and different.

LIFE & WORK Music related(Another day Another sunny day),..

Most students cannot live without their social media: INSTAGRAM, TWITTER, FACEBOOK, SNAPCHAT...(Friends)

Family arguments: Chore disputes, school-related disagrements,Cothing style differences, Food and bedtime quarrels,etc..

The past is always present: Your feelings of guilt or any wrongdoing

THINGS I SHOULD DO nearly everyday: (Thanks to Julia Cameron´s insights)

Improve my self-confidence by Recovering a sense of :

SAFETY 

IDENTITY

 POWER

 INTEGRITY

 POSSIBILTY 

ABUNDANCE 

CONNECTION 

STRENGTH 

COMPASSION 

SELF-PROTECTION 

AUTONOMY 

FAITH LOVE & HOPE

Your health both physical and mental is of paramount importance so if you feel more comfortable

DESCRIBE A TYPICAL DAY IN THE LIFE of:

an alien

a drug addict 

a rotten housekeeper

 a person with OCD 

 a person who suffers from epilepsy 

a robot 

a bad cook

God / the devil

 a fetishist 

 a refugee 

a hospital nurse

 a live-in carer 

a politician 

a fictional character 

Your pet  

Your grandmother/grandfather

 a feminist at heart 

a political prisoner  

an ISIS terrorist

a beekeeper  

a drug dealer 

a businessman/woman

a R.C. priest 

an insurance agent 

a second-hand car dealer

 a die hard revolutionary 

a male prostitute 

a useless headmaster 

 YOUR IDEAL DAY TASK 

QUESTIONS on Cat-ALAN independence

I´ve always said that education is either for repression (educashion) or for liberation (critical consciousness). In this thorny issue I´m treading on difficult and sensitive areas. Try to answer these questions as honestly as possible:

CAN WE BUILD SOLIDARITY IN A DIVIDED SOCIETY?

CAN YOU REMEMBER THE SUEVI,VANDALS AND (cat)ALANS?

THE BATTLE FOR HISTORY AND THE RISE OF FAKE NEWS:

HOW MANY LIES(alternative truths) HAVE CATALANS SWALLOWED? 

IS PATRIOTISM THE ACCEPTABLE FACE OF NATIONALISM? 

 IN WHAT WAY IS NATIONALISM A CHILD´S DISEASE, A FORM OF CANCER?  

CAN NATIONALISM BE CURED BY TRAVELLING AND ACCEPTING THAT WE ARE WORLD CITIZENS? 

WHY ARE INDEPENDENT CATALANS SO SELFISH THAT THEY WANT A REPUBLIC ONLY FOR THEMSELVES AND NOT FOR THE REST OF SPAIN? 

WHY DID THE INDEPENDENT MOVEMENT TURN A BLIND EYE ON THEIR OWN CORRUPTION FOR SO LONG?

 IN WHAT WAYS ARE BREXIT AND CATALAN INDEPENDENCE SIMILAR AND DIFFERENT? 

 WHICH OTHER COUNTRIES CAN YOU REMEMBER ARE ALSO FRACTURED i.e.: BELGIUM (Name three more) 

WHAT FUTURE IS THERE FOR CATALONIA AS AN INDEPENDENT NATION?

 WHY DID PART OF THE CATALAN ESTABLISHMENT EMBRACE THE INDEPENDENT MOVEMENT? 

UNDERSTANDING THE INDEPENDENCE BIAS & BORDERS & WHY A REFERENDUM WILL NOT SOLVE ANY ISSUE. 

WHAT AND WHO IS BEHIND THE PRO-INDEPENDENCE MOVEMENT? 

THE RISE OF TOXIC POLITICS AND THE CRISIS OF TRUST IN THE INSTITUTIONS 

DOES OUR DEMOCRACY NEED A MAKEOVER, A CHANGE OF CONSTITUTION, perhaps? 

DO WE NEED A NEW IBERIAN DEAL like the Moncloa Agreements?

( The questions below hve been inspired by Yuval Noah Harari´s 21 Lessons for the 21st century)

DOES A RETURN TO NATIONALISM OFFER REAL SOLUTIONS TO THE UNPRECEDENTED PROBLEMS OF OUR GLOBAL WORLD?

 ISN´T NATIONALISM A RELIC OF MORE PRIMITIVE TIMES THAT APPEALS TO THE ILL-INFORMED INHABITANTS OF A FEW COUNTRIES?

 ISN´T THE CURRENT SPATE OF NATIONALIST FEELINGS A FORM OF ESCAPISM FROM THE GLOBAL PROBLEMS WE ALL FACE?

 IS THERE A NATIONALIST ANSWER TO THE ECOLOGICAL MENACE?

 CAN ANY NATION STOP GLOBAL WARMING BY ITSELF? 

WHAT IS THE NATIONALIST ANSWER TO OUR GLOBAL THREATS?

 

WHY DO CATALAN NATIONALISTS THINK IN TERMS OF A TERRITORIAL CONFLICT LASTING CENTURIES? 

WHEN WE HAVE A GLOBAL ECOLOGY, A GLOBAL ECONOMY AND A GLOBAL SCIENCE WHY ARE WE STUCK WITH NATIONALISTIC POLITICS INSTEAD OF GLOBALISED POLITICS? 

WHEN DOES HEALTHY PATRIOTISM-BEING PROUD OF YOUR IDENTITY AND CULTURAL HERITAGE- MORPH INTO /SUPREMACIST/EXCLUSIVIST/ DANGEROUS NATIONALISM?

SUITCASE WORDS

Another case of multiple meanings(polysemy) applied to everyday usage which vaguely  and remotely reminds me of "conceits".

Suitcase words

Marvin Minsky called words that carry a variety of meanings “suitcase words.”

 “Learning” is a powerful suitcase word; it can refer to so many different types of experience. Learning to use chopsticks is a very different experience from learning the tune of a new song. And learning to write code is a very different experience from learning your way around a city. 
(These are words pregnant with meanings and quite often manipulated by politicians or businessmen to suit their meanings to their wills; i.e.: democracy, liberalism, progress, freedom, tolerance, performance, yield, sustainability, change, interest  and so on and so forth.)
When people hear that machine learning is making great strides in some new domain, they tend to use as a mental model the way in which a person would learn that new domain. However, machine learning is very brittle, and it requires lots of preparation by human researchers or engineers, special-purpose coding, special-purpose sets of training data, and a custom learning structure for each new problem domain. Today’s machine learning is not at all the sponge-like learning that humans engage in, making rapid progress in a new domain without having to be surgically altered or purpose-built.

Likewise, when people hear that a computer can beat the world chess champion (in 1997) or one of the world’s best Go players (in 2016), they tend to think that it is “playing” the game just as a human would. Of course, in reality those programs had no idea what a game actually was, or even that they were playing. They were also much less adaptable. When humans play a game, a small change in rules does not throw them off. Not so for AlphaGo or Deep Blue.

Suitcase words mislead people about how well machines are doing at tasks that people can do. That is partly because AI (Artificial Intelligence) researchers—and, worse, their institutional press offices—are eager to claim progress in an instance of a suitcase concept. The important phrase here is “an instance.” That detail soon gets lost. Headlines trumpet the suitcase word, and warp the general understanding of where AI is and how close it is to accomplishing more. 

Marvin Minsky has written about "suitcase words." Using examples like "consciousness," "emotions," "memory," "thinking," and "intelligence," the MIT Media Lab professor observes that a suitcase word "means nothing by itself, but holds a bunch of things inside that you have to unpack." He saw the need to unpack and analyze each word in order for it to be understood fully. They are not precisely buzzwords, those technical terms or euphemisms shorn of precise meaning through hype and overuse, or jargon; the specialized vocabulary used and understood in specific contexts like given industries. Suitcase words are different in that they often contain multiple and expanding meanings across disparate contexts. They can obfuscate as much as they clarify. Hence the importance of context in any given situation.

Consider "creativity," "leadership," "data," and "digital." Or, look at arguably the single most-used – and explicated – word in the Berlin School Global Executive MBA program which I direct: "Value." It needs to be repeatedly unpacked across disciplines. In leadership courses, it can refer to the beliefs and principles of an individual, team or organization. In strategy, the benefits are exchanged with clients or customers. In finance, the monetary, material or assessed worth of an asset or firm. Eric Almquist of Bain & Company consultancy has outlined 30 different elements of consumer value. That kind of unpacking, undertaken for specific situations, is too often neglected in many discussions of creating or delivering "value." That profusion of possible interpretations is where the potential problem emerges. Speakers can use the intrinsic ambiguity of suitcase words tactically, not to suss out meanings collaboratively but to rely on generic concerns as the basis of superficial agreement.

Even when two people use the same words they may give them different meanings. Take for instance the words democracy or liberal. They may mean very differently from one person to another or one country to another. No dictator will ever accept being called a dictator but any politically correct word will do instead. Remember the times of “organic democracy”...?