The 2009 ITEC Conference started off with some great thoughts to ponder from our keynote speaker, Dan Pink. Some of the money quotes:
- The purpose of public education in America is not to deliver employees to employers. It's much richer and broader than that.
- Dr. Richard Moniuskzko, Assistant Supt, Fairfax County Schools: "We need to prepare kids for their future, not our past."
- Industrial Revolution was about replacing routine manual work with machines. Information / Technology Revolution is about replacing routine cognitive work with computers.
- Business world places premium on novelty, nuance, customization. Education system places premium on routines, right answers, and standardization.
- Daniel Goleman: "One of psychology's open secrets is the relative inability of grades, IQ, or SAT scores, despite their popular mystique, to predict unerringly who will succeed in life. The exceptions to the rule that predictively equates IQ with success are many – more, in fact, than fit the rule. At best, IQ contributes to about 20 per cent of the factors that determine life success, which leaves 80 per cent to other forces."
- Here's that quote from Zhao Zhongjian: teachers need to "foster 21st-century talents." That means understanding that creative arts are no longer a frivolous luxury, but essential to achieving a competitive edge.
The session was blogged live here where you can follow the conversations his words sparked!
