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The educational model is facing a crisis throughout the Western world, with its role and legitimacy being heavily debated. In the past, schools were revered as temples of knowledge, fostering understanding, promotion, and openness. However, in today’s world, schools have lost prestige due to the influence of television, games, the Internet, and travel, which have made children feel more knowledgeable. The traditional school system is criticized as rigid, archaic, and closed-off, with teachers being delegitimized, students disengaged, and parents omnipresent.
This decline in the status of schools has led to a fracture over a generation. The original purpose of teaching students to think and preparing them for society is shifting toward vocational training. Economic considerations, globalization, and a decline in school’s prestige have contributed to this shift. Vocational streams now outnumber general education, with only privileged children receiving a broad education. The delegitimization of schools and fear of the outside world have fueled the success of information and communication technologies in education.
Digital technology is seen as an opportunity to modernize education, but there is a lack of evaluation and comparison with neighboring European countries. The power of major technology firms (GAFA – Google, Amazon, Facebook, Apple) is not adequately addressed. The digital revolution is presented as progress and democratization, but it also leads to the dehumanization of education.
The rapid changes in the world, driven by economic and technological forces, demand adaptation from education. However, this adaptation has led to a devaluation of knowledge, erudition, and slowness. Quantity, speed, and accessibility have become prevailing values, and teachers are seen as obstacles rather than essential guides.
The economic stakes in the education market are significant, with the GAFA firms seeking to dominate primary schools. The technological revolution in education is often driven by promises and a lack of critical evaluation. The link between technological progress and economic interests is rarely discussed, and the autonomy of technology is considered a political ideology.
To address these challenges, the author proposes a shift from technology to anthropology. Education is emphasized as a unique activity that unites all dimensions of humankind. The independence of schools must be preserved, and critical thinking should be maintained. Six avenues for reflection are suggested, emphasizing the need to detechnicize thinking on education, engage in critical evaluation of reform projects, examine the power of technology firms, maintain a distance from an open world, focus on the essential role of identity in education, and question the unquestioned support for digital technology in schools.
In conclusion, let us always bear in mind that school serves as the crucible for nurturing critical thinking, involving an ongoing negotiation with prevailing ideologies. However, effective negotiation requires a solid identity. Why hasn’t UNESCO, with its designated role, undertaken a process of critical introspection into the foundational aspects of education and the scrutiny of technological ideologies? Perhaps UNESCO itself has succumbed to the prevailing consensus, a vast entity that perceives no alternative for humanity other than digitization.
A glaring reality emerges: in the absence of political utopia, technological ideology emerges as the sole contender. It becomes a surrogate for political ideology. Consider, for instance, the term “digital society.” By associating a technical term with a political one, attention inevitably shifts to the technical aspect.
In essence, particularly concerning education and most societal issues, learning is synonymous with cultivating the ability to think and critique. This isn’t for the mere sake of criticism but to safeguard the mental freedom essential for knowledge. To contextualize digital technology is not an evasion from contemporary times; rather, it is an empowerment to sustain critical and human freedom. This empowerment is crucial for relativizing technologies, regardless of their nature. The primary function of schools, which is to transmit knowledge, necessitates the development of critical and liberated minds. These minds will have ample opportunity later on to continually “adapt” to the world.
The core predicament lies in redefining the role of schools, not merely the status of the digital realm. If transforming all schools into digital entities were sufficient to usher in a new educational paradigm, we would be aware of it. However, the truth is that digitizing schools and labeling it as a new educational plan is a simpler task than genuinely reconsidering the fundamental role of education and schools.
Source:
Wolton, D. (2017). La technique ne fait pas un projet d’éducation. Hermès, La Revue, 78, 207-211. https://doi.org/10.3917/herm.078.0207