Is it cell phones or teachers eroding the effectiveness and success of education today?
British Columbia has banned cell phones, ‘bell-to-bell,’ from schools in the province. [ 
] It’s very commendable to finally hear some political leaders have the cajones to lead rather than yield to the clamor of the masses, especially the young.
At the risk of overgeneralizing and jumping to a sweeping solution, schools today may deserve criticism for doing a less-than-excellent job educating our children. It may be a moot point. What is an excellently educated child? Can they count? Who needs to be able to count when they have a device that will do it for them accurately? Where’s Sri Lanka? Micronesia? Burkina Faso? I don’t know, but give me a second, and I’ll tell you as I use my device.
Education is more than readin’, ritin’, and ‘rithmetic. It’s about thinking, evaluating and analyzing. It’s about morals, principles and ethical values. It’s about responsibility, respect and obligation. There are many skills and tools in life that cannot be derived from a technological device. No cell phone can teach social values, moral principles, right from wrong, DEI (diversity, equity, inclusion), or the value of discussion and debate. No cell phone can assess and evaluate the wrongfulness of violence. A teacher is needed to teach about those inadequacies.
Before criticizing teachers and the education system, perhaps we should ask if education fails as much as some claim. How do we know it is? That may be the problem of our education system. As some have said, “You can’t expect what you don’t inspect.” And that may be the flaw in our education system. When graffiti is plastered over buildings and public place walls, when bullies act in the schoolyard, when the ‘Harvey Weinstein’ types denigrate women freely and openly in the office, in the military ranks, when the old are abandoned to ‘warehouses for the worn,’ we might conclude education has some inadequacies. The education system may need examination review and revision.
Today’s culture seems to continue the “old boys’ club,” or there are too many captains and not enough deckhands. Maybe we need captains who can think outside the box and are willing to pick up the shovel and do some digging themselves. Is it possible? Is it likely? Can it be done? Our kids would sure be better educated if it were done.
