Teaching in the hyper-connected world

Last week I had the most amazing experience of my life time. We have seen the world divided into many segments, not just in borders but in different ways. However, the most shocking factor to me was even developed nations like United States of America had one major pressing issue with country like Nepal (a developing nation in speed of tortoise). In terms of education all the nation's representative from 32 different nations had a same cause - One day each and every child would receive quality education.

The knowledge shared among these countries was of a great delight, overwhelmingly. Tom Friedman, a columnist in The New York Times and author of The World Is Flat, stunned everyone with the urgency for each and every representative to work more. He stated that in the hyper-connected world the AVERAGE performance is obsolete, let alone the poor performance. He was bold and humble to state that he doesn't consider just the few ones as contenders who write in other newspapers like The New York Times, but the million of people who have access to global information and can write challenging him anytime in any moment. Hence, he believes he needs to be equipped all the time with newer knowledge and information.

Friedman's message echoed further in the sessions and was accepted by all the representative from 32 nations and I believe is still haunting them even after returning to their respective countries. With it the challenge of providing each children education ended and bigger challenge of empowering them with knowledge that would empower them to take on any kind of advancement in the every growing hyper-connected world. The children in every school need to be provided contextual knowledge so that they would relate with the present situation and also skills like creativity and critical thinking so that they can contest in the global arena as well.

As a network, he stated Teach For programs in all the nations have an advantage of working together. He mentioned the hyper-connected world can be dealt through hyper-collaboration between all who same issues in their respective nation. My observation during multiple discussions with representative from different nation also suggests the same. I felt there was a significant level of similarity between South Asian and Hispanic countries. While saying that, there was at least one factor in which one nation spoke of same language with other 31.

Through humility, collaboration and sharing of knowledge within all the nations only can this hyper-connected world find best way in providing quality education to each and every children of the world. Technology is the only catalyst whose advancement can make this possible.

Thanks to Tom for enforcing the sense of urgency and sense of possibility with which everyone felt necessity of more connection and collaboration.

Let's care, share and grow together.

;evolusun