Sugata Mitra was around 10 years ahead of his time. If you're going to go into a TED talk and say "schools are obsolete", you'd better have something interesting to say. He does.
Mitra talks about learning in the most difficult places - the slums of India and the heights of the Himalayas. His message is beyond the comprehension of those who believe in only the static world of 'schools': people can and will learn with the power of curiosity and encouragement. John Taylor Gatto (last week's presentation) has written and spoken of such things for two decades. The home school movement and the hard-core libertarians and anarchists have been receptive to his message, but his effect on the mainstream has been exactly zero.
What Mitra doesn't mention - he only alludes to - is that this is the free market at work. The army of teachers, principals, counselors, bureaucrats and managers present in his talk: zero.
Because this is a little longer, this will be the only presentation this week. Write if what you see changed your mind about learning, education, and school. If it did, explain how and why. If it didn't, explain that as well please. I hope each and every one of you is doing well.
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