2010: Arthur C. Clarke and Three Wishes for a New Decade

Hollywood always likes to dream that progress will happen a lot faster than it does. And Arthur C. Clarke liked to do this more than anyone. One has to give him a lot of credit when it comes to dreaming big. He always used the most current science in his novels as a way to tell stories of the future, whether it be Halley's Comet or Supercomputers.

I wish there was an educational equivalent to Arthur- someone who was so forward thinking when it came to education, that your mouth just salivated at the idea of learning a certain way or of joining a certain learning community (see, Arthur didn't let politics get in the way of the ideas; in Clarke's future, people got over their divisions in the name of progress). 

Before Arthur died in March 2008, he made the below video. In it, on his 90th birthday,  he had an overall wish for the 21st century:

"I would like to see us overcome our tribal divisions, and begin to think and act, as if we are one family."

Relative to education, this statement is telling because right now, there are so many tribes and so many voices, that very little is being accomplished nationally. It's a jumble-muck; let's hope that we can overcome that. 

He also, surprisingly, talked about technology "tools:"
"Technology tools help us to gather and disseminate information. But we also need qualities like tolerance and compassion to achieve greater understanding..."
 
See? Even Arthur knew it was about more than tools. Folks in education have been talking a lot lately that it's more than just about the tools; it's about critical thinking, and learning. Although Arthur Clarke wasn't really talking about education, per se, it's really all about education, and it's good to hear him say this three years ago, now that we're almost becoming buried in Web 2.0 tools.

Arthur also had three wishes on his birthday:

1. I would like to see some evidence of extra-terrestrial life

2. I would like to see us kick our current addiction to oil.

3. I dearly wish to see lasting peace (established in Sri Lanka)

When you listen to Arthur talk, it's like he just knows. He knows what is possible for us, and what we are capable of. If tele-communications can grow so big so fast, why can't peace (or the graduation rate)?

So, in this new decade of the "tens,"  I have three wishes that I'd like to see:

1. I wish the pedagogy and the process of teaching will see more light in the conversation about using technology to improve teaching.
2. I wish that students will have a bigger voice in their schools as stakeholders, from kindergarten all the way up- that they'll be connected to their schools in such a way that they'll always be able to give back. 
3. I wish that new ideas of education management and administration will begin to see a tipping point, and that those in education will begin to act as one family.

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