[ExI] ideas for ted

[Stuart LaForge]

Spike wrote:

> Please, your perspectives, ideas, suggestions for focus, anything you
> want to offer.  I have time: the outline wouldn?t need to be ready for
> several weeks and the pitch itself would happen in May.  I am thinking of
> a techno-optimist view of the near term easily-foreseeable future.  My
> notion is to talk about our local public school?s embracing highly
> diversified curriculum: what if we do and what if we do not?

In the current paradigm, schools fulfill several needs, not in any
particular order:

1. A place to pass on valuable skills and knowledge.

2. A place that allows social development and self discovery i.e. a place
to learn "playground politics", sort out hierarchies, learn teamwork, and
leadership, etc. Google "social learning theory" for details.

3. An often tax-subsidized managed day care facility for working parents
that gives their child "adult supervision" for most of traditional
business hours.

4. An institutional interface for the government to spy on, protect, and
indoctrinate youth. Google FERPA law, "mandatory reporting", Pledge of
Allegiance, etc. for details.

So maybe you could address how emerging technology will affect those
things in an era of school shootings.

I hope that helped. I have more specific ideas too, but it's your TED
talk, not mine. ;-) Congrats, BTW. :-)

Stuart LaForge