Education: On Demand

I keep thinking of Buckminster Fuller's admonition:

"You never change things by fighting the existing reality. To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete."

Our current education system is essentially an industrial model. Think of school as a factory - students as raw materials - graduates as finished products. We 'warehouse' students and force them to adhere to strict schedules - Language Arts at 9:05, Math at 10:00. It just doesn't work for most students, and the consequence is usually disengagement.

I believe the new model will feature what could be called Education: On Demand. We have the technology to create and deliver mini lesson modules on any conceivable topic, wirelessly and on demand. It makes no sense to me to have a million teachers individually writing lesson plans to teach addition of one digit numbers, or order of operations, when we could have beautifully crafted and professionally-produced video lessons available on demand.

Students don't need Math at 10:00AM - they need Math when they have an authentic problem to solve. How many chairs do we have to set up for the assembly? If two people do the work how long will it take? What if ten people do it? Then Math becomes purposeful and real to students. No one asks, "Why do we need to learn this?" The need to know creates the motivation to learn, and engagement becomes intrinsic.

To my knowledge, no one is pursuing the notion of Education: On Demand as a new model for public education. Private business interests and dedicated individuals are leading the way in creating an "On Demand" infrastructure and producing digital instructional media. When this connects with a handheld device, I predict the new model will shatter the old "Education: On Schedule" approach and the schoolhouse walls will come tumbling down.

"You never change things by fighting the existing reality." R. Buckminster Fuller

One day in the library stacks, I was searching for a book by Howard Gardner, author of Multiple Intelligences theory. Coincidentally, the book next to it was a slim volume entitled, R. Buckminster Fuller on Education edited by Wagschal & Kahn (1979). I had read his Operation Manual for Spaceship Earth in the 1970's, and visited one of his geodesic domes in Montreal at Expo '67.
I took it home and read it in one sitting, then reread it and went back to the library for 6 more books by Fuller. His ideas are probably 100 years ahead of his time, and long out of favor in the popular imagination.

But consider this in the context of education reform...

"You never change things by fighting the existing reality. To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete." - R. Buckminster Fuller

This is sound advice. Recall what happened to horses and buggies, iceboxes, vinyl records, 8-track cassettes and slide rules.


Wagschal, P. & Kahn, R. (Eds.). (1979). R. Buckminster Fuller on Education. Amherst, Massachusetts: University of Massachusetts Press.