Old School is Great, But Not for Education

It’s time to forget about “teaching” and encourage students to “level up.”

Erik P.M. Vermeulen, PhD
9 min readFeb 24, 2023

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Photo courtesy of author

TWENTY-FIVE YEARS AGO

I contemplated the scene before me, as if I were a spectator, when — in reality — I was the star of the show, waiting in slight trepidation, if truth be told, for my performance to begin.

The lecture hall was already packed and noisy. The sound of unfolding wooden chairs and the adjusting of rickety-old tables as the students urgently entered the room and tried to find their preferred spot. The sounds of curiosity, anticipation, and a sincere willingness to learn.

A surprisingly high number wanted to sit in the front, closer to the action, and in the expectation that it might improve the quality of their experience and the degree or amount of knowledge-transfer. As if distance was the enemy of learning and proximity its friend.

The group of what appeared to be freshmen was sitting in the front right of the lecture room, directly below me. They looked keen and ready for the lecture, pens poised, and paper laid out on the desks in front of them. The pages of the assigned textbook — the authoritative work in the field — already open at the pertinent page.

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Erik P.M. Vermeulen, PhD
Erik P.M. Vermeulen, PhD

Written by Erik P.M. Vermeulen, PhD

Where Gen X memories meet today’s struggles.

Responses (6)

What are your thoughts?

Excellent post! As an outsider (of the education system) I am curious to find out whether there is a growing schism between progressive teachers (who are open and willing to experiment with AI in the classroom) and the school board administrators…...

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Yes, the nature of education needs to change and is changing. For many adult and young adult learners the change is the abandonment of traditional schools. The great failure now in this period of radical transition is archaic thinking. This is not a…...

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I work for an education company that builds learning products for schools and workforce skills.
I ask this question every day - what does learning look like in today's world?
great post and reminder of how times change.

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