Project Classroom Makeover Summary

In “Project Classroom Makeover” by Cathy Davidson, has many great ideas and facts about why should the school system should change. Although i may agree in some points as like the school system is working as a factory. I believe that changing some aspects like the way we learn things can and may keep the kids coming to school. For example, in my classes some of my classmates struggle the way the teacher teaches us so when they ask for my help i have tried different methods and it works. They start to understand instead of struggling but that’s because i didn’t choose to teach it the same way as the teacher. And with this experience i noticed that teaching the same way all the time won’t work students will be struggling because they learn in

Cathy Davidson is an English and humanities professor at Duke University. She has published over twenty books, many dealing with technology and education. In “Project Classroom Makeover,” she argues that the way the United States teaches students is not preparing them for the skills needed for success in the twenty-first century. To illustrate her point, Professor Davidson presents the historical development of the educational system in the U.S. She differentiates “high standards” from “standardization” and stresses the need for education to offer rigor, relevance, and relationship (201).

There’s no denying that technology has grown to play a major role in education and learning. Students are using laptops, tablets, and smartphones to research, complete, and even collaborate on assignments, both in and outside of the classroom. Timothy D. Snyder and Thomas L. Friedman both have written articles expressing their opposing opinions on technology in the classroom. Timothy Snyder is a Professor of History at Yale University who has written five different award-winning books. In his article, “Why Laptops Are Distracting America’s Future Workforce”, Snyder explains to students and teachers why he is against technology in the classroom. Thomas Friedman is a reporter and columnist for The New York Times, author of six award-winning

As society advances and the boundary between people becomes seemingly less apparent, many individuals attempt to promote various plans based on the concept of equality. Anyhow, many so-called egalitarian plans would inevitably result in failure because their proponents blindly believe in the efficiency of equality. They neglect how people are motivated to improve and to test their limits by their instinct to compete. In her writing “Project Classroom Makeover”, Cathy Davidson proposes egalitarian plans consist of a “democratization of knowledge” (54) which depends on crowdsourcing and “working together collectively” (51). In Davidson’s perspective, problems will be solved by allowing everyone the equal opportunity to express themselves. However, Karen Ho’s research directly shows the impracticality of her plans by explicitly revealing the existence of hierarchy in her writing, “Biographies of Hegemony”. As shown by Ho’s research, no matter how alluring Davidson’s plans seem, they will not come about. Because Davidson’s idealistic plans disregard human beings’ instinct to strive and fight for what they valued. Such egalitarian plans will not be executed with hierarchy deeply rooted in our society, results precisely from human’s desire to compete with each other.

Technology connects people from all corners of the world. Inventions like the web and the internet has been heralded as the greatest inventions of man. The twenty first century is a fast paced world, with information available at a person’s fingertips. With this new drastic change in society, advocates of education reformation, like Cathy Davidson, pushes for education to be more modernized. In her essay “Project Classroom Makeover”, she points out the outdated education system, and the benefits, technology can have on the failing American education system.

“End-all-be-all is college or we’re leaving students to the lowest,” is it the mindset of how people nowadays educate? In the videos and the article by Davidson got my attention that the school system of education has been worse than ever before because of the companies that bring “new” and “helpful programs” by doing tests. Each video talked about different ways about education but all 3 had the same ideas towards the learning in education. Same goes with the article about how education is the same way as working in a factory. Including this other article that I found out that talks about “Project Classroom Makeover”, is a blog from Davidson as well about “Re-Imagining the Classroom, Re-Imagining the World”.All of this has super strong ideas that can

With the significant growth in technology, which has led to formation of different jobs, and having the internet at the tip of our fingertips humans should be able to educate themselves by using the technology around them to boost their creativity and specialize in what they are passionate about so that they can use today’s technology to revolutionize tomorrow’s technology. She proposes this idea by making a few alterations in the education system. * She phrases her argument by claiming that the collaborative nature of humans’ with other technologies can help the humans grow in fields that are yet to be discovered. * Davidson introduces an argument for decentralized, student driven pedagogy and a focus on crowdsourcing.

In the recent times, one of the hottest topic concerning education has been the standardizing of the curriculum. Standardized curriculum chiefly limits a student’s ability to acquire a higher level of knowledge, since it delivers average education to every student. In the article by Taylor Gatto, he discusses how the school has become a way of producing average individuals. In the article, the author quotes a passage from The American Mercury which states, “The aim… is simply to reduce as many individuals as possible to the same safe level, breed and train a standardized citizenry, to put down dissent and originality” (Gatto pg). I believe, for students to truly learn, they must be challenged through their education in some way. For example,

Education is a very powerful tool in the twenty-first century; the power of knowledge allows an individual to advance his social and economic status. “Project Classroom Makeover” by Cathy Davidson demonstrates the necessity of a customized education system in modern America while explaining why traditional learning is slowly reversing true American values. Since the late 1800s, the United States of America has developed a reputation of “rags to riches” because of the success stories of John D. Rockefeller, Henry Ford, and Andrew Carnegie. The belief that anyone can achieve the American Dream turned the United States into one of the most omnipotent countries in the world. However, recently, the federal government has treated education secondary to homeland security, welfare, and health care. Other countries such as Korea, Finland, India, China, and Switzerland have surpassed America in education, technology, and math and science rankings. Cathy Davidson’s, “Project Classroom Makeover”, exhibits that the United States has reached its pinnacle and the education system is slowly failing millennials due to its inability to adjust its curriculum to accommodate the ever-changing technological age.

In “Project Classroom Makeover”, Cathy Davidson demonstrates the potential benefits that can come from the implementation of technology in the current educational paradigm. Furthermore, in Sherry Turkle’s “selections from Alone Together”, Turkle discusses the unique relationship between a child and his or her artificially intelligent toys, some of which included Tamagotchis and Furbies. Interestingly, children give these toys special treatment relative to other toys. If the special treatment encourages positive behavior, then these toys could be potentially implemented into the current educational paradigm as a new form of technology. Therefore, the real question is are there benefits of allowing children to play with these toys, or will there

After reading Project Classroom Makeover I believe there are many things that will keep us students in school. I have been a victim of the way school has been run for years not knowing we are being manipulated to be up to the high companies standards. I can connect that I am a victim of taking standardized test thinking that if I don’t do good in them I am not good at anything not carrying what my teacher would say to me about my improvement and other accomplishments. That I didn’t want to be in a place where I feel stupid and surrounded by kids that are smart, not making me feel that I am part of the environment. I also believe what keeps kids in school is a carrying teacher or having a connection with them, it is really hard to be in a classroom

Technology has revolutionized the human experience by changing the way one learns. Technology can best be defined as a tool that supports and promotes human learning. This can be seen through the usage of calculators, tablets (example: iPad), Smart Boards, video cameras, and, of course, the computer. These are all innovations that can have a profound impact on classroom learning. Although there are some schools that have a strict policy that technology should be removed from the modern day classroom, other schools believe that integrating technology into the classroom helps prepare our students for the elaborate world they will face going forward. Throughout this essay, I will be focusing on the technology policy and how it has a positive

Education has remained the same in the United States for many years, even though society has evolved tremendously during this time. Education needs a major overhaul and our society needs to look for ways to achieve this. This paper, will be looking into Khan Academy, a free online learning platform, and the effect it has on education. Salman Khan, the creator and CEO of Khan Academy, gave a TED Talk discussing the impact Khan Academy has already had, and its potential to completely change the education landscape. By looking at its history, growth, pros, and cons a complete view of the phenomenon of Khan Academy can be formed.

As we navigate through the 21st century, technology in the classroom is becoming further predominant. iPads are replacing our textbooks, and we can research any desired topic on our smartphones. The impact that technology has had on today’s schools has been utterly momentous. Educators have now seen firsthand the numerous benefits of technology in the classroom. According to a study by IT Trade Association CompTIA, around 75 percent of educators have come to the conclusion that technology has a positive impact on the education process. Educators have also recognized the significance of developing these technological skills in students so they will be prepared to enter the workforce after they graduate (Cox). By incorporating technology in the classroom, teachers are setting our students up for a successful life outside of school. The increase of technology has even changed how teachers teach along with how

We’re discouraged to think outside of the box, and be creative. Instead of discouraging the student own individuality, why don’t they instead allow the student to take the time to figure it out him or herself, and if they get it wrong, let them try it again until they get it right. How many times in your life have you had people tell you that you shouldn’t do something, or tell you that something wasn’t a good idea? You hear it, but it’s when you do it yourself, and learn from it that you really take away the lesson that is to be taught. The facts that we have to memorize now could be completely irrelevant in five or more years from now. “The current K-12 system isn 't preparing students for today 's needs. An example of the gap in our education system is found in the shortage of graduates from the programs that meet the insatiable demands of our knowledge economy.” (Baker.) In schools is information all that really matters? The educational system today is discouraging students from reaching their full potential of actually learning. They do this by making them conform to their system, which is restraining them to think outside of the box and awaken their minds.