My point was that, once you have a strong understanding of the essential elements required to function – be they literacy or aerodynamics – then when things change suddenly you need to know how to reapply those elements in new situations. The ability to “learn, unlearn and relearn” as Alvin Toffler would say. When the wings fall off an aircraft, the laws of aerodynamics still apply but the controls don’t respond the way they always did… in this situation a pilot had better be able to unlearn the old ways the aircraft responded to the controls and relearn some new ways pretty darn quick!

Likewise, I doubt anyone would argue with you that literacy and numeracy are foundational to being able to function. But when the culture shifts dramatically, whether that’s because of technology, politics, economics or something else, and suddenly things are not working for use the way they always worked, then we better be real good at unlearning the things that have always served us well and relearning new things that will serve us well in this new environment.

Being “literate” is important, but what does that even mean these days? Is being able to read a book enough to be considered literate? What about visual literacy? Cinematic literacy? Hypertextual literacy? Online literacy? These are absolutely different literacies than what existed as “literacy” when I went to school, but the ability to “be literate” in these new mediums is critical to being able to function effectively. If we were to only consider literacy as the way it was understood when we were at school, then as society changes – as the wings fall off – we may not know how to respond in an appropriate way to these new situations.

Thanks for the comment.

A few weeks ago, we went to see Gov Angus King, Govenor of Maine when they implemented their 1 to 1 laptop policy. He used a great analogy of law school. When you go to law school, you don’t learn the law, because it’s such a dynamic field. You learn how to find what cases you need, when you need them, and how to interpret and use them. Essentially, how to find the information you need and to utilise it.

I think that relates alot to school now, and more emphasis should be placed on teaching students how to think and problem solve, find and interpret, critically analyse information rather than just teaching enough facts to get through the HSC.

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