P-Tech model for schools in Australia?

Nick Kelly, Research Fellow at the University of Southern Queensland wrote a great article in The Conversation recently.

It's about the potential of Australian schools following the P-Tech model for schools that is seen in New York. 

The model basically sees a high school partly funded by the tech sector (in this case IBM) that is supposed to train kids in technology skills and make them more "job ready". The model has the original school plus a number of other partnerships and is placed in areas of lower socio-economic ranking. These kids get an associate degree in technology and even get to interview with IBM.

Now that all sounds good but there are a number of problems with this model. Firstly, if an organisation like IBM starts sponsoring schools then it is highly unlikely they will teach kids any other bits of knowledge outside of IBM or it's partner technologies. An IBM school teaching Linux? I highly doubt that. If something like this is accepted it leads to pushing people down a specific path (IBM or otherwise) instead of broadening their thinking.

Secondly, the fact that these type of schools concentrate on lower socio-economic areas is much like how the US Army recruiters would place themselves in similar towns where youth have little choices. I know it sounds like a stretch but it could well come true.

I have no problem with teaching kids about technology and bringing new types of courses to high schools however we need to be cautious in the content.

I spoke about the reform I see necessary if any is to be made in the education sector in a previous blog post (Click here). It is more than just a particular class or sponsor. It's about finding the individuals within a cohort or class and focusing on the individual to help discover their talents and their needs. Technology can help provide this type of service to students. It can also be used to teach students to ask questions of the data they are given. 

A single sponsor from the tech sector is unlikely to be able to generate the open ended discussions necessary for teaching free thinking especially around technology conversations. What would be better would be if schools incorporate technology into their syllabus that it is designed to not just focus on one type of tech-offering but on many. The pros and cons of each should be discussed because it teaches the future generation to find the best answer to solve specific problems. Maybe then we can avoid the blanket solutions we see over and over in the public and private sector.

For more on the original article Click here