In his Webblogg-ed post "Why Johnny's Professor Can't Read", Will Richardson lays out a couple serious conceptual challenges to educators and parents. A response to reading a recent article on "Innovate: Journal of Online Education", Richardson boils down the thesis to its essence then delivers his own alarming call.
The title of the post is an homage to Rudolph Flesch’s 1955 criticism of the American education system's deficiency in teaching phonics (Why Johnny Can't Read), and I think would best communicate the "problem" to stakeholders. Remember when we realized that children needed phonics to be successful learners? Well, these days children need something else! And we're in a position to give it to them. While this title tweaking may seem like a blame game, Richardson does not push that far. Instead he argues for educators at all levels to share the responsibility of responding appropriately to the need, just like in the past.
I think both authors rightfully employ a parallel between a past and a present educational dilemma because they both deal with somewhat intangible things, better described as paradigm shifts. Richardson's passionate argument is both as educator and parent, persuading the teachers and professors to consider and address the changing nature of knowledge demonstration. Inferring that we know better than to deny changes in learning. Richardson's post is not a call to arms, but a canary in the coal mine.
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