The Indespensable Role of People

Are the students' pursuit of education only being slowed down by teachers? Sugata Mitra, a professor and computer scientist, presents in his ted talk of his famous "hole in the wall" experiment he did in India. In New Delhi, Mitra is head of research and development at NIIT, a software and training company. Outside of his office is a wall which separates the NIIT building from the slums. In the wall, a computer was installed for children in the slums to access. It's a technology those children have no familiarity with and it was set in the English language. Without any guidance, they learned how to use the computer on their own and taught others who also caught interest.

This can leave an impression that the role of teachers teaching is no longer needed, rather, it is only to carry out discipline and oversee testing. Mitra says, " Teachers often ask me, am I going to lose my job? I say no because your job will get harder. It will become a different job. It will go from being a master standing at the front of class to a helpful friend at the back."

But why replace teachers who are affectively doing their job with technology that is supposed to enhance their work? " The idea that computers can ever replace teachers and schools reveals a deep lack of understanding about the role leadership plays in student success" in which Wendy Kopp says in her article, supporting the effectiveness of teachers being the leader and supporter for students. The secret of successful schools to having successful students is to recruit the best teachers. " Computers cannot create a culture of excellence and push students to meet high expectations."

Technology is meant to be a tool, a means of helping us to efficiently achieve our goals. However, it all depends on how we use it that will determine if it is helpful or harmful.


This graph represents students learning in a classroom with a teacher and students that study without.