Epidemics in Thought- Change in Education

The Tipping Point is primarily a book about explaining how epidemics come into existence. Gladwell clearly articulates the common notion of what an epidemic is. We generally have a biological understanding of epidemics, how diseases quickly spread through a population. His book is an extension of the biological definition of epidemics to phenomenons that emerge into the public conscious , the passing of information in a word of mouth fashion that leads to a dramatic shift in the beliefs, understandings and desires of a population. He provides some examples of the epidemics that he is referring to. The reemergence of the Hush Puppies as a shoe of choice for the fashionistas, the dramatic drop in crime rates in the city of New York City during the 1990's, the popular rise of the cellular telephone, etc . . .

The beauty of his exploration is that he has a very easy and eloquent explanation for this phenomenon. He has three characteristics of epidemics that he introduces at the beginning of his book: "one of the contagiousness; two, that little causes have big effects; and three that change happens in one dramatic shift and not gradually as one would anticipate." (Gladwell, 2002, p. 9) The point of the book, as he writes in the introduction is answer two simple questions: 1. "Why is it that some ideas or behaviours or products spark an epidemic and others do not?" and 2. "What can we do to deliberately start and control positive epidemics of our own?"

After reflecting on the idea of an epidemic creating change dramatically, I am led to the tension that exists between modernity and postmodernity. There is a dramatic shift in the current philosophy of humanity which is leading to change. Let us take a moment to reflect. I question the timing of the emergence of the enlightenment project. Did it happen quickly? Was it a contagious idea that stuck in the minds of those that heard it? Who were the individuals that were hearing the thoughts of people like Descartes, Kant and Newton? At what point did this philosophy enter the consciousness of humanity to become the dominant way of thought reaching into the twentieth century? What were the little events in combination that led to it's emergence?

I am sure that there are answers to these questions out there, but I am more interested in the change that is happening today. I would like to know how the ideas of postmodernity are making their way into the consciousness of humanity. What are the gradual changes in thought today that are leading the change? At what point will the concepts of the post modern philosophy reach it's tipping point and become the new modernity, the new way of thinking that predominates the collective way of thinking or has it already?

This leads me to reflect on the change that is currently happening in education, the shifting paradigm away from the institutionalized form of education that we see today. Would we consider the changes in education an epidemic, where by the pedagogical ideas that are being presented become the new way to do things? Currently I do not feel that we have reached this point. The tension that exists in education today is the attempt to unravel the way to best meet the needs of the twenty-first century learner. There is no clear cut right way to approach this problem and maybe that in itself is the answer. The fact that there is no one size fits all solution that would be sought after by modernity. The post modern solution to our education problem may be one that is diverse and uncentered, the shift in the top down methods of education to a community of learners, a solution that is tailored to the needs of each of the learners in a particular geographical area. The solution will need to be a home grown one, where educational leaders within a particular area will need to assemble together and go through a process of discernment,  a process that is ultimately guided by the needs of the community and the individuals within that community.

One could argue that the community which the learners of the twenty first century will be that of the global community. I tend to think that the global community may be a focus, but the question that will need to be asked is that of “What can we learn here at a local level maintaining a global perspective that will lead to success in education?”

Have we tipped with regards to educational change? Currently the buildings and formal structures that educators are working within are counter to this change. There will need to be a number of small events that need to occur in order to allow for this change to emerge. It could be that the people in the echelons of education decide that cell phones will be allowed in all classrooms, along with the requirement that lessons need to incorporate a theme of empathy for our fellow man. Could we have teachers, or a school, decide that marks are no longer given out at school, that merely a checklist of skills and competencies will be the feedback for the future generations? A curricular movement to inquiry type learning, one that extends beyond renaming a textbook "Inquiry into . . .” I am uncertain as to what those small changes will be, but I can tell you that some of them have already occurred but not enough of them. We are in the midst of change for and of education as we currently understand it.

Reference

Gladwell, M. (2002). The Tipping Point- How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference. New York, NY: Back Bay Books.