Original Post: History x Innovation

Herbst’s Analysis

Herbst’s, “The History of Education: State and the Art at the Turn of the Century in Europe and North America”, examines how Canadian education has been influenced internationally. As stated in his quote, “during the last four decades the history of education underwent a period  of  unparalleled fruitful scholarly activity”, he focuses on why scholarly work should be taught in both public and private schools and that historical pedagogies should be taught nonetheless. With that being said, he states that contemporary topics of  “women, the family, racial minorities, ethnic groups, working people and multicultural and bilingual education became firmly established” have recently been topics for discussion that have gained new prominence in education. 

Past VS Present

When I think about Herbst’s ideologies, I think about how history has influenced and developed our curriculum by reflecting on major societal issues such as diversity and inclusion. Philosophically, history has also influenced how we view the role of educators and our teaching philosophies. Additionally, our pedagogical approaches have shaped teaching methods by learning that not all students may learn the same. For example, hands-on, place-based, or inquiry learning is how many students have thrived in comparison to the traditional paper-pencil method. As stated by Herbst, whether we teach in public or private institutions, it is essential to do our part as educators to ensure that students are receiving opportunities for creativity and innovative thinking. The implementation of historical views can help students think progressively and It is important to prioritize that reformative learning based on societal change is essential in supporting our ideas of creativity and innovation. Without educational reforms, the standard would stay stagnant with little to no change. 

Why this is important to me 

As an educator who is constantly in the midst of bridging the past and present to education, I believe Herbst’s ideologies are very relevant and hit close to home. Education is an evolving field that roots its foundation on historical findings. It is my job to provide students with an enriching educational experience by connecting historical events to modern-day issues. This acts as the foreground for students to learn from historical mistakes and innovate for the future. Lessons from the past become a source of inspiration information that can inspire students to create novel solutions to today’s world challenges. From a teaching perspective, whether it be the advancement to progressive teaching methods, the integration of technology in the classroom, or augmented reality learning experiences or robots and coding programs, each year that goes by showcases transformative change.

References:

Adamska, I. (2023, June 14). 9 benefits of augmented reality in Education. Nsflow.

https://nsflow.com/blog/9-benefits-of-augmented-reality-in-education

CECP: The CEO Force for Good. (2018b, October 17). Changing the world is good business.
TriplePundit. https://www.triplepundit.com/story/2018/changing-world-good-business/10366

Herbst, J. (1999). The history of education: State and the art at the turn of the century in Europe and North America. Paedegogia Historica: International Journal of the History of Education, 35(3), 737–-47. doi: 10.1080/0030923990350308

9 benefits of augmented reality in Education. Nsflow. (n.d.). https://nsflow.com/blog/9-benefits-of-augmented-reality-in-education