Response to Social Capital Youtube Video

As a part of the first topic in ICTs for Learning Design, students were asked to watch the following video and comment on the validity of the speakers ideas about social capital and family values in today's children.

This is my response, please feel free to comment or reply! Happy reading!

The speaker made several valid points regarding the changes in social capital and family values and the effect they have on student learning inside and outside of the education system. 20 to 50 years ago children were more socially interactive and involved in the community, whether through simple interactions and incidental learning, or through discussions with and participation in, or at least involvement in, the wider community. Children were engaged in a large variety of learning experiences, both incidental and purposeful, in everyday life, which are not as evident in the current community environment. The importance of these social learning experiences is supported by Vygotsky’s social constructivism theory, in which he theorizes the fundamental role social interactions play in a child’s cognitive development.

I also agree with the speaker’s ideas about the change in family values. Many children are now growing up in broken or dysfunctional homes that do not share the same values, beliefs and standards previous generations were based on. This change in family values has placed extra pressure on the education system to provide learning experiences that not only provide contextualized curriculum based learning but that also involve students in understanding appropriate social and individual values.

I also believe that these changes in social and family values have changed the way behavior management is view in schools. In previous generations teachers received a great deal more support from parents and community members when it came to monitoring student behavior and learning. These days teachers receive less support from parents to correct misbehavior and often find that parents side with their children which leads to further and often more serious incidents of misbehavior.

I think the speaker has made a number of very good points about how changes in social capital and family values have influenced the need for continual change in the way children are taught in schools. With students coming from such diverse cultural and social backgrounds pedagogy must be developed to create the best learning opportunities and environments possible for each individual learner.

Regards,

Toni