Weekly Reflection Class 2

Reflections from the “Most Likely to Succeed” film

In our Technology and Innovation class we were asked to watch “Most Likely to Succeed“, a 2015 documentary by Greg Whitely. The documentary features a high school in San Diego, California called High Tech High, that challenges our perceptions of what we’ve been told schooling should be, addressing what’s no longer working in the educational system, and showcasing a new model of learning that places emphasis on what kind of learning could benefit future generations in our every-changing, fast-paced modern society.

A mentality that I took away from this documentary is the principle that if we keep teaching for how the world worked in the past, we won’t be preparing students for how the world currently works, let alone for how the world might work in the future. While I appreciate the acknowledgement that if something isn’t working we must work to change it, I do wonder how we might include Indigenous ways of knowing into the high tech models of schools like High Tech High. How do we move forward in embracing modern changes, while also re-learning, acknowledging, and respecting the true history of the land we call home?

I was curious to learn that a school that places so much emphasis on STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) actually ends up placing more emphasis on the human element. High Tech High seems to acknowledge that technology will replace automation, but there are certain fields where technology cannot replace humans (such as creative fields). Computers can’t do everything that humans can, so why not explore what technology lacks, to be better able to find roles that are essential for the human element. Perhaps this is where we could tie in Indigenous knowledge.