Week 10- 'Tailored Education'

Is there a potential problem being stored up for people if 'education' is tailored to fit into their cultural and personal preferences?

In terms of culture....
I think that only educating a person about their own cultural preferences can be a very dangerous thing. Without teaching others about different cultures and ways of life, we would become a very narrow-minded culture, and in theory, we would be reversing the past 50 years or so of 'multi-cultural' work that we are trying to bring into our society- teaching foreign languages, discouraging racism etc. Without teaching people about these different cultures, we would be regressing to a racist, narrow-minded time that we should (and have!) left behind us!
Especially with today's digital advances, we are more and more able to talk to people from other countries, and learn things from them. I can't see that this is anything but a positive thing! He are broadening our horizons and have the opportunity to learn about all the different cultures of the world. As professor Puncky Heppner suggests “We are all living in cultures with different norms. Culture affects human behavior. The more we learn about other cultures, the better teachers, mentors, scholars and therapists we can be. Ultimately, understanding different cultures makes us better people.” (Jackson n/a)

In terms of person preference....
I can understand slightly more why there could be advantages. For example, those children who are in need of extra help (dyslexia etc). Surely that counts as a personal preference? In which case by all means, they should be receiving a different education to that of other children...not in terms of what they learn, but in terms of how they learn it. I think that is the most important point here. All children should learn the same, the only thing that should be altered to help them, is the way in which different children learn it!
This has been recognised at some schools: 'The Comenian Programme has been developed to support our academically most able and creatively-talented pupils. We help individuals realise their full potential by nurturing their aspirations and guiding motivation.' (fulneckschool.co.uk), and with help like this being offered, these sorts of 'tailored needs' I think can be beneficial!


Sources:

Jackson, K (na), ‘Understanding other cultures has broad benefits’, University of Missouri, http://education.missouri.edu/news/articles/2008-FA/pr_nb_2008_08_28_heppner_apa_award.php [accessed 25/3/09]

(na) (2009) 'Tailored education', Fulneck School, http://www.fulneckschool.co.uk/tailored-education/ [accessed 25/3/09]

Week 5- Meilke Reading

Para 19 Can open news ever be completely open? Do people take different (possibly unequal) roles in collaboration?
I don't think open news can be completely open, simply because you can't 100% trust what is posted. If anything can be posted, what is to stop people making up stories? On a website like Indymedia, where everyone is 'equal' and free to publish their own stories, there is no control, and no one to check the stories for validity etc. That's not to say you shouldn't believe anything you read regarding open news (lets face it, even new sources like 'The Sun' are ridiculed for providing false stories), however, caution should be taken, as nobody is moderating any of these sites (at least, they're not moderating them in terms of checking each story to see how much of it is true) so people are free to write whatever they please (within reason!)

Are those who want to make DIY news online, best thought of as part of an alternative culture (that also exists offline) or is it more diverse than that? Think of examples beyond Indymedia. I think that those making DIY news are part of an alternative culture. They are described as 'directed cluster of interests and practices around green radicalism, direct action politics, new musical sounds and experiences'. Therefore if they are part of an alternative culture to an extent, as they are writing stories/news on things that may not otherwise be reported on, as they are more niche. Whether or not this can be called a 'culture' I'm not sure... Does it go as far as being an alternative culture, or just a more original group of people reporting stories that are not exactly 'mainstream'?

What does everyone else think? I'm a bit stuck on this question!