Huffington Magazine Issue 39 | Page 29

Voices SUGATA MITRA HUFFINGTON 03.10.13 EDUCATION: TED PRIZE 2013 JAMES DUNCAN DAVIDSON We Need Schools … Not Factories FROM PLATO TO Aurobindo, from Vygotsky to Montessori, centuries of educational thinking have vigorously debated a central pedagogical question: How do we spark creativity, curiosity, and wonder in children? But those who philosophized pre-Google were prevented from wondering just how the internet might influence the contemporary answer to this age-old question. Today, we can and must; a generation that has not known a world without vast global and online connectivity demands it of us. But first, a bit of history: to keep 2013 TED Prize winner Sugata Mitra explains his “School in the Cloud” initiative at this year’s conference.