Google engineers and the world’s best linguists had worked extremely hard to develop a new version of Translate that could accommodate the weird Martian language. Once they had accomplished this seemingly impossible task, it became possible to communicate effortlessly!
The Martians sent a delegation to find out about Earth’s concept of education. They were fascinated and astonished by some of the answers they got.
Martians: Thanks for agreeing to meet with us. Like you, we see our young as our most important asset, so we are keen to learn how you prepare them for the future.
Education Experts: Indeed, we love our children and do all we can to give them all that they need for the best possible future.
M: We hear that you have established special buildings called schools. How does that work?
EE: Well, every day, the children go to their school and get taught useful things.
M: Let’s get this straight. You want them to learn how to function in the real world, so you take them out of it for all their learning time?
EE: Yes, it’s easier that way. We can keep control of them and be sure that they are learning the right things.
M: And what are the right things? Who decides that?
EE: We do. We are the experts, after all.
M: And you know what every child needs?
EE: We have figured out the basic information and skills that all children need.
M: Mmmmm… Okay… And who is entrusted with imparting this all-important information.
EE: We have specialists called teachers. They are highly trained and are able to work well with children. Well, that’s what we aim for.
M: Wow, they must be really amazing. I assume they have a very high status in your society and get paid more than everyone else.
EE: Not exactly… you see, we feel that being a teacher is a ‘calling’; so by not paying very much, we ensure that only the most committed choose this career path.
M: Interesting…
EE: But teachers are held in high regard…
M: So, what do you actually teach them. Given that you want a good future, I assume you are teaching them how to save this planet. Believe me, you don’t want to end up like Mars.
EE: We believe in getting across the basics first. It’s not really fun, and doesn’t involve much creativity, but, hey, it has to be done, right? Teachers are really good at this – they can talk and explain the basics for days on end.
M: And how do you know that they have acquired the knowledge and skills you have taught them?
EE: Oh, we have these fun activities called exams. To show that they really know their stuff, kids have to be able to recall information without any assistanceand write it down on paper in a limited time.
M: What? All on their own? No friends to help them? And without access even to your, what’s it called … Google?
EE: No ways! That’s cheating! They have to be quiet and do it all from memory.
M: It must be quite hard to keep kids quiet and working on their own for so long?
EE: No, our teachers are specially trained to make sure that exam conditions are maintained. It’s tough work, but someone has to do it, and who better than our highly trained teachers.
M: It must be very stressful for the kids, and surely doesn’t tell you whether someone can actually use a particular skill?
EE: Well, it’s what we’ve always done, and it seems to work for us. Some kids get really good at doing exams.
M: And what happens to all that paper that is generated? Surely it has a huge environmental impact?
EE: We think it’s worth it. Exams are so valuable to us as a way of selecting children’s futures.
M: And who makes sense of what the children write on the papers?
EE: The teachers, of course. It is an important part of their rigorous training.