Monday, January 24, 2005

Steve Jobs in 1996: Technology cannot solve the problem with education

Really interesting Wired interview of Steve Jobs back in 1996, prior to his reinstatement as CEO of Apple. He's very candid, and comes across as reflective -- a different side of Jobs than what you see during the Mac trade show keynotes.

Some interesting sound bites:
I used to think that technology could help education. I've probably spearheaded giving away more computer equipment to schools than anybody else on the planet. But I've had to come to the inevitable conclusion that the problem is not one that technology can hope to solve. What's wrong with education cannot be fixed with technology.
Lincoln did not have a Web site at the log cabin where his parents home-schooled him, and he turned out pretty interesting. Historical precedent shows that we can turn out amazing human beings without technology. Precedent also shows that we can turn out very uninteresting human beings with technology.
It's not as simple as you think when you're in your 20s - that technology's going to change the world. In some ways it will, in some ways it won't.