Kelli Reichert | Lindenlink Reporter

We all know of William “Bill” Gates; he is an American programmer that is best known for being one of the founders of Microsoft. Gates has been idolized by many who follow in his path.  Using his knowledge, he created a billion-dollar industry that sky rocketed in popularity; it would be safe to assume that Bill Gates knows a thing or two about computers.  In a recent interview with CNNMoney, he shared with America his out of the classroom ideas for the future of education and learning.

Gates spoke on the subject of education and teachers in the classroom, making very clear his belief in the traditional ‘students learning in a classroom’ has become outdated in the 21st century. Since Gates formed his entire career around technology, he feels that America should take more advantage of it- rather than having students sit in a room listening to a teacher give a lecture. Gates announced that it is time to take classes out of the classroom and into the cyber world of technology; his hard drive had several reasons for backing this idea up.

The first and most obvious reason that Gates feels classes should be taught online and would better the educational process is because students often find that they learn at different levels and speeds. He argues that the general classroom teaches an average way while students prefer to learn and accomplish more with different learning styles. Gates also states that our new technology can help “personalize” a student’s ability to learn.

Just like a student’s learning style, everyone knows that teachers and professors also prefer their own methods of teaching. Granted, some are better than others but with online lessons, Gates says students will have access to the most educated people in their field to help enhance the student’s knowledge. Gates also defends himself by saying he is not trying to “replace” teachers, but rather “give them software to help watch how kids are doing and help organize them into groups,” based on their learning techniques.

Gates’s made a point to say that the dropout rates in America are increasing daily. This is not just in high schools, but in colleges everywhere. He makes it clear that he believes students are becoming bored with the idea and that it’s time for something new and exciting.

Although he is stressing the new idea, Gates announced that he’s not talking about your general education classes like Math or English, but rather the core classes. This makes sense. Math would be difficult to learn without a teacher or professor standing in front of you helping you break down a problem.

To emphasize how innovating his plan is, Gates assures his audience that “average teachers” will be able to develop a more fruitful knowledge and be able to deliver a lesson just as well as the top educators in their field.  Bill Gates truly believes that his innovative concept will possibly make America rise above all other well-educated countries. As for me, I believe it’s worth a shot.