Up, Up and Away!

In his 1883 book “Thus Spoke Zarathustra,” Friedrich Nietzsche identified the “Übermensch” – translated contemporarily as “superman” – who could transcend the constrictive Victorian Age and the less-than-human Industrial Revolution through an ability to be flexible and adaptive to the challenges of human existence. While Nietzsche paints this picture with broad historical strokes, “Übermensch” resonated with the promise of the impending twentieth century.

More than a century later, Nietzsche’s “Übermensch” is being invoked in making the case for education reform. But does what spoke to Nietzsche 100+ years ago serve us well today? Here’s why I believe referencing “Superman” in 2010 is inappropriate:

- The Industrial Age is over. Much like Dickensian descriptions of filthy cities and Sinclairian accountings of unhealthy factories, the “Übermensch” concept belongs to another era.

- This is the Information Age, and our greatest self-imposed constraint is holding onto an Industrial-Aged view of the world. In doing so, we limit ourselves in reaching our twenty-first century potential, much like the Victorians to whom Nietzsche reacted a century ago.

- The very notion of reforming education (or anything for that matter) is constrictive and outdated. This is an era of transformation – of complete change in fundamental structures.

- In the Information Age imagination and creativity are unbound by the limitations of physical reality.

- Twenty-first century cyber-citizens aren’t waiting for anything, let alone a super-human rescue. They are writing their own stories, making their own connections, and creating new relationships and understandings that enrich existence.

The twenty-first century is not the age of superman, but of everyman…..it’s not about loosening our bonds on earth but pushing the limits of cyberspace. It is a journey we are currently making, so it is difficult to gauge our progress and success. Still, if everyone joined us on the journey, it would feel much more inclusive and much less contentious. Educators: don’t allow anyone to stand on the ground as you make that running leap into cyberspace. Grab them under your arm and take them with you. No one is going to stand by and idly criticize once the see the view from up here. Up….up….and away!