Ionic or Iconic?
I saw this image as a metaphor for education in the 19th Century and education in the 21st Century. Our school was founded in 1863, the neo-classical ionic columns in the photo reflecting the spirit of those times. Schools were bastions of knowledge: let only those who enter be the knowledgable ones! Within these temples were secret handshakes, dusty tomes, and a passport into the old boys' network of banks and the like with equally ionic columns.
A couple of months ago, we had 1000 visitors on campus and they needed to know into which bastion they needed to go in order to take part in sharing of best practices by colleagues from around Turkey. So a colleague, Berna, came up with these banners labelling each building. Previous to these colorful signs, to know was a privilege. Now it was open to all.
The metaphor is simple: today's education is not about knowledge behind columns but rather about learning and signs that beckon all.
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