by Simon Rae, Lifestyle Tutoring For Kids

I vividly remember picking up our first microwave oven with my dad. I must have been 5 years old. Instantly, cooking food became quicker and easier.

I was born in a time where technology was just starting to influence the way we lived our lives. I remember the first drive-through McDonalds. In an instant you had your meal delivered to your car window with a smile. I remember watching my first video on our VCR - The Last Starfighter . Instantly the way we watched movies changed. It was also the first 'remote control' we had in our house.

Jumping forward 30 years our house is now run by remote control or some other form of hand held device. We live in a world where everything is faster, more efficient and more convenient.

The faster it is, the more value we see in it. Faster internet, faster aeroplanes, faster delivery times, faster service. What has been the primary reason behind this shift in the speed of which things get done? Technology.

We live in an age where if something doesn't happen within a reasonable timeframe we see fault in it. Something in the process has caused a problem that needs to be 'fixed' in order to get the ball rolling (more quickly) again.

I can now sit with a friend in a café and deposit money into his bank account simply using his mobile phone number. Surely technological advances have improved teaching methods so greatly that educating our children should be this instantaneous too?

But can education be viewed in the same way?

Not really. Educators are not working with machines, they're working with minds. And young, developing minds at that. Every year I taught, I was a part of the education process (a teacher) that needed 'fixing' in order to improve results.

Why can't you just fix my child? Why is it taking so long? We have invested so much money to help them. What do you mean there is no 'fix' for this?

We should never compare children to a machine that can simply have old broken parts replaced with shiny new ones. The parts we are attempting to use come in the form of apps and computer programs.

If only education were that simple.

Experienced teacher Simon Rae is the Director of Lifestyle Tutoring for Kids which aims to aims to educate and build children's academic, personal and social confidence.