What if we have it all wrong?

What if we have it all wrong?

Remember the story about Rip van Winkle? He lived in the foothills of New York's Catskill Mountains. One day he wandered into the mountains with his dog to escape his wife’s nagging. (Apparently, he was a little lazy around the house). He came across a man carrying a keg. Like the kind soul he was, Rip offered to help. He ended up drinking the moonshine and fell asleep; for 20 years and awoke to find shocking changes including the completion of the American Revolution. Imagine if you went to sleep 20 years ago and woke up today? What changes have occurred since 1996? Facebook, Skype, Twitter, 9/11, ISIS, greatest flood of refugees to come to Europe, Google, USA’s first black president, Afghanistan invaded, driverless cars, artificial intelligence, drones, Wi-Fi, USA invaded Iraq, broadband, MP3 file format changes the music industry and so on.

We would barely recognize our world given all the massive changes. But what hasn’t changed? What would we still recognize if we had been asleep for 100 years? You guessed it. Schools. They still look, feel and sound the same in spite of the fact that the world has shifted and continues to dramatically shift. Our school system was created a 100 years ago to produce a work force for a world that now no longer exists.

So what are we doing in schools? Testing more, making teachers more accountable, covering content, inauthentic tasks, focus on SAT and Act scores, and lecturing. We tinker with our school system making changes here and there. But this is much like re-arranging the deck chairs on the Titanic. Our school system is fundamentally wrong and doing little to prepare students with the innovation, passion, problem-solving and creativity so vital for success in the 21^st century. Our current system is obsolete and we are doing students and the world a disservice by continuing to operate in the current factory model perfectly suited for a world gone by. Students are leaving school thoroughly unprepared, teachers are disillusioned and companies are battling to find employees who are adequately equipped with the skills and attitudes needed to perform in a vibrant and dynamic global economy. We need to stop tinkering and begin to reimagine schooling.

How to we close the gap between a world that is increasingly innovative and a school system that thwarts innovation? How do we close the gap between what students do in school and what students need to do to succeed in the workforce and to become active and moral citizens? Our young people come to school excited and passionate about learning and their world. They leave with academic credentials but with very few competencies that will enable them to thrive in the 21^st century, or simply get a job. (More than half of recent college graduates are either holding a job that could be filled by a high school graduate or are unemployed). Yes, even though we continue to invest in education, our students lack the skills to be informed citizens, get a good job and truly thrive.

Schools need leaders who are brave enough to challenge the status quo; and we really don’t have time on our hands. Each year that we consider change, tinker or move a few deck chairs, children suffer. Here are 10 basic recommendations for schooling reimagined:

1.     Schools need to give students the space to create and to follow areas of passion. When we are playing to our strengths we are more resilient, have more grit are more creative and add more value and thereby make a mark on the world.

2.     Give students to opportunity to see they can make a positive impact on the world, that it is hard, and in so doing build leadership skills.

3.     Students should keep digital portfolios that track their best products and thinking over time.

4.     Classes should be largely interdisciplinary. This approach organized around big, complex questions drives students to deeper thinking and understandings.

5.     Teach for understanding and transfer. What students learn should be transferable and useful to solve authentic real-world problems. This builds the capacity to be creative problem solvers.

6.     Projects should be experiential, challenging and done collaboratively. Students should be able to reach out to experts in the (global) community.

7.     There should be a strong emphasis on communication skills through writing, blogging, video and speaking.

8.     Use useful measurements not standardized test scores. Sophisticated tools such as the CWRA+ measure what matters most – written communication, problem solving and critical thinking.

9.     Assessment practices should be built around the mastering of core competencies and work should be presented and orally defended.

10.  Graduation requirements should move beyond seat time and include internships, service learning and a major project (The International Baccalaureate’s Extended Essay or MYP Personal Project are good examples).

Our schools urgently need reimaging and need the brave teachers and school leaders to forge a way for others to follow in creating school environments where students have rich, real and engaging learning opportunities that give them the core competencies to thrive in life.

Let’s hope there is a time when Rip van Winkle does not recognize the world he wakes up in and certainly does not recognize schools.

Peter Dry

July 2016

USA

Sources:

http://lit215.pbworks.com/w/page/69833659/Rip%20Van%20Winkle

Wagner, T. & Dintersmith, T. (2015). Most Likely to Succeed. Preparing our kids for the innovation era. Scribner, New York.

Imagine

Humanity dates back 2.6 billion years, yet has seen the most dramatic change it’s ever known over the last 200. In two centuries, the global population has grown from one billion to over eight billion people. The World Health Organization predicts by 2100 that number will grow to 11 billion. With this increase in human life we’ve seen a terrifying rise of factors that have the greatest impact on global health. CO2 concentration, loss of rainforest and woodlands, species extinction, water usage, energy consumption, ozone depletion, foreign investments, and global temperature increase has reached proportions so great scientists are warning environmental degradation could lead to a irreversible collapse of the global ecosystem in this century. Additionally, the need for poverty solutions, access to water and sanitation, disease prevention, disaster relief, advocacy for human and gender rights, food security, and global waste solutions worldwide has never been greater.

Conversely, the last 200 years have brought the most significant and life changing inventions of our time into existence. The Industrial Revolution brought about fundamental changes in agriculture, textile and metal manufacturing, transportation, economic and political structures. While the technology boom is reshaping the entire structure of how we play, learn, communicate, research, connect, and create. Think about extinct creatures being brought back to life, driverless cars, animal cloning, artificially intelligent computers, and fully functioning all terrain military robots. Sound like science fiction? Well, it’s old news. These things have all happened in the last two years.

With all this rapid change occurring we need to ask ourselves: what is the purpose of education? And, how can that education support this frontier of change? For decades the purpose of education has been two-fold: to prepare children for citizenship and to cultivate a skilled workforce. While still relevant, the ‘why’ of education is shifting beneath our feet. We are living in a new, complicated world that is struggling with complex and life-critical issues the likes of which no one has encountered before. The true purpose of today’s educational system should be to develop leaders, visionaries, and problem solvers.

We need people who can provide real solutions for clean energy; environmentalists who can protect the planet. We need politicians who can effect change for the betterment of society. We need historians who can remind us of the lessons our past can teach us and ensure we don’t make the same mistakes. We need filmmakers who can document and educate; we need designers who can shift perception and generate life-changing ideas. We need inventors, entrepreneurs, humanitarians, scientists, astronomers, physicists, engineers, architects, authors, curators, programmers, coders, and software developers. We need people who have an innate passion for life, for learning, and a deep sense of respect for humanity. We need people who desire to leave a positive and impactful footprint. But, most importantly, we need healers. We need people who can approach these critical issues from a foundation of prayerful reflection, pure-hearted intention, and strength of character.

Therefore, our challenge is to adopt a new paradigm for the 21^st century. Our task as educators is to dream big, reinvent schools and take education into the new century. We need to be courageous for the sake of our children, the students in our schools and the welfare of the world. Let’s re-imagine schooling.

Imagine a school where all students are excited by what they learn that they can hardly wait to begin the day. Imagine having only a few discipline problems because the students are so engaged. Imagine self-directed students collaborating on thematic, interdisciplinary, project-based units that are research driven. Imagine a challenging curriculum designed around deepening understanding where teachers teach for transfer; a curriculum that is highly relevant, articulated, intellectually demanding and one that meets the students’ needs. This is a learning environment where knowledge is constructed and connected to previous experience.

Imagine a school where children get a firm grounding in academics and use their knowledge to promote a democratic society. This is a school where issues of social justice are at the heart of the curriculum so that children may benefit from the rich history of people who didn’t settle for the status quo. They have a voice and are confident and skilled innovators and believe in their ability to lead for good.

Imagine a school where students collaborate with others around the world learning to solve issues in an ethical and harmonious manner. Students understand their ethical responsibility. Imagine a school where service learning around topical issues forms the core of the curriculum. Students learn about the environment through meaningful, rigorous real life projects where they are the scientists, the politicians, the environmental lobbyists, the international relations experts. This is a school where people are inspired by students being creative, thoughtful and innovative. Students are generating new thinking around issues directly affecting the planet. Learning experiences are focused on developing as well as implementing student-generated solutions to local and issues students have identified and taken on as a challenge.

Imagine a place where ‘green’ is actually taught and demonstrated in the school through overt practices (sustainable buildings, vegetable gardens, water tanks, monitoring electricity consumption) that are driven by the students at all levels. Imagine a school where students have full access to technology and are taught not only how to be media literate but are given the space to create. Imagine a school where students see no borders. They design environmentally sustainable buildings, making films and documentaries for others to learn from, posting projects on YouTube, collaborating with young people and experts across the globe via social media to solve problems and complete assignments.

Imagine a school where teachers are engaged in rich discussion around their own teaching practices; where ideas are shared and thoughtful reflection is part of the culture. Imagine a school where teachers plan in teams, observe each other in action and provide useful feedback. Imagine a school where there is a strong connection between research and practice. This is a place where teachers are taking cognisance of educational research and applying it to their work, but are also conducting action research projects around their teaching and other initiatives. Assessment becomes a performance of understanding through application of knowledge in real life and novel contexts and self and peer assessment form an important part of daily learning. Teachers are acutely aware of the world the students will be inhabiting so they inspire passion, engagement and relevance. They teach for understanding and transfer so that knowledge and skills are applied.

Imagine a school that fosters a culture of inquiry where all learning prepares students for the now and the future not a world passed by; a culture where curiosity is instilled and sound moral values are expected and modelled. Imagine a school where every child has realised their unlimited potential and their capacity to be good, kind, creative and brilliant; to be a dynamic force for positive change in the world.

Parents, students, leaders, educators, imagine.

Picture source: https://angelicview.wordpress.com/2013/04/

Attitude, not age matters

Some years ago I was in a role that required me to initiate change in an organisation. Seismic shifts were occurring due to unprecedented changes in technology and advanced brain research that were impacting on education. New tools and approaches needed to be embedded in teams in order to meet the demands of the 21^st. My role was to put together a team that could begin to facilitate the necessary change and move towards more innovative ways of teaching and learning. The results after several years were extremely positive. Change had occurred and it was sustainable.

A question I often get asked is, “Did you get the youngest, freshest, Gen Y’s on board to help you drive the innovation and change?” My answer quite simply is, “No.”

The key person on the team (in fact the first person I brought on board), without doubt was a lady who had worked in the industry for 40 years and was one of the oldest staff members. She proved to me that it is attitude and not age that matters. The qualities she brought to the table were a major driver in change and innovation:

1.           Wisdom: She got the bigger picture. She knew where education had been and where it was going. She had years of good practice to use as a springboard to innovate further.

2.           Ego: There was no ego. There didn’t have to be. She had been there done that. Her role was now to coach and inspire.

3.           Risk taker: She had a wonderful saying that pushed our thinking. “Who made that rule?” This question forced us to keep challenging 

our paradigms and the status quo.

4.           Student centred: She was in touch with the customer (the students). She spent time with them listening to their needs, understanding their world and identifying gaps to be filled.

5.           Learner: In her late fifties, she completed a Masters degree. Besides that, she was an avid reader, traveller and theatre goer. Her mind was continuously being stimulated and in turn she was providing the stimulus for others to stretch their ideas.

6.           Technology: This did not scare her. iPhones, iPads and all the social media were part and parcel of her life. She was tech savvy and wanted to know more.

7.           Mentor: She gave confidence to younger teachers and encouraged them to push their classroom practice and use innovative teaching practices. She was a wonderful cheerleader to those who needed the support to implement new ideas. 

I learned a person with an attitude that inspires, persists, rolls with change, and creates change is gold. A person who can laugh, is optimistic and is a cheerleader for other innovators is gold. This ‘youthful’ mindset ensures plenty of fresh and innovative ideas. Get them on your team!

Peter Dry

September 2015