[Long]Pause For Thought
So much rattling around in my brain lately. Which is why I have been silent. I am one of those who process before output. Pause for thought--
But a few things I am contemplating:
1. Differentiation--I am beginning to think that in order to have effective education reform, we will need to recognize the fact that everyone has a different perception and process. Students need the freedom to BE. We need each individual person's unique input, so why do we work so hard to make everyone the same? Recognizing differences is not enough.
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2. Information Application--Traditionally educators give information, and students depended on the teacher to do so. Today, student's have access to pretty much any information they want. If they need an explanation, that is available too--with a click. So what is our role as educators? They have the information but do they know what to do with it? How to analyze it? Assemble commonalities? Apply it? It appears the education system acknowledges this, yet we are primarily stuck in a predominately "dole out the information mode". The only "application" we offer students is irrelevant, outdated, and illogical.
3. Engagement--The age old question we get is "When will I use this in real life?" It does NOT matter what you say to this--cute posters with careers listing skills won't matter--they want to see immediate relevance. Honestly, in today's rapidly changing world, you can't really answer this question. But there is another thought--when we are enjoying something, we don't care if it is useful. Thinking of the Flappy Bird, Candy Crush, Insert Other Mindless Time Consuming App here. We simply HAVE to stop being insistent that the old system works. It is ironic that teachers are the ones who get frustrated first at repetitive "jump through the hoop" tasks. We don't like it--but we ask our students to comply. We ask, "Why do we have to change webhosting servers again?" and grumble because we feel our training will soon be outdated. Yet, we haven't yet made the connection that...this...is...how.. the...students...feel... Teachers need to be empowered to engage their students. If you don't think we need engagement, just look at our attendance records. It is so much easier to just...stay...home...
4. Meaningful Project Based Learning--I cannot stress meaningful enough. Somehow, educators have caught wind that project based learning is good. So the students have projects. Some of them great. Yet, many of them fall short on learning, or are repetitive examples of previous learning rather than discovery based learning. Many of them leave the students asking, "Why am I doing this?"
5. Keeping Up--Why is it that the education system is so terribly outdated? Even our best technology is the worst. We are not up to date in practice with current business practices. We advise students based on old inaccurate data about colleges and careers. Mega companies--they ones "to work for"--are implementing new motivating practices--why not education? Are we really preparing them for jobs they might have one day? It is more than just technology--it is attitude--it is trading educator (management) control for student (worker) autonomy.
So that was an earful--nothing new--but the more I learn, the more I feel the urgency to DO. It seems that discovery based learning, and cross curricular instruction is the best answer to these problems. But working as a team with in a discipline is difficult. Getting lower levels and higher levels to agree often impossible. Cross curricular? But think of it. The most meaningful application of math involves science. History incorporates Literature. Sociology explains the inspiration of thoughts in the other disciplines. Art becomes the expression. In an attempt to "fix it" I am inspired to start an alternative school--but deep inside, I am crying out for the system to change. How can we effect the change that we so desperately need? Can we do this within the public school system
