Evaluating Evaluators
If we want to be realistic about a secure future, there is no option but to evaluate the evaluators. It cannot be denied that the ignored flaws in the education system, alongside a lack of concerned parenting and disappearing work ethic, are seriously affecting society right now. We don’t have to wait to see the results of failing to teach the way students were once taught, which not only relates to content that is now missing from curriculum that was once there, but also the lack of accountability by parents, students, teachers, and administration. As adults, we are the heroes for this story, and the students can never be to blame. They only know what they have seen, heard, and experienced. And from what we all see in the news, or through parent complaints or comments through social media channels, the quality as well as quantity of that information is dwindling. “Our schools are stuck in time, geared to an era when the factory model worked. It doesn’t anymore” (Wagner and Dintersmith, 2015).
Additionally, the teachers themselves have been further arrested by the rampant restrictions being placed on what and how they teach as well as how they interact with students. Yet the National Institute of Health has determined that classrooms that embody a “positive emotional climate, with a sensitivity to adolescent needs and perspectives, use of diverse and engaging learning formats,” (Allen, et al, 2013) have a much higher level of student achievement. Why, then, are we taking all of that away from teachers and students, and in the end, also our society, in exchange for temporarily inflated test scores that don’t truly reflect engagement, interest, and learning?
Let’s Get Real
“Education doesn’t need to be reformed, it needs to be transformed,” (Robinson, 2015). Imagine allowing students to walk around, interact with technology, experiment, even fail. Imagine not continually reprimanding and punishing failures or lack of achievements. “The secret to high performance isn’t rewards and punishments, but that unseen intrinsic drive . . . to do things for their own sake,” (Pink, 2009). Allowing students to explore for the sake of their own curiosity or fact-finding, collaborate with others to problem-solve, or to get something completely wrong while a teacher watches and allows it for the sake of mental discovery means to nurture future innovators. We want to foster the development of capable humans who believe in themselves and take pride in what they do, not break down what is allowed to be learned and create punitive results for not staying in line with the rigidity of today’s educational system, which “is dangerously irrelevant to the world that our students will inhabit,” (Dintersmith, 2018).
Authors Dintersmith and Wagner not only wrote intelligent, thought-provoking books on the reformation of the educational system, but they also made an incredible documentary movie about it called Most Likely To Succeed. It is available to view for free for a limited time, through their website, which also provides a great deal of information about their mission.
You can find out more by clicking this link https://www.whatschoolcouldbe.org/most-likely-to-succeed and scrolling down to the very bottom to view the film in its entirety, or the trailer is at the top of the page for a brief look.
Experiencing the film Most Likely To Succeed gives viewers the extra kick in the pants needed to move towards the “fundamental shift in education philosophy” needed to educate creative and entrepreneurial learners (Zhao, 2012), which are the foundation for innovation. You cannot walk away from that film without feeling immensely different and wanting to implement change.
The Family Action Network also hosts an informative talk given by Ted Dintersmith, linked here, for more background on what inspired his journey on the path to transform the way we develop learners and what things should concern us that are already happening to eliminate workers.
How We’ll Achieve Results
To combat the obvious effects of our failed education system, shown through the serious decline in customer service, job productivity, company loyalty, and pride in workmanship and one’s word, every single element must be overhauled. Waiting out the step-by-step reform of a system while also allowing different regulations from one location to the next creates confusion, inequality in opportunities, and critical issues when some areas abandon historical realities while others still acknowledge that they occurred and must be taught so as to not be repeated. We also must eliminate teaching simply for the test scores. “The world doesn’t care what you know. What the world cares about is what you do with what you know” (Wagner, 2012). So, let’s start organizing to rebuild our future through the educational pathways we provide, ensuring more equitable environments and less stigma on test scores and passing a student just to keep them moving through the system. If they are not learning, what was the point? And, if they are not engaged in what they are learning, where will the passion come from when it is time to produce the world’s next big invention, medicine, and other painstakingly rare innovations? Let’s come together on this issue to create happier, healthier future workers with the ability to think for themselves and use life experiences along with knowledge and discernment. This will make jobs going to robots a thing of the past and NOT the future!
References
Allen, J., Gregory, A., Mikami, A., Lun, J., Hamre, B., & Pianta, R. (2013). Observations of Effective Teacher-Student Interactions in Secondary School Classrooms: Predicting Student Achievement With the Classroom Assessment Scoring System-Secondary. School psychology review, 42(1), 76–98.
Dintersmith, T. (Producer), & Wagner, T. (Director). (2015). Most likely to succeed [Film]. One Potato Productions.
Dintersmith, T. (2018). What school could be: Insights and inspiration from teachers across America. Princeton University Press. Available at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XOZ2K4dbUKQ
Pink, D. H. (2009). Drive: The surprising truth about what motivates us. Riverhead Books.
Robinson, K. (2015). Creative schools: The grassroots revolution that’s transforming education. Viking.
Robinson, K. (2006, February 6). Do schools kill creativity? [Video]. [TED]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iG9CE55wbtY
Wagner, T. (2012). Creating innovators: The making of young people who will change the world. Scribner.
Wagner, T., & Dintersmith, T. (2015). Most likely to succeed: Preparing our kids for the innovation era. Scribner.
Zhao, Y. (2012). World class learners: Educating creative and entrepreneurial students. Corwin.
Comments