Friday, March 1, 2013

OVER A CENTURY LATER

There are plenty of people—on TED talks, on blogs, in magazine articles, etc.—talking about how our education system has to change, and a lot talking about how it was created for a society at least over a century ago, and in reality many aspects of it centuries ago. Including me.

I was writing newspaper columns all the way in the 1960s about how the college undergraduate curriculum of four years was basically what wealthy people decided arbitrarily centuries ago was the length of time they wanted their son (in those days) to be at school. And as we know, the summers off schedule was originally intended to allow students to work the fields during the busiest farm season.

One of the big disappointments for me in every administration, including the Obama one, is that no president or prominent political "leader" has presented a vision of an educational system based on present realities, not ones over a century old. From my own observations, as well as studies done more scientifically, it's clear that our public school system is failing too many students.

The pressures of testing that the No Child Left Behind law brought to schools, and their teachers and students, just added to what already was a growing problem. Some students are able to sit still at desks or do work that's fitted to tests that are also outmoded (as several experts have pointed out, the old education system we're still trying to somehow improve is based on the reality of governments and corporations needing people who could write clearly (i.e. good penmanship) do basic math and conform to a single idea of behavior and citizenship (basically compliant) but more and more cannot (and the pressure leads them to cutting, classes and in some cases themselves, and other behavior indicating a deep resistance to this outmoded system). 

Why any student would have to lug a backpack full of books that give them backaches and posture problems when all the information in those books is online is not just a rhetorical question or an expression of my own frustration. It is a question so obviously answerable—they shouldn't—that all you can conclude is that textbook companies have an undue influence on school systems. (We all know the reality of a few of the most conservative school boards in Texas dictating the basic content of science textbooks used throughout the country etc.).

There's way too much information available to anyone nowadays, and we know how overwhelming that can be for young minds especially (all kinds of figures get thrown around, like a five-year-old pre-schooler has been exposed to more information in his life than all of humanity up until the 18th Century, etc. and even if not totally accurate they generally express the reality). What students need is ways to interpret and sort so much information into categories including what may be useful information and what may not, etc.

I would love it if President Obama had the vision to state clearly that our educational system is outmoded and should be entirely revised not just tinkered with to make it relevant to not just contemporary realities but future ones as far as they can be projected. And yes I know it would face opposition from every side, but that would at least lead to an open and serious debate about what measures to take to totally alter a centuries old system that is not working for too many students and is not helping any student prepare for present realities let alone future ones.

The opposition of so-called conservative Republicans to anything that threatens almost any corporate interest has made these times petty in terms of grand political visions, universal healthcare reduced to a way too complicated set of laws that incrementally alter some of the worst features of a for-profit health system, etc. The president can't even get a small tax raise for the wealthy that would still be much smaller than what the conservatives' supposed idol Reagan proposed, so how could he get passed anything on a grand scale?

Well, that's my point. Aim for the "best we know" is the idea, offer proposals that envision huge changes that will drag a centuries old system into the present, at least, and leave those reactionaries who cannot envision a present or future that goes against not just corporate interests but past realities that no longer exist, leave them scrambling to catch up as they are right now with non-white, female and younger citizens in so many areas.

Wouldn't it be great if Obama pulled a JFK and outlined a vision for a future educational system based on how children really learn in the internet age and called for the country to achieve it within the next decade as Kennedy did with his land-a-man-on-the-moon speech?    

19 comments:

Robert G. Zuckerman said...

Bravo Michael, this is perhaps the key issue today, connected with world peace and wellness. Honestly, i benefited zilch from Calculus. We need to foster and nurture the ability to forge mental and emotional roadmaps so that students are able to navigate around the obstacles (brick walls ofttimes) of rage, prejudice and ignorance. For starters. And then nurture what Morehei Ueshiba says: "Your spirit is the true shield." Also, from day one in kindergarten or pre-school, children should be taught to fluency in seven languages. Do this and watch the world change vastly for the better.

tom said...

We say all kids can learn, but they learn in different ways, however we are going to test them one way and then judge them, their teacher and their school on how they do on that test. Really smart.
Several school districts in the area I live have introduced tablets for all students 4th grade and up. Here they are iPads. They are a mixed blessing. The are extremely valuable as a tool for learning, however they can also be a major distraction for students. If the apps that are non-educational can be locked down that would solve some of the problems. But, there are so many texting apps, game apps, etc, out there that becomes a problem.
The advantages are there too. Schools can become more and more paperless. Many textbooks are available and many are interactive. Students can use the technology to produce presentations. Online calculators and other programs can help students solve math and science problems that were achievable only by gifted students.
No room here to go into everything. Robert, I agree with the teaching of languages at an early age. We need our children to function in the global economy.

Finland uses very little standardized testing and pays and treats teachers as professionals. Their education system is ranked as one of the best.

Alternative education should start at a younger age. Many students who are going to drop out can be identified in elementary school. Waiting until high school to place them in an alternative school is too late for some. And many areas do not have alternative education programs.

Much more......

JenW said...

Teachers who work with children each and everyday understand what works best. Smartboards and laptops are wonderful learning tools however, nothing beats real life " hands- on" learning experiences- problem solving and collaboration with peers. Of course the kids should not be carrying those ridiculously heavy backpacks! There should be less homework & less time stuck in a classroom. Students should be playing more, outdoors more- learning in the field, actively experiencing EVERYTHING- arts, science, math, language arts (Yes Robert-different languages..) enjoying learning and life- without STRESS. What should all teachers be doing? Anything it takes. Here's a terrific article- hope it us helpful. Jen (Tom-I'm with you & you have probably already read this article..) http://www.smithsonianmag.com/people-places/Why-Are-Finlands-Schools-Successful.html?device=iphone

JIm said...
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Lally said...

Robert, Tom and Jen, everything you guys said I agree with, and Jen thanks for the link. I've read many articles speculating on why the Finnish system works so well, and so much better than ours, and the main reasons seems to me to be that teachers are treated as members of a valuable profession that should be paid as well as doctors and lawyers etc. But this article emphasized the Finns pretty much ignoring the idea of competition by as it said requiring only one test (others may be taken but as the article pointed out only for the fun of seeing how the test worked out, not for planning which schools get funded etc, as in the U.S.) at the end of high school and by keeping classes small with special ed and social workers present in every class. If my teenager and his friends had had that kind of educational opportunity there wouldn't be so many of them struggling to stay afloat let alone succeed. The stress levels for everyone in our relatively affluent school district, from teachers and students to parents, is extreme. And what results from that besides kids doing all kinds of self-destructive things to relieve their stress? Some kids, usually the wealthiest, getting a pretty good education and getting into top universities and the rest unprepared for the present economic circumstances and the jobs available (with the exception of low paying service jobs of course which is where too many end up) but more importantly unprepared for 21st century life, i.e. knowing how to work a computer to entertain themselves but not solve problems that would help them and the rest of us improve what and how computers do what they do to make life better not just more profitable for some corporations, and most importantly create better citizens who are capable of using logic and reason and are better informed in all reares that are essential to their lives. etc.

Robert G. Zuckerman said...

Good education, and I don't mean academics, but as I said, multiple language fluency, Mindfulness, Spiritual Enrichment, Mental and Emotional Roadmap Creation and Navigation, etc, are a much stronger, certain, lasting, effective defense than any amount of guns or bombs.

Lally said...

Amen Robert

tom said...

I'll add another Amen.

JIm said...
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JIm said...
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JIm said...
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Robert G. Zuckerman said...

What has that got to do with this conversation?

JIm said...
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JIm said...
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Anonymous said...

Do you have any idea how many times you have deleted this fool? What an incredible curse it must be to be stalked by such a moron. Thank you, Michael, for keeping us from his polluting drivel...

Annabel Lee said...

Thank you Michael for writing these opinions about education. It's a tragedy, really. 129 jobs cut in Newark last Friday. Schools cutting back on art, music, phys ed, all the things that help a child find out who they are and help them in the so-important social and emotional skills they need to learn. What do children today need to succeed in the world of tomorrow. It's a challenging question. I saw a great youtube on coding with people like Bill Gates and Will.i.am and an NBA all-star... see it at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nKIu9yen5nc&feature=player_embedded
and it's just one of those sort of obvious things about how schools for the most part aren't putting time into teaching children skills they will actually use to make money. Yes, we need to do basic math so we don't get ripped off when the Belgian waffle truck gives us our change when we're buying a snack on the street. But, hey, let's get real. Knowing the dates of when Abraham Lincoln moved from Kentucky to Illinois (part of a lesson curriculum required me to teach in the fall) just ain't going to help with trying to get milk in the fridge and transportation to a job, any job, in the world of the future. My 93-year-old father said this morning, about the $5 per gallon cost of gas that's going on in some places, that this is a corporate state and it's Irene (and Flynn's) generation who are going to have to fix it. Well, I'm not sure what they can fix that fast, that's why I want to work with 2nd and 3rd graders, and it's such an important job to get these children ready to have a sense of agency and participate and get a decent living wage and care about each other and all that. It's just crucial because the whole darned ship is headed in a very different direction, under the guidance of the powers that be, which is not even Obama and his lovely wife and their beautiful girls. It's, well, you know who it is. And they are fast becoming such a minority in this diverse U.S. that they can't possibly keep it going but their brainwashing (ketchup is a vegetable and what works for them) could prevent a majority of unhealthy, beaten down, despondent, obese people from taking over at the helm. Now you got me started. Back to my NYC Teacher Application...

Lally said...

You're on the front lines of this one Annabel and your comment is right on target. It's amazing how these very small percentages of the population can hold the rest of us (and our children most importantly) hostage.

Robert G. Zuckerman said...

our outmoded system needs an overhaul, just like the Constitution does. Especially the system of reward, validation and "failure" - a concept which also needs to be overhauled so that young people who may not grasp something or who are heavy set or otherwise somehow different than most are not made to feel inferior or outcast.

Robert G. Zuckerman said...

http://news.yahoo.com/too-much-money-spent-iraq-too-few-results-051221182--politics.html

The headline reads "Ten years and 60 billion in taxpayer money later" Iraq is a shambles. Imagine if 20 percent (or all!) of this wasted money that lined the pockets of un-accountable fat cat contractors went instead to education, to keeping public libraries open, funding domestic infrastructure upgrade and domestic employment.