Whenever a debate comes up regarding the massive problems with the current educational system it seems that there’s always someone who deviates from the core problem (fundamentally how we are taught and the institutions themselves) and states the overly used statistic that America ranks among the worst in standardized test scores around the world.
For example:
Besides further reinforcing the notion that
‘Grades = Success’
the argument ultimately circumvents the real problems underlying the education system in America and around the world; primarily, the way students are taught, their expected output, and the ways in which they are judged to be competent.
Supporting the point of view that “we simply need to increase test scores” can hardly result in anything worthwhile, as it will only end in a “solution” composed of ”better” standards, more tests, and stricter curriculums in order to “catch-up” with the rest of the world. (All of which, speaking as a recent graduate, we hardly need more of.)
This traditional point of view, along with the educational system we’ve been reinforcing for more than a century, fundamentally rests on the foundation that we treat each and every student as an interchangeable part.
We force our youth into taking virtually all the same classes, subject them to the same standardized tests, and judge their future worth and potential off an average. In doing so, we bring smart students down to an average level, ignore average students, make under-achieving students feel absolutely hopeless, and leave brilliant students unchallenged and completely unmotivated. By destroying this natural variation we suppress the best parts of our human condition; the unique strengths and individualistic tendencies that lie within all of us.
While this process may work great for manufacturing parts in a factory, it is a death sentence to a future generation that will be dependent on innovation and adaptive thinking to stay competitive in the world.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/tallkev/
We have a system that ultimately does little else but create masses of average, uniform, subservient, order following drones, that are afraid of doing anything unique or different because the desire to stand out or “break the rules” has been slowly beat out of them through decades of formalized schooling.
Sir Ken Robinson says it all in this video:
The Value of Obedience
What’s worse, is that the “education race” has turned into nothing more than a race to the bottom. Looking around us, it is all too easy to see this “race to the bottom,” as overseas workers, who are willing to work for a tenth of the price, obtain jobs formerly held by degree holding Americans. These jobs, it should be noted, are exaclty the kind formalized schooling and standardization train their students for; primarily, composed of following orders, obeying protocol, and doing what they’re told.
Year after year this outsourcing is getting cheaper and cheaper as access to education and technology expands throughout developing countries. Just as we witnessed many of our manufacturing plants migrate overseas, we are already feeling another massive shift; but this time, of white-collar workers to cheaper, yet, just as competent and capable areas of the globe (more here). Sure, some “emerging” countries may appear to be closing the gap in average income (due to decades of hyper growth), but even if the countries we depend on now do lose their wage advantages, there will always be somewhere cheaper to go; especially as communication and infrastructure continue to improve around the developing world. This ultimately means that the value of this type of work (degree included) will continue to decrease for the foreseeable future.
Back to the main point…
If we truly are in a race to the bottom, should we really be trying to win? If getting better grades and memorizing more stuff isn’t producing value then whatshould we be striving for?
To be clear, I am not proposing that unfocused, under-achieving students are a good thing. After all, students of this nature (i.e. students who feel disconnected and who lack passion or meaning with anything they are supposed to be learning.) are essentially the result of the overbearing, standardized system we currently have in place. (of course there are always a few individuals who are just plain lazy)
We obviously need to fix this but not by doing more of the same thing; that will just make our situation even more dire. Nor am I proposing that we avoid challenging our students to reach the height of their potential; in-fact, that is exactly the opposite of what I propose and exactly what the current system often keeps its subjects from doing.
On the contrary, what I am saying is that our system can and should find better ways of fostering and developing our youth so that school isn’t a burden, but rather, an exciting time to develop passions and critical life skills.
What we need is to redefine our definition of what being “educated” truly means.
The point being, that improving something that doesn’t matter (higher grades in and of themselves) isn’t an improvement, it’s a waste.
So then what?
Back to Basics
I think the answer is fairly obvious and even today is the primary reason why America remains the leading economy on the planet; that being, the tradition of innovation and entrepreneurship that have defined the American spirit since our beginnings many years ago.
Looking back on our history, do we see our successes on the shoulders of those who followed the rules all day and did what they were told? Of course not, we owe our much of our successes and opportunities to the entrepreneurs and creative types who had the nerve and the vision to change the world around them.
From the revolutionary leaders and founders of this country to the industrial innovators of the 18th and 19th centuries, the current tech leaders of the modern age, and the small business owners throughout, we have thrived not because of our inherited systems and standards, but because of our overwhelming propensity to break the status quo and create our vision of the future today.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/siliconprairienews/
Sure, the majority of the population supported and provided the skill and workers necessary to build up these systems, but when it comes down to it, the successes of our past and present rest on the shoulders of the ones who were free minded enough to strike out on their own accord. With the oncoming age of communication and technology, the free thinking entrepreneurial spirit is becoming more and more necessary for workers of every type, not just the few people at the top of large corporations. We are moving into a future where entrepreneurial minded people will be the only kind of worker that haveReal Value.
Lessons from the Valley
Creation involves pouring your entire self into your project. It requires flexibility, perseverance, innovation, and the willingness to fail (among others). What it doesn’t call for is strict adherence to established processes, standardization, or the status quo.
Isn’t this the very reason Silicon Valley and Startup incubators across our country have been so successful? Isn’t it because their culture dictates that they deviate from the norm and do what works instead of continuing to follow an inefficient system?
America is dominating the online and digital environment, yet, this has hardly anything to do with formal education and almost everything to do with the creative spirit and the entrepreneurial initiative I have been speaking of.
Why aren’t so many other countries that do so much better academically not even remotely as influential when comparing this new and quickly growing environment?
Perhaps it is because the traditional approach to standardized schooling stamps out the very mindset needed to succeed in the new world of technology and business.
Perhaps coloring in the lines isn’t as beneficial (or beautiful) as it once was.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jdhancock/
Startup Lessons Learned
What we should be doing is emulating the culture of the tech startup and Silicon Valley. What we should be doing is taking lessons from this new frontier and applying them to outdated ones (i.e. “education”). I see no reason to remain stuck in past thinking and rhetoric when we already have already developed new systems that are capable of being applied to other, older systems.
Eric Ries and the Lean Startup movement he has created is a perfect example of the type of system I am proposing. A new, highly adaptive process that when applied to the broader systems of government and education, could ultimately transform each and every one of our lives and bring us into the next era swinging. (Actually, the Government has already shown an interest in this methodology)
Sure the transition wouldn’t be without its fair share of difficulties, but the end result would be a system that fosters the growth and development of each student instead of promoting mass conformity. It would be an education system that quickly adapts to the interests and strengths of each student instead of trying to fit them into a mold.It would create graduates who are extremely passionate about what they have learned, and extremely capable and confident in their abilities.
Isn’t that something worth working towards?
Can you imagine throngs of passionate, highly capable professionals graduating from universities every year? Each on a mission to create the future with their own hands rather than drearily waking up every morning and half-assing their day job until they get to go home?
I can, and it makes me excited just thinking about it.
It is this type of freethinking and passionate individual that will lead us to the next great age of American leadership. It is this, the American dream at its very core, that will allow us to retain the freedoms and the privilege so many of us have begun to take for granted.
Or it will be another nation’s ticket to the top.
We don’t have a right to be the most powerful nation on earth; it is something we must work for and nurture every day of our lives.
It starts by changing our approach towards educating and developing the next generation of Americans. It starts by accepting that the world is a quickly changing pace, that things aren’t always going to be the way they have been, and that, with a little push, America can hold onto the great spirit of freedom, commerce, and innovation that we have all worked so hard to obtain.
Who gives a shit if China is better at taking tests. Let’s instead focus our efforts on preparing our future generations to be the next leaders and innovators in the world. Let’s focus on the battle that’s worth winning.
Which leaves a choice to be made…
Should we rise to the challenge and redefine our educational methods to exponentially increase the creative energy and output of the next generation?
Or should we continue trying to shovel water out of a ship that is destined for the depths of history?
The choice is up to you…
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