I was bored in school.
It's true. I didn't feel like the school system was designed for my learning style. It wasn't until college where I could pursue my passion, making films, that I found my way.
Recently on Edutopia.org, we published observations from 8th graders about what they believe creates an engaging learning experience. Their answers were straight-forward and definitive: project-based learning, technology, and an enthusiastic teacher. I couldn't agree more.
Today, with the power of the Internet, we are experiencing a force that is revolutionizing education and offering opportunities to reach and engage diverse learners like me. When technology is deployed effectively, it can free up teachers from standing in front of the class and presenting information. We can "flip" the classroom with lectures occurring at home via the Internet and rigorous project-based learning taking place in cooperative groups at school. In this environment, teachers can be guides and coaches to the students. What is more powerful in education than a student who is guided by an adult who truly cares -- someone who knows your name, who encourages you, and is committed to your success in life?
By learning about and replicating strategies that work in education, we have the potential to transform our schools. By creating strong cultures of creativity and curiosity, we can engage students as active participants in their own education, rather than passive recipients of facts and formulas. In a world where information is at our fingertips, our greatest challenge is help students learn how to find information, assess its accuracy and apply it to solve problems. All around our country and the world, there are teachers and schools succeeding at the task, many featured on Edutopia. Here is a recent video which shows a once failing middle school in Charlotte, North Carolina, that invested in research-based teaching strategies and is now on the rise.
There is no other job more important than education. It is the foundation of our democracy. By seizing on what's working, and recreating those successes from one classroom to the next, we can make it better for everyone.
This post first appeared on Edutopia.org
Since different kids can learn in different ways, since every individual is unique, it's vitally important to offer kids and parents choices in education. Choice is the foundation of liberty. If you have no choices, you have no liberty.
www.atimeofchange.net
George: Find a dictionary. Look up “democracy”, then look up “republic”. Next, ask for a refund on your education fees.
"I was bored in school."
Mind you. Public schools have another word for it.
"an engaging learning experience."
To be able to ask any question at all, and to be told the truth. No matter how unsettling.
"presenting information."
Type A: You can test this for yourself. Type B: You can’t test this, so be wary. Type AB: This is our best guess so far.
"What is more powerful in education"
than complete candour. I don’t actually know the answer to that.
"we have the potential to transform our schools"
by evolving, plus the addition of some intelligent design.
"our greatest challenge is help students"
question. Otherwise they are captive in a rendition, not necessarily an exact match for reality.
"There is no other job more important than education."
I think you may find George, that ensuring the survival of our species has more primacy. Else there be no practical requirement for education.
Plus we are creating a generation of kids that want to be entertained and have fun and have the attention span that can last less than a second.
A paradigm shift is needed and Americans are in no mood for such a shift after all they think they are already the best in the world in everything. Known as the ugly American in Europe.
Everyone is playing the blame game. This is the best we have in congress, in our supreme court and in our corporations. Wall street greed is the perfect example as a poster child of the American results only it is all about me mentality.
The American mentality is coming crashing down. We are not alone history tells us the future of nations that have great wealth and military power. I.e. their own self-destruction.
"W" loved to emphasize what a successful "C" student he was. I beg to differ with him over that.
We tend to spend more on sports than academics and wonder why we fall short in math and science skills. Are we too stupid to figure that one out?
I like sports too but everything must be done in balance. Everyone should be encouraged to find a sport he or she can enjoy but that doesn't mean it has to highly competitive. Running is its own reward. You don't need a track team, just a good pair of sneakers.Some good running music is great.
Japanese schools do their sports outside of the regular school time. They have "clubs" that students can join.Parents are expected to pay for their equipment and uniforms. The large stadiums that eat up money and space don't exist. Maybe that is why their students do better in math and science than ours.
Its time we took a hard look at how we rate academics in this country and compare it to other countries. We should look at how we treat our teachers and what we do to support them. States that lay-off teachers and show little regard for what they do won't get the best results.
A retiring teacher gave me an interesting comparison. She told me her doctor sat her down everytime she came in and gave her literature on healthy eating and exercise. He "educated" her about weight loss and the consequences of not losing weight. She looked me straight in the eye and asked whether or not her doctor should be held accountable for her not losing weight.
If the learner is not open and willing to learn for whatever reason, its a problem. Almost half of my evaluation is based on the test scores of kids that have never been successful in 9-10 years of school. So now they are to be magically transformed into scholars because of what some politician or celebrity businessman imagines? Make teachers rock stars instead of whipping boys and we might have a chance to turn things around.
In the perfect world of Lucas’s “Edutopia” kids would have learned the basics and teachers could use project based learning most of the time! As a retired science teacher of 31 yrs., I can tell you that what was intended as learning through investigation, hands on, inquiry, etc. was in response to an ever growing percentage of American students that will only respond to “Edu-tainment! Sesame Street taught us the baloney that all kids have very short attention span so entertain them with fast moving cartoon teaching! Don’t get me wrong, when real learning can be made fun, then for sure, make it fun, but fun should not be the main goal! Kids liked my classes a lot, but everything doesn't have to be fun to be rewarding! Memorizing the Alphabet is still effective without a four week inquiry project!
My school had 67% Asian students. Many were immigrants that spoke very little or no English! Within two years they were the top students who went on to great colleges and became our doctors! Surprisingly the school didn’t fail those Asian immigrants as it did “Poor, Bored, Little Johnny with his pants below his butt listening to Rap”! I studied schools in other states and in China and schools can always improve, BUT YOU CAN'T EASILY TEACH KIDS THAT HAVEN'T BEEN TAUGHT THE VALUE OF EDUCATION AT HOME! That’s what explains the success of the Asian immigrant’s kids in our "failing schools"!