IT'S CRUCIAL FOR US TO ASK THE BIG SCARY QUESTIONS THAT WE DON'T KNOW THE ANSWERS TO
...and not just the questions about curriculum and strategies, I mean the questions about the whole enchilada. Does traditional schooling make sense anymore? Eight periods, sitting in chairs, being on-time, taking the test, logging in, keeping quiet, turning it in, putting on the ID, getting the points, and reading all the directions...
When it comes to preparing young people for their futures, is this the best we've got?
With all we have learned about child development and multiple perspectives, should we be teaching separate subjects in separate rooms and evaluating success with standardized tests written by corporations? Should we be rewarding student compliance more than creation? Do the old platitudes make you uncomfortable? "You need to learn this because it is important." Is it? If not, then what is?
I don't know. I really don't. But I am thrilled by the process and possibility involved in finding the answers.
Having the courage to question, rethink, out-think and get real for the benefit of our students is not a weakness -- it's called Instructional Leadership. My EdTech journey has exposed me to some truly inspirational Instructional Leaders from our area and beyond. They have taught me to admit that I am a Learner just as much as a Teacher. The strongest among us have the chutzpah to value inquiry and honesty just as much as "expertise."
How else can we all survive in this rapidly-changing, interconnected world?
Nuggets from some of my faves:
“When it comes to thinking about learning, nearly all of us have a School side of the brain, which thinks that school is the only natural way to learn, and a personal side that knows perfectly well that it’s not.“
The unfortunate reality is that natural learning, what Smith calls the "classic theory of learning” that suggests, rightly, that “we learn effortlessly, every waking moment of our lives” has been rendered irrelevant by the dominant narrative that learning is onerous and requires sustained, conscious effort. (It certainly does if you don’t care about what you are being asked to learn.) And it is about control, as I recently was reminded by an experience with my own kids. Without going into detail, one of my darlings made a poor yet basically harmless decision which met with harsh consequences from the school. But, as is often the case, my child learned more from the actions of the punisher than she did from the punishment. Effortlessly, I might add.
The biggest challenge facing schools is that the modern world amplifies our ability to learn in the classic sense, and increasingly renders the official, school based theory of learning pointless and oppressive. While our kids’ love of learning can flourish outside of school, it’s extinguished inside of school as we take away agency, passion, connection, audience, authenticity, and more.
How long can that stand?
As Clay Shirky has noted, we currently are living through
‘the largest expansion in expressive capability in human history.’
We no longer live in a world where we passively receive information that is broadcast out to us by large, centralized entities. Instead, we now live within multidirectional conversation spaces in which 12-year-olds can reach audiences at scales that previously were reserved for major media companies, large corporations, and governments. We all now can have a voice. We all now can be publishers. We all now can find each other’s thoughts and ideas and can share, cooperate, collaborate, and take collective action. Time and geography are no longer barriers to communicating and working together.
‘the largest expansion in expressive capability in human history.’
We no longer live in a world where we passively receive information that is broadcast out to us by large, centralized entities. Instead, we now live within multidirectional conversation spaces in which 12-year-olds can reach audiences at scales that previously were reserved for major media companies, large corporations, and governments. We all now can have a voice. We all now can be publishers. We all now can find each other’s thoughts and ideas and can share, cooperate, collaborate, and take collective action. Time and geography are no longer barriers to communicating and working together.
