Disrupting our Model

It’s amazing how far our society has come in changing the ways things are done. So many simple everyday tasks have changed because of the advancement of technology. We no longer have to drive over to see a friend or even call them to see how they are doing; we can simple send a text or email. We don’t have to pay for anything with cash anymore because we can charge it onto our credit cards. We don’t even have to go to the grocery store because we can now order our grocery’s online and have it delivered to our doorstep. With all these changes happening why is it that our public school system as been so persistent on keeping a model that is not working? Our school system now is so reliant on testing and making sure every student knows the same exact facts. It’s time that this system is disrupted and changed for the better. It is clear that we as a society are moving away from the logical left-brained system. With that we need to make sure that our students are being fostered and developed into right-brained citizens. With our current commercial system of teaching this is basically impossible. To develop a school system based more on the right-brained logic I have a few suggestions.

The first main suggestion is to create learning that is valuable to the students. To do this we need to know the students, we need to understand what they like, what interests them and create learning that is adaptable to them. Get to know the students as human beings not just a body in a chair.

The second suggestion is to allow inquiry-based learning. This is part of getting to know the students. They are allowed to explore their environment and discover amazing things while sharing with their peers. This type of learning is more authentic than sitting at a desk and reading a textbook. Students will be more engaged and able to remember the material better.

I would also suggest creating curriculum that is supplemental to the learning, not the learning itself. Create curriculum that students can explore if they want to, if they want to understand more. Don’t make it a task; make it something that is enjoyable for them to do. I think one way to make curriculum more enjoyable is to make it technology based. Students now are digital natives and technology is the norm for them. They expect technology and thrive with it, so make it part of the class. It needs to be a staple within the classroom.

Due to the fact that students are digital natives, we as teachers should treat them as such. Have them help with using the technology in the classroom. Let them show us how to use it and how they think it would fit well into class. They know much more than most of us so let them have a say in what should happen.

I think another important aspect of creating a student centric school model is to make teacher collaboration mandatory. If teachers work together they can come up with amazing ideas. We all have different students in our classes and have to adjust teaching to fit those students; we wont have all the answers all the time. By working together and developing our skill together we will be better teachers for the students we have.

And last but not least, get rid of testing. The standardize test don’t measure the students learning, it measures their ability to memorize and bubble in answers. If you create better teaching models the students will learn and you will be able to measure that by the product of work that they put out. You will also be able to measure their learning by watching them learn and participate. There is no need for these tests. They waste the time we have to teach and they make learning a chore, not something fun.

I think that to create a student center model of teaching would take a lot of time to develop and implement. It would take a lot of cooperation with schools and districts to effectively change our whole model. This would be a huge task, but one that is greatly needed. Society has changed and continues to change, which means we need to prepare our students for it starting now.