I have been concerned about the educational system in the United States for some time now. I was an average student in elementary school, never really applying myself. In those days elementary school went from first grade to eighth grade. Anyway, in seventh grade I was picked out for an experimental class that lasted until eighth grade graduation.
Project Oriented Teaching…
What I remember about the classes was in seventh grade we focused solely on architecture. In eighth grade we focused solely on micro organisms. We studied and read about famous architects and biologists. Created models of buildings and grew single and multi-celled creatures. However in the meantime I became a straight “A” student in all subjects without even trying. I had found I possessed a natural interest in reading, writing, studying, math, history, social studies and learning in general.
I never lost this interest … then came high school. There had been a fire in the school during the summer and for some reason half of the teachers that had been there for 20 to 30 years decided to retire that year. So all of the teachers I had where fresh out of college. Teaching for the first time and most of them took the job while they were waiting for their dream job (They were not teachers just full time substitutes).
Needless to say my grades fell low quick and fast. I did not understand what they were trying to teach and they were not trying to explain.
The thing that I am leading to is my education in seventh and eighth grade has stuck with me through my life and has been meaningful. Even though I am not an architect or biologist. I have been an open thinker an innovator, an creator, and producer most of my life.
Should we still teach the same way?
The educational system of the United States of America was set up over 200 years ago and has not changed although everything that it needs to prepare or children for has drastically changed. Scott MCNealy, former CEO, Sun Microsystems says “Our public education system ‘is failing'”. I may not agree with all of his solutions however, all of the issues he points out are valid. The DOE is out of touch with the reality of what is needed in the work force of today and is using antiquated metrics and scoring that makes a mockery of America’s growing multicultural society.
Innovative learning...
Today I am happy to see some changes being made and thought about and financed. It is called “XQ The Super School Project” . They are inspiring a new way of learning by awarding grants to high schools around the country that are innovating education into learning experiences. The best way to learning more about this is to check them out in the video above.
It is because of our unique and out of the box thinking that has kept America great. The future is already demanding more of this from our children. Will they be able to answer the call?