We Teach in Boxes, Kids Learn in Webs

 


"Any fact becomes important when it is connected to another"

                        - Umberto Eco


  I don't think there is anyone out there who doesn't think that education could be improved.  No matter how "good" it is, there is ALWAYS the prospect of better on the horizon.  However, education is a very personal experience, and every person it is different.  What is highly effective for one, may not work for another.  For this reason, blanket "fixes" for the entire system have been nothing more than ways to produce headlines for political clout (that topic is a whole post by itself).  That is why my frustration grows at an exponential rate when non-educators decide they can "fix" our education system.  

  Reformers are POSITIVE that America's schools would be fine if teachers would just work harder, and they are sure they would do that if merit pay programs made them compete for financial prizes.  What they seem incapable of understanding is classroom teachers are doing something so complicated and difficult that we are already getting their best.  I don't believe we have a single teacher who refuses to teach to the best of their ability because they feel underpaid.  They ARE underpaid, but my point is that teachers don't punish students for this.  They give all they have to give to their students.  To suggest that they are holding back their students due to pay is insulting to say the least.

 Dangling a carrot in front of a teacher is not the motivator it is believed to be.  

  Is there any other service profession that faces this?  Would medical doctors save more lives if they were paid more?  Would scientists cure more diseases if they were paid more?  Would police officers keep the streets safer if they were paid more?  Would firefighters put out more fires if they were paid more? Would school superintendents that write blogs come up with better examples if they were paid more?

  Teachers are doing the very best they can with the curriculum and circumstances that they have been given.  Our struggles are curricular in nature, NOT effort.  Here is the curricular problem that is at the top of my list (bear with me, I can get wordy):

  • Change is the nature of things. 
 Societies, organizations, and organisms either adapt to change, or they die (Can you tell I am a former biology teacher?).  The traditional core curriculum delivers existing knowledge.  This is all well and good.  However, being prepared for an unknown future requires new knowledge.  New knowledge is created when relationships between seemingly unrelated parts are discovered.  The imaginary walls between school subjects that lead us to study them in isolation from each other actually block the relating process that is essential to the creation of new knowledge.  

  • Preparing for an unknown future requires NEW knowledge.  
  I am not trivializing the importance of existing knowledge, it is the foundation on which advancements are made. What will need to be known in the future isn't yet understood.  If it isn't known, it can't be taught.  However, the PROCESS by which new knowledge is created and gained CAN be taught.

  • Studying subjects in isolation.
 Students study, math, science, language, history, business, physical education, career and technical classes, and more.  The study of their CONNECTION to one another is missing.  Mathematics is the language of science.  Our history is shaped by new scientific discoveries.  Those scientific discoveries can lead to the development of new technology.  New technology drives business and the economy. Scientific knowledge is communicated through language.  By highlighting the relationship between these seemingly unrelated topics, students discover and explore relationships, NOT mentally storing information.  This is real education and allows for the creation of NEW knowledge.  

  • The PROCESS of creating knowledge is the key.
  Traditional instruction places far too much emphasis on content  (Is content important? YES!! Should it be 100% of instructional time? That is debatable).We dump so much information on them, that it can't possibly stay in the memory for long.  Merely delivering information is a poor use of time.  Understanding the process of how we make sense of the world is the key to unlocking not only new knowledge and greater understanding, but performance as well.

  Yes, our education system needs improvement, but the teachers are not what needs fixing.

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