The Future of Education

I heard this poem many years ago and it has stuck with me.

Red Flower with a Green Stem by Helen  Buckley

Once upon a time there was a little boy who studied at a big school.

One morning the teacher said “Today we’re going to draw.”
“Good” thought the little boy. He liked to draw lions, tigers, chickens, trains and boats. He got his color-pencils and started drawing.
“Wait!! Don’t start yet.” said the teacher. She waited until all the students were ready and then said … “We’re going to draw flowers.”
The little boy started drawing beautiful flowers with his pink, orange and blue pencils.
“Wait” said the teacher. “I’ll show you how to do it.” And the flower she drew was red with a green stem. “Ok” said the teacher “now you can do it.”
The little boy looked at the flower the teacher had drawn , looked at his own flowers and liked his best. He couldn’t say that so he turned the sheet of paper over and drew a flower just like the one the teacher had drawn – red with a green stem.
Another day the students were having class outside and the teacher said … “Today we are going to play with clay.”
“Great” the boy thought. He liked to play with clay. He could make things like elephants, mice, cars and trucks. He started to take some clay in his hands and make a big ball.
Then the teacher said … “Wait ! Don’t start yet.” She waited until all the students were ready. “Now” she said “we’re going to make a plate.”
“Good” thought the little boy. He liked to make plates of different sizes and shapes.
The teacher said … “Wait !! I’ll show you how to do it.” It was a soup-plate. “Ok” she said “now you can start.”
The little boy looked at the plate the teacher had made, looked at his own plate and liked his best. He couldn’t say it so he got his plate, made it into a big ball and started it again. He made a soup-plate just like the one the teacher had made.
And since early in his life he learned not to do things by himself but to wait for a model.
And then the little boy went to another school.
This one was even bigger than the other one. One day the new teacher said … “Today we’re going to draw.”
“Good” thought the little boy. He waited to see what the teacher would draw.
The teacher didn’t draw anything. She only walked around the room.
Then the teacher approached the little boy and asked “Don’t you like to draw?”
“Yes” he said “but what are we going to draw?”
“I don’t know” said the teacher “draw whatever you want.”
“How can I do it?” he asked. “Any way you want.” said the teacher.
“But what colors should I use?” he asked.
“You choose. If everybody makes the same drawing with the same colors how can I know which drawing is yours?” she said.
“I don’t know” answered the boy. And he drew a red flower with a green stem.

What is the Answer?

I have been thinking about this for two days now since we discussed it in class. I liked Professor Young's thoughts on the subject, but have no been able to come to a conclusion about how we could solve the problem. It is a great idea, but I personally do not feel that it is humanly possible for one teacher to meet the learning need and styles of 30 students. Maybe the reason I am struggling so much is because I have always viewed the system as needing  a complete over hall and it is unrealistic to think that there is one simple solution. I know that I certainly don't have the answer. So after two days of rumbling numerous different solutions around in my head, I have come to the conclusion that maybe the first step is to change the way we think about  education.

Like we saw in the video "This is water", our perceptions have a lot to do with what we take away from any experience. Our current school system appears to be structured to teach a specific set of skills in a specific way that doesn't fit every person. Is this reality? Could we choose to see it differently.  Maybe it is about us changing our perception. We do not go to school to learn answers to specific problems. We go to school to learn how to learn. Learning a job skill will serve you well in a specific job, but learning to be learner will benefit  you in every aspect of life, every day of your life. Do we expect someone else to be responsible for what we learn in school, or do we take responsibility for what we will get out of this education opportunity. Even if the system is broke, can we find a way to get the job done.

Yesterday, I accidentally loaded a virus on my computer. It was a  nightmare and I had a lesson plan and power point to prepare, and a Comm Research video to watch. I am NOT a computer wizard, but I had a problem that needed solving. I could have had the perception that I needed an expert to teach me, why wasn't any computer place open past five. It took about four hours, but I learned how to get a virus off my computer. I was motivated by my need. I used my critical thinking and problem solving skills. What if I approached every learning opportunity the way I did this one. I could probably learn just about anything.