Category: future of education

There is a Buddhist fable about a man’s son who captured a strong and beautiful horse.  The people in the village were very jealous of his great fortune and told him how lucky he was.  He replied, “we shall see.”  Soon after the horse threw his son and the young man broke his leg.  The people in the village told him how cursed he was and he patiently replied again, “we shall see.”  After the son broke his leg soldiers came and took all the able bodied young men but the man’s son was spared.  The people in the village reminded him of his good fortune.  His reply, “we shall see.”

The fable shows how quickly our fortunes can change.  As we all travel through life we all encounter many joys and many problems.  This was brought into high relief for me this week while I watched my son compete in the Michigan Open golf tournament.  And although the game of golf is really only a metaphor for real life problems it does demonstrate that for every up there is a down.  And it’s not so much counting on getting more ups but seeing the downs as opportunities.   My son had one spectacular round of 66 and the next day bombed with a 79.  He said the perfect round had not prepared him for the difficulties of the following day. 

The Dali Lama once said, “The universe is in a constant state of becoming an ongoing miraculous creation.  Every day we awaken to that miracle with gratitude, respect, and compassion for all who share the gift of being.”   When we learn to cultivate acceptance rather than anger or frustration for those times when things aren’t going well we can begin to see our problems in different way.  We can begin to see them as just another part of our creation that natural ebb and flow in this world of duality. 

Problems challenge us to get out of things, to fix them.  But sometimes we need to examine the idea of fixing, especially when it relates to fixing others.  We need to question our concepts about how we want things to be and what we want people to become.

If we can let go of some of our thinking we will see that some problems can be solved, some cannot and some are best left alone.   Watching my son struggle through this tournament I know that the best we can ever do is to support the people we love.  Each one of us faces our own individual journey through life alone but we can travel together bound by our loving support.

As teachers everywhere end their school year my wish is they embrace this journey and give each other this loving support.  

The story goes that one-day while sick in bed his father brought him a compass.  Albert Einstein was mystified when he learned that the needle of the compass would always point to the north.  He examined the needle and wondered what powers lie behind it.  That was the beginning of his journey.

Sherry Turkle professor at MIT says all scientists are born in childhood.  For the past thirty years she begins all her classes by asking students to write about their path towards science.  They all share a common intellectual curiosity about the way things work.  She recalls one student who wrote about braiding the hair on the tail of her little pony doll.  She was completely absorbed in the task and practiced it for hours.  Dividing the hair over and over.  The repetition testifies to the importance of studying objects in the development of understanding how things work.

Children are drawn to they mystery of science by sand castles, by playing with marbles, by taking apart broken things.  This investigation is really the manipulation of learning the mechanism.  I have to wonder if schools are using this natural curiosity to teach children greater truths?  If children are only being fed bite sized morsels of information that are quickly memorized and just as quickly forgotten then they are missing the opportunity to discover. 

Hands on learning allows children to experience ideas first.  The old saying goes; it is better to teach a man how to fish than to simply give him fish.  For most schools the current curriculum largely gives children fish without teaching them a thing about how to fish for themselves. 

Psychologists recognize that we are not particularly good memorizers.  Most of us have a shaky grasp of logic, tend not to examine our beliefs and only notice data that support our theories.  The problem is not that children can’t find information it’s that they lack the skills to evaluate it. 

This is why hands on learning is so critical.   Hands on gives children direct experience and trial and error process that demands they start over and learn from past mistakes. The long-term goal of schools should be to give their students a sort of users guide to knowing about how they learn.  This guide will teach them the architecture of the mind, what it does well and what it doesn’t.  Instead of emphasizing facts students will learn how to evaluate evidence, consider their own biases and use logic and reason to make choices. 

Systematic changes are necessary if our schools are to thrive.  What do we really want?  My hope is for children to step back and notice the world just like Albert Einstein did and appreciate the miracle they really are. 

Charles Darwin the first true naturalist created one of the most impressive volumes in biology in his “Origins of the Species.  He observed, questioned, experimented and tested his ideas to arrive at the conclusion that natural selection is responsible for all creation.  Although he didn’t live to see how the human genome bears the stamp of natural selection he would not have been surprised. The framework for understanding the natural world and ourselves lies in accepting change.  We continue to  evolve so it’s a logical connection that our institutions must evolve too.  They must change when the conditions demand it.

How do we know when change is necessary?

Change is necessary when outcomes produce failure.  Unfortunately currently in education there is too much failure.  Education must decide what matters most.   Is it loyalty to the system or to the mission?

The mission of all schools must be to create the best environment for learning.  When a school nurtures the desire to learn everyone thrives.

I once read a sign that said, “All structures are unstable.”  It’s apropos for understanding the need for change.   Our institutions are human endeavors that eventually weaken and become unstable.  Instead of reacting to the weakness we must become  proactive and position our thinking to creating changes when necessary.

Right now we are at the threshold of this change.  There is an opportunity for fundamental shifts in perspective but these shifts also threaten our comfort levels and the status quo. Our attachments to the way things are is only a fear-based reaction.  Instead of defending this reaction we can transform it.

To accept and embrace change in schools it’s important to:

• Look at your motivation.  What is more important acknowledging your own personal weak areas or a willingness to step out of your comfort zone and see what’s possible?
• Cultivate emotional wisdom.  Be honest with how you feel, is it fear or logic that keeps you from accepting changes.
• Calm your mind.  Be proactive.  Listen for your own reactive thinking, language and actions. And be willing to adapt a better way.
• See clearly.  Reexamine your goals and your mission; this will connect you with the best path.
• Embrace generosity.  Be open to the ideas of others and encourage the collaboration.

Change is necessary, advantageous and possible but only when all the shareholders accept this. 

I recently read that closer cooperation between community colleges and business is an emerging trend.  The future job market is going to demand more skilled technicians.  Utility companies are already predicting a shortage of skilled workers when the wave of baby boomers begins to retire.  They are going to need workers to update our electrical grid as well as tap into new energy industries.  All of these jobs will require a particular set of skills not obtained through traditional degree programs. 

At the same time most graduate programs in American universities are producing a product for which there is no market.  Many graduate candidates are seeking positions that do not exist or have skills for which there is a diminishing demand.

The two scenarios illustrate a real disconnect with the present reality.   On one side is the traditional university model with an emphasis on scholarship and on the other the need for a narrower set of skills and expertise with real job applications. 

Reading all of this made me think that perhaps there is a dirty secret of higher education.  The dirty secret is it’s not sustainable.  Years ago when my husband and I attended universities it was possible to work your way through school and graduate without a mountain of debt.  Today students must leverage enormous loans and hope to find a job that will allow them to repay the loan before they retire.  Something is not right.

If we are going to encourage our children to aspire to higher learning than we must at the very least offer them opportunities that will make this financially profitable as well as intellectually enriching.  There has to be a balance between gaining intellectual perspective and the ability to earn a respectable income. 

How can we hope to do this?

First we must find ways to restructure colleges and universities.  Just like Wall Street and Detroit must be regulated so must higher education if it is going to thrive into the 21^st century.   Second schools must adapt to this new thinking.  Students should be encouraged to become life-long learners.  Not just learning for the sake of monetary gain but learning for the betterment of all.   A population of citizens who aspire to know more not just to be more becomes a global asset.  

Informed people seek alternatives, improved ways and demand better for themselves and their neighbors.  Education is the best and maybe the only way to deliver on this aspiration. 

As our schools find their way in our new economic order they must also find the best path to encourage children to be curious, to become seekers and explorers.   Desire is a powerful motivator, just read the biographies of our most beloved scientists and what they all share is a powerful desire to know more.

Sometimes difficulties create the most perfect environment for change.  Maybe that perfect opportunity is now.