Hello World! Educational Revolution Anyone?

“They say you want a revolution . . .”                – John Lennon 1968

Education is undergoing a revolution of sorts. There are those who would  blow it up and start again and there are those who would keep the status quo. For some the system worked well. They were successful. Some became teachers. If one enjoyed the confines of a schoolhouse, the regularity of ringing bells, direct instruction, the achieving of an “A” for compliance, neatness, and conformity, why not continue to reside in that comfortable place? Predictable. Tidy. Organized.

Our kids are different, our culture is different, our capabilities are different. What we understand about the brain and learning is different, our society’s needs are very different. Almost everything is different. We are no longer preparing our children to be adults in our world. We are preparing them to be adults in a world that we can only guess at. They darn well better be flexible, able to learn independently, reflect, adjust, collaborate, innovate, for the rest of their lives.

When are my own children happiest at school and in learning? They are happiest when they share the day with people of passion who realize that learning is messy, unexpected, joyous, personal, hard work. It is not 7/10, memorization, question and answer, fact retrieval, worksheet completion, whole class novel study.

Personalized learning, technology, differentiation, assessment for learning, inquiry, project based learning . . . . the look and feel of education in some classrooms and schools is very different from when I attended school and different from when I first began teaching. At least, it should be. If you are teaching the same way and using the materials that you used ten years ago – that is a serious problem (some might say malpractice). If you are teaching the same way and using the materials that you used five years ago –  you need to question your practice. If you are teaching the same way and using the materials that you used two years ago –  you need to change it up.

There are those who want an education revolution. You may have guessed by now, one of those is me.