Here’s a video that will blow your mind. You might want to turn the music down, as I found its dramatic intent really annoying.
Pretty remarkable, eh? Here’s my two cents: The rapid proliferation of people, information, and technology demands folks who don’t simply work harder, but smarter. Schools need to prepare students to be adaptable; that is, students need to become lifelong learners who obtain new skills quickly when needed. What’s more, students need to construct knowledge, rather than passively accept it.
There was a time when schools were concerned with preparing students for a stable profession. That logic is futile anymore, since jobs and technology change so rapidly. What one learns today can be obsolete tomorrow.
Sure, schools have sweet sounding mission statements that proclaim their commitment to preparing students for the challenges depicted in this video. But their fixation with accountablity standards via the No Child Left Behind legislation, which was enacted to prepare students to meet the demands of a future that’s depicted this video, can actually reduce the quality of educational experience. Overemphasis on accountability standards have reduced instruction to “test prep” in many poorer school districts, whose funding and ratings rely on passing scores. When test scores are the sole indicator of educational quality, learning becomes much less about being an adaptable problem solver, or synthesizing and constructing knowledge, and much more about learning isolated facts and test taking strategies that increase the likihood of passing the test.
Perhaps it’s time for educators to pause and consider if test scores on state mandated tests such as the TAKS (here in Texas) really indicate that students are prepared for what’s ahead.
8 responses so far ↓
Eric Freeman // March 26, 2007 at 9:50 am
Interesting slide show. My only real beef is that it complains that Nintendo spends more on R&D than the Federal Gov’t spends on education. Our education system was much better when the Fed’s spent $0 on education, and is declining because of Federal spending (i.e., Federal control).
Treavor // March 27, 2007 at 4:27 pm
Hi Eric, I think I understand what you are saying. The Feds pour a lot of money into eduction, but with strings attached that require schools to adopt programs that teach directly to a test.
Of course, it is the poorer schools who suffer the most, who feel the most pressure to get passing scores (which translate to more money from the Feds and better school ratings). On the surface, this may not seem like such a bad thing, but when kids’ education is reduced to getting a passing test score, it’s just wrong. For one thing, the test influences how teachers and students view quality. For instance, when teachers and kids think that good writing consists only of the 5 or 6 criteria assessed on the test, there’s a problem. Learning shouldn’t be reduced to such formulaic and isolated chunks of knowledge that are taught/assessed out of context.
But for this current administration, numbers are the great panacea—a black and white way of showing educational “progress”, but the Feds don’t look underneath the gruesome underbelly of those scores; that is, the fail to consider the validity and reliability of the test, or even if the test has any real impact on preparing kids for problem solving outside of school. Of course, it’s impossible to know for sure since every state has different standards, and different types of standardized assessments. So really it’s hard to say exactly what a score means.
subtextures // March 28, 2007 at 9:25 pm
I question eric’s assertion that educaton was better before the Feds spent any money on it. We are educating more people than ever before to a higher level of literacy than ever before in the history of the US. (Brandt) That sounds like progress. I think the real problem some have with spending money is that in their self-serving way they don’t want any thing that might benefit some one other than themselves. Not realizing that we are all better off the better educated the people around us are.
Melissia // April 2, 2007 at 9:05 pm
Kudos to your analysis… both of the ramifications of that video and of the current system of testing knowledge. I’m curious… you said, “Perhaps it’s time for educators to pause and consider if test scores on state mandated tests such as the TAKS (here in Texas) really indicate that students are prepared for what’s ahead.” But is it really the educators that need convincing of this? It seems to me that it’s the politicians who are pushing state-mandated tests??
Treavor // April 2, 2007 at 9:34 pm
Hey Melissa–I think you are right. It’s often educational policy that works against teacher agency and control by restricting so much of what what teachers can do in their classrooms. Many public school teachers feel the pressure to conform, even if it counters what they’d like to do, and even if what they like to do is sound pedagogy. Yet sadly, I think there is a lot of complacency in schools, and it becomes so easy to accept the status quo. I’ve even seen student teachers quickly abondon the methodologies they learned in college to conform to a scripted curricula in low SES schools. Given the school culture they are working in, which is often fixated on high stakes testing, teachers feel the pressure to modify their professional instinct to comply with standardization. It’s such a difficult delemma. On one hand wanting to be law abiding, but on the other wanting professional discretion and autonomy. In many ways it is a policy issue; on the other hand, if things are going to change at the legislative level, then it has to initiate from within those who work in education who can testify to the harm being done–we teachers, admin, and educational researchers.
Treavor // April 2, 2007 at 9:53 pm
Hi, Subtextures, thanks for responding. I agree with you. Your point does nuance the arguement; certainly the Feds have provided money that has helped schools in many ways, not overlooking the fact that the money provided isn’t always spent on the instructional practices that are most benefical for children, or teachers for that matter.
subtextures // April 8, 2007 at 10:37 am
I was by no manner claiming that the fed money helped, just it did not hurt. Too often money comes with strings that do more to entangle teachers than help them. My comment was that progress is being made despite governmental interference, despite business kibitzing, despite the seemingly general view from parents to academics that teachers are doing everything wrong. Progress is being made, students are learning to read and write better than in the past.
Treavor // April 21, 2007 at 11:03 am
Hi Subtextures. . . Sorry for my tardy response. I agree, people are always learning regardless of what structures we have in place. I wonder just how much of kids’ progress in reading and writing is made through literacy events that they particpate outside of school? I am thinking specifically of Blogs and My Space, or even their self selected texts on the Net. But of course access to more mulimodal types of literacies via computers and the Internet are limited to those who can afford them. Thanks for commenting.
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