Image Source: Corey Leopold, Creative Commons
Well, I haven’t actually solved the education problem but I think I have the solution. And it’s not exactly my idea but it’s still a great idea. In other words, for the first time I believe the solution is out there to our education problem. And we do indeed have an education problem. In spite of what we might hear from the NEA or the government, ranking in the bottom half of the top 34 countries of the world is a complete failure of the system as near as I can see.
Over the last several years, I’ve had a great concern and burden for our education system. Beyond the global rankings it seems to me that the system is failing on all fronts. In depressed areas like Detroit, the percentages of kids that even make it through the secondary system in abysmal. And even in areas where there is a functioning high school system, look at the number of parents who are choosing either home schooling or private schooling while still carrying the tax burden of supporting their local public schools simply because they can see that the public school is not going to prepare their children for the globally competitive future.
I’ve done a great deal of reading, thinking and talking to people about how we solve this problem. Bill Gates and his foundation have donated a great deal of money to the system and haven’t come up with much yet. One of the more inspiring books I’ve read is A Thomas Jefferson Education: Teaching a Generation of Leaders for the Twenty-First Century
So, what’s this great solution that “I’ve” come up with? Sal Khan is the guy who really came up with the solution. If you haven’t already seen what’s he’s doing (and yes, he has also caught the eye of Bill Gates) check it out ASAP. I immediately wrote to my two daughters and recommended that if they want their kids (actually they’re my grandkids, I just loan them to their parents while they’re growing up) to get a great education, tap into the Khan Academy. There is way too much to explain in this blog so I’ll let you explore on your own (the YouTube reference will give you a great overview) but I do want to focus on a few of the elements that I believe provide the solution to our education system.
The first thing that struck me is that the teachers no longer teach, they help the kids learn. That shifts us from a teaching environment to a learning environment. In a teaching environment we’re dependent on the skills and knowledge of the teacher. Recently a teacher that I know said that 70% of his class was failing and didn’t even seem to understand it was an indication of teacher failure, not student failure.
It also eliminates the one-size-fits-all approach to teaching. Once the teacher finishes a segment, the exam is taken, the student receives their score (A to E) and we move on to the next segment. How many students achieve mastery of the topic? Virtually none and based on the current system, it doesn’t make any difference anyway. The teacher disseminated the information, the students were scored, move on!
But, once we shift to a learning environment, the students are encouraged to experiment, fail and finally master the subject. Can you imagine the power instilled in the student when they actually master a topic? They can’t wait to get to the next level. And, they’re better equipped to master the next level. Under the current system, a good student might get 85% on the exam. But, what happens when that 15% lack of understanding makes it even more difficult to learn at the next level. And so-on and so-on. It’s a system that will indeed produce failure at some point.
I think there is much more to learn about this topic and I want to encourage as many of you as possible to check out the Khan Academy and talk to parents in your local public, private or home school. This will change your own kids (grandkids) lives and improve our education system. Notice that the Khan Academy is available to the world, not just the United States. If we don’t adopt this approach, we will rapidly fall even farther behind.
I will pick up on this topic more in future blogs and I also believe there is great learning here to be applied to leadership as well. Enjoy and be inspired by my solution to the education system. Ha!