First, if you haven't read Tom Whitby's post "The Big Lie in Education," do so. This post is a follow-up from what Whitby has eloquently started.
While we are reflecting, refreshing, and recharging, lets reflect on what we are trying to teach our students and why. Take the premise uttered by many that education must prepare our students for the "Real World." What is this "Real World" that is often held up as a gold standard for anything educationally relevant in a time when everything is changing so quickly and dramatically around us?
Too often this "Real World" that people propose is an antiquated idea that bears little relevance to today, yet alone tomorrow. "Real World" cannot be an education system based on last century's framework. It cannot be a system based on last century's metrics nor last century's constrained concept of knowledge.
It cannot be anything which restricts itself to two or three core subject areas and tested by an antiquated and inherently dysfunctional bubble test. It cannot be anything which views core knowledge as a static and eternal set of numbers and facts. It cannot be anything which does not at its basis understand that we live in a time—now and today—of change, exploration, and experimentation ... and this is only set to increase.
REAL "REAL WORLD" SKILLS
Any real "Real World" statement must take into account the actual environment of the world we live in—the
Learning for the Long Run
Today's world is entirely different than the one in which I was born. For context, I'm only 20 years old. Among all the advances in science and technology occurring every day are incredible advances in education and child development. We know more now than ever before about how the brain works and how that translates to learning. The research is quite clear: there are many types of learners, and t