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How can we empower kids to reshape the education system? *A TEDActive Education Project Question*
http://on.ted.com/projects
The TEDActive Education Project will explore how children can make an impact on the education system. We hope to come out of this project with fresh ideas for ways kids can start an education revolution.
At TEDActive2011 in Palm Springs, an amazing group of individuals came together as a group to come up with a simple micro-action solution for empowering kids to be a part of the education reform conversations. After a quick 36 hour period of time, the team made a website that allows students to upload videos of their ideas on education reform.
You can empower a student to share their voice at http://elev8ed.org.
Also, please share your own ideas here, or by starting a new conversation tagged with TEDActiveEDU so we can all follow.
Joshua Davidson
Cindy Gilbert
Azure Angel
What can change is the EXPECTATION of student involvement. With students expected to have a decision in what it is they learn in class, from choices provided by the teacher that day that follow national and state standards (even if it does necessarily deviate from robo-textbook teaching), students will choose what most concerns their needs/interests, allow for intrinsic motivation to take root, a measure of accountability is transferred to the student, teachers are pushed beyond the narrow confines of the 'island' classroom, and the inescapable bias of the student/teacher/education establishment can be mitigated towards a more learning-effective environment for every individual student.
This expectation of student accountability in schools fortunately can bring about assessment reform as well. Assessments based upon what was learned, but more on how what was learned was employed, which is more in-tune with the expectations beyond the confines of the classroom anyway.
Many roads lead to Rome, the best road depends on where you are coming from.
Rocco Carzo
I've co-founded a website, BookDecay.com, that aims to help college students avoid unnecessary textbook purchases by providing a place for peers to discuss how professors use their "required" materials. Reviewing textbooks might not seem like a huge deal but it’s solving a problem that previously had no solution. Our site will help students save money, but there's an even greater mission. Through the initial action of reviewing their textbooks to help teach other learn how the materials are used, we hope to empower students to take ownership over their education. With tuition costs continuing to rise, students need to make sure the money spend -- and will have to pay back -- provides a valuable return on investment. In in this case, that should be knowledge.
Students must work together to make a change in the system. We hope to provide the tool that will shakeup the textbook industry, and that students will continue the mission to revolution the system of education and return the emphasis to learning.
(On behalf of all those who've worked to create BookDecay.com, any feedback relating to our mission/functionality of our site would be greatly appreciated.)
Malee Holland
We have voluntary Pre-K in Florida, aimed at getting kids ready for public school. Is the tax money well spent? What can be done differently so that this schooling-prior-to-school is actually effective and constructive? How will the following years of early education build on this beginning and bring things together for the kids? I am very concerned, because I can recall the very day I decided I hated math, and it was in 3rd grade: We were required to do timed multiplication drills. The gap just grew greater over time. What a disaster if my child's curiosity and eagerness in education ends up snuffed out in a similar manner.
I want you all to think about this as you pontificate over ideas. This is where it all begins for them.
Dominique deSalle 30+
Do you think your daughters pre-school is practicing grade school curriculum on children? Please let this not be true.
The reference to the 'gate' your child is leaving, do you envision this as the beginning of her rat race?
What possible homework assignment could a pre-school child be doing?
Mark Alberstein
I will venture a statement that I feel is totally defensible. And may I be so bold to suggest that if you don't agree with this statement, you just haven't thought it through:
"Education will never become the central function of our school system until we do away with grades and grade levels."
Lawrence Cox
Whether schools do or do not exist or what form they take is less important than whether a student feels free to go outside the school system to find his or her own answers.
The most well thought-out rendition of how this is done that I am aware of is Hubbard's Study Technology.
In this learning paradigm, the scholar, expert, or "teacher" creates one or more courses for the subject he/she wishes to impart. This takes the form of a checklist of study steps and needed materials and equipment. The student then studies this course at his/her own pace supervised by someone who makes sure that he/she is applying the study technology. The final test of understanding is whether or not the student can apply the materials.
If no courses exist for a certain subject of interest, the technology also covers how to study a subject independently.
This is how I learned electronics in a family environment weak on science and engineering and a school environment that did not offer the subject.
Related concepts:
Ivan Illich's "learning networks."
Home schooling.
Charter schools.
Education vouchers.
Nichole Proctor-English
Place creativity and innovation back into the hands of students... Challenge students to learn about their interests.
Eimhin shortt
In Parma Itlay there are scientists working on mirror neurons (for those of you who want to understand this I recommend furthre research). It is true that we have an interior neuronal copy paste mechanism that is internally representing the outer percieved world and those in it to a tee, even in so far as me watching you pick up an apple gives me the exact same neurological response in the motor cortex as if I were picking up that apple. Luckily the nerve-response tells the brain that its ok not to initiate action because that isn't me.
So tying these two together we see why Harvard is a better university than many others, because the lecturers have a comprehensive and experiential knowledge of what they are talking about and this comes across in the neuronal response. This is what makes it a good university. The knowledge as text on paper, or as directed by someone who only learned it from text on paper is of a much diminished quality compared to when it is taught by someone who has gone through the experiential process of developing it.
We always encourage students to 'go to the source', get the original text etc. Of course this makes sense...one should hear it 'from the horse's mouth'. Now given this light from neurology we see why video based learning is best, we can capture the source and reproduce it.
Now saying that this is the case does not imply that I believe people will do it out of inspiration in the morning, however, this is the case and it is right that we should act on it. Good luck with all of your efforts, I wish the project well in all sincerity, the world needs it.
Warren Huber
1)Relational teaching: teach all materials beginning with and from the point of view of their intersections with all other areas. Operate from the perspective that physics can be used to teach algebra, designing & building a bench for the local library can teach geometry and human physiology and psychology, learning to build a fire can teach chemistry, physics, sociology, group dynamics, and cooking, cooking meals for the community or the school can teach nutrition, chemistry, several math branches, physics, first aid, process logic - etc.
2)Empowerment by empowerment: curriculum should be based on doing things for others in the immediate community that are visible, vital (not merely "sweet" or token), and actually beneficial or even necessary to the greater good.
3)Mentorship in community: forming non-age-based friendships and living together over an entire "school career" allows for the deep learning no book or transitory relationship can provide.
4)Mastery: rather than having schedules of what a child should know or what they are ready handle according to age or "grade", student progress should be monitored in several different categories of knowledge and skills that are allowed and encouraged to develop at the student's own pacing. Concern over special needs and/or teaching problems should be easily seen because of the above mentioned long-term mentoring relationship and simple statistics between students and within the individual student (between each of their categories ie: progressing in one area much faster than others or lagging behind in one area).
5)Spiritual & Emotional exploration and expression: the student's existence as a spiritual being needs to have a place to flourish as well. Whether a faith-based environment or not, students all need a place to wrestle with their own theologies and their places within them that reflect a healthy sense of both humility and personal empowerment.
Sandra Ramirez
Empowering the kids is easy, teach them the truth. Teach them history as told by the oppressed and not the oppressor. Let's stop pretending the founding fathers were good men. Let's stop pretending Columbus Day is not an insult to all First Nations People. For the love of God, Goddess, Jesus, Buddha, Sitting Bull, Mohammed, teach children the truth! Teach children how to love and care for plants and animals at an early age as well. Teach children about nature and how to care for the earth and all the elements. Teach children the wisdom of indigenous peoples all over the world. Teach children about the work of the 13 Indigenous Grandmothers.
Paul van Zoggel
So you just summed these 4 teaching point up as one of many or are you also working on solutions to implement on your continent?
More people having the same ideas? It's logic what is needed, so there must be. Maybe on every continent one person would be cool... So Africa? Asia? South America? Oceania? Who's in?
Ryan Chatterton 20+
I think most of us have known our world is in dire straits for some time and it's time our education system started preparing students for the only truth this world can offer us, which is change.
The ability for a person to explore, persevere, and look at the big picture, beyond the scope of their own life, will ultimately make or break the planet Earth.
All of this is only possible when people are able to accept responsibility and care about other people.
Schools should focus on those things and everything else we teach should follow in those footsteps.
Above all things, we should be honest to our students about the world they live in and the challenges we have, as well as the hopes and dreams.
Paul van Zoggel
Scott Campbell
The real challenge is not to empower the child but engage the parents in the educational well-being of their child from birth and to enable the unsupported children to make educated, informed, and supportable decisions.
The discussion about the current educational system is mute because of all of the special interests. Every locale, region, and state already has the educational system, structure, and personnel that it is willing to support. Tweaking the model is an exercise in futility. Aspiring to empower every child within that system is a waste of breath and text.
There is ample money available for the education of our youth if we are willing to disabuse ourselves of the premise that all students must be treated equally, every teacher is qualified or protected from consequences, and all circumstances must be equitable. This does not mean that most children are sacrificed in favor of the gifted and talented, it means that each child is allowed to seek his or her own level and the educational infrastructure is adequate and appropriate for the task. It means that the committed student, regardless of age, is allowed the freedom to qualify for the subsidized cost of and the competency appropriate level of their education.
In summary, expect our children to become responsible and you will empower them. Monitor there progress and provide feedback both positive and negative. Allow them to fail to but try not to allow it to be persistent without giving them a chance identify a change of course or alter their short term objectives. They must be the responsible party and the system should allow them to take responsibility.
Scott Campbell
The question should not be 'how to empower children' but rather how to enable access and what measures will be taken to maximize their potential.
The access issue must be one of discrimination. Not age, color, social or financial status etc.. It must be based on discriminating between the degrees of aptitude, attitude, and commitment.
If every child had the same opportunity via educational vouchers then the determining factor would be their competency level or GPA. Individual responsibility would empower the child to achieve their maximum potential because it would provide and avenue for them to seek appropriate instruction and study under the best qualified teacher in an appropriate curriculum or vocation.
By not discriminating by age it would be possible for a child, who was slow to mature or come to the realization of their passions, to find the commitment and develop the attitude to pursue and excel.
By using the voucher and grade as the determinate our most competent and responsible students will be taught by our most competent and responsible teachers. Our nearly as competent students will be taught by the next most competent teachers and neither the incompetent student or incompetent teacher will waste the time and effort of the competent but will serve the roles of prīmər and primər.
Jim Moonan 50+
I have a saying I use to help people understand what I do:
"Teach a child to fish and they will know how to fish. But teach a child to be a fish - now you've taught them something they can use!"
It's not meant to diminish the importance of practical learning but instead to remind teachers that there is more work to be done...
Paul van Zoggel
Jim Moonan 50+
clay blasdel
Eimhin shortt
Jim Moonan 50+
Children require different teaching strategies and educational systems at different stages of their development. What a preschooler needs to learn is not what an elementary grade student needs, which is different from what a middle school student needs, and that is different from what a high school student needs. To know that is to understand the real, unique needs of students/children.
Rob Appleby
Also recognising that children don't just change their needs year by year as they get older, but sometimes on a weekly basis.
There are just some days when they don't feel like doing it. A good teacher doesn't run on curriculum tracks all the time... sometimes they 'off road'
Paul van Zoggel
Why don't 'we' do the next step, in making a mindmap of the issues in this topic raised and see where the help of kids are possible and where they should be avoided... It's a jungle of issues and views raised, though there are interdepending corner stones to be found I guess.
Margaret Lobenstine
Dan Olson
Denise Yates
sean shuai
Aaron Van Slyke
Krishnan G.V
As ken Robinson has often pointed out todays education system is making children ready for yesterdays jobs. The future will see a lot more integration of the WEB into everyday life. But it is important to note that we currently teaching kids that 2+2 is 4 and fail to explain effectively why it is 4.
The point that I am making is that we need to empower kids to explore the reason/ cause for a phenomenon and not just merely acknowledge it. We are teaching kids today like "Data Entry operators". We just put the data into their system and expect them to remember it. All our tests are memory contests. We need kids to be curious about things. This is actually there but we suppress that instinct of natural curiosity.
The concept of homework was introduced to enable this. But even that has become redundant, because more and more kids realise that by giving the right answer they can score higher marks rather than trying to answer it their own way. Also, we need to erase the stigma attached to being wrong.
If we can do this then we can automatically find more and more kids changing the way they learn
Jason Loeb
Students were awestruck by the fact that most of the senators they spoke to were people who grew up in the same neighborhoods they did, and came up in the same school system as they did. Giving students the background information on this very issue, and then sending them to the "front lines" to talk with politicians and lobbyists about this issue will be part of the solution to this question you have posed.
Additionally, making our own efforts as teachers and educators transparent to students, and creating a classroom culture that encourages autonomy and responsibility for their own education will be instrumental in addressing this question head on.
Kelly WEiler
Nikita Mehta
Matt Dale
Adora Svitak 500+
I really appreciate what the education ministry of Ontario is doing with student voice through its Speakup project: http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/students/speakup/index.html --getting young people to actually contribute their ideas and feedback to the officials in charge. More and more organizations are becoming aware of the importance of student voice. I was lucky enough to write a blog for the Huffington Post on some large and small steps I think schools should take: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/adora-svitak/changes-schools-should-ma_b_829406.html
Social networking--Facebook especially--can provide an excellent way to gauge opinions on new changes and proposed ideas. Asking quick short questions, for instance, and getting responses. A lot of my peers aren't on Twitter, but definitely love Facebook.
It starts with simple questions: what would you change about your school? What are you interested in learning? How do you learn best? If you were the teacher/principal/Secretary of Education, what steps would you take? At the all-youth organized and attended TEDxRedmond conference, which I'm organizing for the second time this year, we hear from speakers who are all under 18 about their opinions on a range of diverse issues like these (and others). Through mediums like TED Conversations, TEDx conferences, and school governance boards, I hope to see more students getting involved in education change.
Haroon Agha
There is a great book by Eric Fromm which talks about this: Fear of Freedom.
Kelly WEiler
Bibi Schwithal
Now I realize that there aren't many students that know and are capable of participating in that discussion with sufficient background knowledge, but I also know that they do exist. I have heard so many times that I cannot, may not and should not try to participate in debates on topics like these because of my age. In the meantime I see students around me that are suffering, literally suffering under the influence of bad education, including myself. I love to learn, but I have spend the last 6 years of my life working really hard to learn so little. I know that would I have been allowed to create my own way of educating 'me', I would have been capable of learning a lot more, both factual knowledge and 'skills'. School is not 'too hard', it's just not capable of challenging students. It frustrates me that I do not have enough time to learn as much as I could and want to because of school, the institution that should be learning me stuff. If I could, I would do anything to change the system. Not just make amends, 'cosmetic changes', but really change something, change the core. But if I am not allowed or if people do not want me to participate in the discussion, it becomes very hard for me to either try to make changes or even learn more about the subject.
To answer your question: yes, these students do exist. So before you exclude them from the debate, reconsider your premise that they do not want to. Maybe you ust need to find a way to interest them, to show them that they can make a change, that their opinion is actually valued, in contrary to what they get told or shown in schools everyday!
Theresa Willingham 500+
I also think that as long as we continue to talk about "reforming the *education system*" instead of looking at new ways to understand the *learning process," nothing is going to change. The problem with the education system is just that - it's a "system." We don't learn in systems. We learn from practice, from experiences, from one another.
Eimhin shortt
I believe that allowing young people to participate in their own platform where they can exchange their own ideas will foster 'crowd induced innovation' of these ideas whatever the area of interest being discussed in a group. In an online scenario like this the cream will rise and support will garner around certain notions of percieved fairness, improvement and so on. The problem so often seems to be that education fails to educate and students have no voice, still labouring under the victorian era's ageistic perception that 'children should be seen and not heard'.
Young minds, as older minds, order information as a basic function. The information comes from the outside and so to expect them to have opinions that resonate with our informed and lofty ideas is somewhat short sighted. we need to value the contribution as it is made, making an effort to translate it into our own terms.
As for 'new ways to understand the learning process'...just how many ideas about education do we need before implementration of what is blazingly obvious. Children at home playing computer games are not stimulated by current modes of education. The teacher must become the conduit of information, not the source, and children should be educated through those means by which they percieve the world. Sticking to the intellect as the primary focus of education is ridiculable.
I remember when I finally learned how to learn in an event where it suddenly became clear to me (autodidactically) that I could create something, picture an outcome and work towards it, this was an actual experience of creativity without being told to create. How the education system had failed after 17 years in teaching me this I am at a loss to explain. More likely the case is closer to Ken Robinson's assertion that we have this creativity naturally but are educated out of it.
We also need community integration as part of education...
Dominique deSalle 30+
http://www.societyforqualityeducation.org/index.php/
This parent group (SQE) now rejects the child-centered approach to education. Read some of the research on this to find out the reasons why they see this "fad" (their term) as a failure.
Here is a book available from the SQE library," Doomed to Fail: The Built-In Defects of American Education" by Paul A. Zoch (Houston, TX teacher). Executive Summary: This book zeroes in on an aspect of child-centred learning that may not have occurred to many people. Because the child-centred philosophy calls for learning to be easy and fun, students are freed from the need to work hard to meet high standards. In child-centred classrooms, the primary responsibility for learning falls on teachers, not on students. In some cases, the teachers work harder for the students' success than the students themselves do.
SQE even suggests that parents either withdraw their child from the public schools that practice the child-centered approach or that parents offset this exposure from as early an age as possible through other privately operated learning institutions. Such institutions are Oxford Learning or Kumon to mention only two.
Their reasons?
These private learning institutions utilize something that is now absent from public schools called direct instruction (traditional).
Fascinating stuff.
There is also a critical look at how universities are failing us and why students in programs for the past 25 years (coincidently coincides with child-centered learning) are just not up to standard. Some of these substandard grads, the professors (authors) claim, are now teachers. Ouch!
Erik Fulkerson