"We can get where we must go only by changing the system itself", states The New Commission on the Skills of the American Workforce, 2007. Our current educational system was created for life in a different era. The world that we live in is changing at a rapid pace, from the way that we acquire and use information to the skills we need to be successful in today's workforce and so much more. So, why is it that our educational system has not evolved to support the world as it is today? We have an abundance of quantitative and qualitative data to show that change is necessary now.
As a math lover I always enjoy looking at data. The first chapter of "The Flat World and Education" by Linda Darling-Hammond presents an immense amount of data pointing out the flaws in our school systems; looking at all of the statistics saddened me. Three major issues stood out to me, the unequal allocation of resources, inadequate preparation and support for teachers and a lack of high quality curriculum. We constantly try to put bandaids to help with all of these issues when in fact what is needed is a complete change in the system. I am the mother of an amazing six year old girl. I watch my daughter as she navigates life and I am constantly amazed by her curiosity, persistence and joy as she encounters new experiences and new information. One of the reasons I became a teacher is because I love to learn and I want to inspire that in others and help reignite those qualities that we all had as a child. I am excited to be a part of a school that is looking to challenge what education can look like. As we go into a pilot week that models some of the changes we want to incorporate, I think about how it will address so many issues that plague our schools. Together as a team, teachers will design a project where students must collaborate, create, analyze and think critically about a problem. It will be interesting to see if this design will change students engagement and motivation along with strengthening their skills while they are learning content as it exists in the world around them. "The United States must shift course if it is to survive and prosper as a World nation in the 21st century". The gap between the United States and other countries is getting wider. I hope we as a country can look at the facts, be inspired by our children and use successful school models to create a system that educates children for the world of tomorrow.
1 Comment
Samuel Urena
5/15/2018 03:28:46 pm
“We constantly try to put band aids to help with all of these issues when in fact what is needed is a complete change in the system.” I think this is very true. At my current site we use MVP curriculum. I think that this material does have students work rigorously and collaboratively but the content doesn’t relate to the students and therefore they don’t care about it. And what do we do as teachers? We try to scaffold these tasks (band aids) so these tasks can be more relatable to the students. If we want to look at other curriculum, the district turns us down or there isn’t money for a new change. Very frustrating!
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Kendra ParsonsAs a high school math teacher, I am passionate about bringing a joy of learning and of math to my students. Archives
April 2018
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