Why School?

Just finished the TEDbook "Why School?" by Will Richardson. A quick 35 page read in which Richardson clearly and passionately (arguing more from the point of view of a father than educator) that schools need to change in the face of technology and the availability of information on the virtually endless Internet (haha, virtually endless!)

Richardson argues that if we want schools to remain relevant in a world where students (and anyone!) can teach themselves at any time of the day then we educators need to change the way we teach and the way in which we view our profession. He maintains that "learning ceases to focus on consuming information or knowledge that’s no longer scarce. Instead, it’s about asking questions, working with others to find the answers, doing real work for real audiences, and adding to, not simply taking from, the storehouse of knowledge that the Web is becoming". 

Case in point - as I sit here writing this, my boyfriend (hi Joe!) is sitting beside me learning (from a YouTube video no less) how to make an 'Extreme LED Throwie'. I have no idea what that is but he is sitting here watching a video on how to build something technical that employs electricity. Twenty minutes ago he was registering for online courses from Harvard, MIT and others (for free! Check out Coursera and edX). The education world is changing and we, the people employed in this field, need to be prepared to change as well - if we want to stay 'relevant' (and while I'm here, let me just say that there is something wrong if I am using the word 'relevant'. School should be more than just 'relevant' - they are important institutions that should be preparing the people of tomorrow for the world that is already here.)

This is Richardson's point - that we, the teachers, need to embrace the world of today and stop trying to teach the way we were taught. We need to stop seeing ourselves as the Masters of learning who have the knowledge which we dole out to the willing and the stubborn (That's you Joe!) but more as learners and guides - the people in the classroom with some real world experience which we can use to help light the way in the now vast, endless world without borders. And above all, we have to be willing and able to embrace our new primary role - to teach our students how to be lifelong learners. Because that's what the Brave New World has made us all.

What follows are a few interesting quotes from Richardson's book. Some have my own thoughts and commentary attached (this is noted by the use of italics!)

"We have an Internet connection, we have fingertip, on-demand access to an amazing library that holds close to the sum of human knowledge and, equally important, to more than two billion people with whom we can potentially learn."
My first thought - HA! there is no excuse for students to now claim they "didn't know the answer." Look it up, punk!

"Real learning happens anytime, anywhere, with anyone we like."

"More and more, our children will have the chance — and, increasingly, be expected — to forge their own paths to an education and into the workplace. "
This is a very specific area in which schools need to improve. We need to teach students how to be the best learners - critical thinkers, independent and collaborative learners, people who are able to look at the world around them with creativity, inspiration and drive. Nothing I do in my Ministry classes teaches this - it is all about learning how to pass that stupid Grade 10 history exam.

I have recently been reading a lot about assessments - how to make them useful and valuable and how to make kids excited by their learning. This is what Richardson says on the subject:


"Assessments focus less on what students know, and more on what they can do with what they know."

"Stop asking questions on tests that can be answered by a Google search. Or, if you have to ask them, let kids use their technology to answer them. Instead, let’s make sure that at least some of the questions we ask our students on assessments require them to tap into the vast storehouses of information that reside online as well as the networks of people who can help them sort out the answers."
This is so true! Let's be honest - who doesn't Google something when they don't know the answer - hell, I'm the teacher and I do it! So why in Google's good name am I stopping my students from doing it? In fact I should be teaching them how to do it properly so that when they do (for the rest of their lives) they know how to do it the right way!

"Open-network tests that measure not just if kids answer a question well, but how literate they are at discerning good information from bad and tapping into the experts and networks that can inform those answers."

This is exactly what the grade 10 history exam does!

"Let’s also shift our assessments of students’ mastery to ones that examine mastery in action. Performance-based assessments, where students actually have to do something with what they know, tell us volumes more about their readiness for life than bubble sheets or contrived essays."
And finally - the best line of the book and honestly the one that I think should apply to teachers before it applies to students: 

"In times of great change, learners will inherit the earth, while the learned will be beautifully equipped for a world that no longer exists.”