The Big Idea

It's time to rethink education in the United States. 

It seems that every ten or twenty years there's a new trend in elementary education, but they all seem to be "same song, another verse." Every trend re-works the basic ideas that 1) Schools are factories for math and literacy, 2) Every child needs to learn the same things in the same ways at the same times, and 3) If we could just find the right combination of benchmarks, curriculum, standards, methods, and tests, every student would come out of the school knowing everything "important."

What we need to fix education in America is not another set of standards, and it's not another round of tests.  We need a paradigm shift.  My friends, the purpose of education is not to give the student all the information she'll need to know for the rest of her life. Rather, the purpose of education is to teach the student to learn, so she can continue learning everything she'll need to know for the rest of her life.

How, then, do we teach learning?  It's clear that there are many different learning styles, and each child's way of learning may be unique to him or herself.  It's also clear that pre-packaged curriculum, even if it is excellent at teaching its subject, does not teach the process of learning itself.

To teach learning, we first need to step back and recognize the entire four step process of learning.  Learning is the IDEA:  1. Identify the goal, 2. Decide on steps to reach the goal, 3. Execute the steps, and 4. Assess whether or not the goal has been met.

Maybe you've heard the old saying, "He who cuts his own wood is warmed twice."  The wood cutter is warmed first by swinging the ax and again by burning the wood.  The child who controls every step of the IDEA learns twice.  He learns whatever he's focused on learning, and he also learns how to learn.

Why do children need to control the IDEA?

Twenty years ago, there's no way my parents could have guessed two of their four children would become computer programmers.  We have no idea what the jobs of the future are going to be.  Because we don't know what jobs there will be, we can't predict what knowledge will be important in 20 years.  What we do know is that our children will need to know how to learn whatever they need to know for their future jobs.

Giving children control of their own learning might seem risky.  Ultimately, however, it's the surest path.  In an environment that celebrates, supports, and encourages learning, every child will learn the fundamentals of literacy, math, and social skills.  After all, we call them "fundamentals" because they are at the foundation of every kind of learning.  In an environment that celebrates, supports, and encourages learning, every child will also learn how to set goals, prioritize between good plans, study a subject deeply, problem solve, manage his productivity, and assess his own work.  Those skills will serve him well on any path his future takes.

What's the plan, then?

I propose a school.  A child-led, project-directed elementary school.  Are you interested in joining me?
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