Future Ready in Education
It's the new buzz phrase in education. We have many of them actually. But this one has seemed to stick. The movement has begun and several of the leading educational evangelists and organizations, including the government, are joining in. But what is it and how can it help our educational system? The basic idea of Future Ready schools is not just about preparing students for the digital world, but making sure they have the resources to partake in that world and the training to compete with those who already do. By compete I mean that the playing field is level. Students from all socio-economic realities have access to the same digital tools, fast internet access and have a fair chance to compete with other schools for college acceptances and job opportunities. As a private school teacher for 2 decades, the schools I've taught at are already there in many ways (but not all...more on that later in this article). The harsh reality is that leveling that playing field is an uphill battle that will take decades to overcome, if we can overcome it at all. But that certainly does not mean we should stop trying. In fact, efforts such as this are a badly needed boost, especially for students who are as not as fortunate as the kids I teach in private school. Future Ready school are those that pledge to do the following...
- Fostering and Leading a Culture of Digital Learning Within Our Schools.
- Helping Schools and Families Transition to High-speed Connectivity.
- Empowering Educators through Professional Learning Opportunities.
- Accelerating Progress Toward Universal Access for All Students to Quality Devices.
- Providing Access to Quality Digital Content.
- Offering Digital Tools to Help Students And Families #ReachHigher.
- Mentoring Other Districts and Helping Them Transition to Digital Learning.
All of these are fantastic goals that are needed and attainable with enough effort, time and funding. But for many more fortunate schools, several of these points are not much of an issue. Private schools are spared certain issues and concerns that the public educational sector must deal with. With tuition costs going from $10K through $40K depending on the state and school, and many are mandatory 1 to 1 device schools (meaning each student has a computer/iPad), private institutions have leap-frogged some of the issues facing public schools. This "digital divide" is very visible and difficult to overcome in some public schools. For Future Ready schools to succeed the technology revolution must be at all levels of economic standing.
But getting the tech tools and the internet access does not guarantee success. In fact, it can often lead to failure if not done in a methodical way where all stakeholders are part of the process and the journey. Case-in-point, is the pending lawsuit against Apple and Pearson for the LA public school debacle of iPads and educational software. This revolution in education is not just about the technology, but rather what we do with it and whether or not it is meeting our new expectations. Schools can no longer cling to the idea that its purpose is to simply pass knowledge to students. In fact, it must empower students to create their own solutions to problems rather than spoon feeding them past solutions long forgotten or that no longer work. This will challenge students and teachers alike. For teachers, the classroom must change. From its form to its function! Less lecture and more collaboration. Less standardized tests and more project based learning with design thinking techniques. For the students, the challenge is equally as difficult. No longer just a sponge to absorb information and regurgitate it for the test. They must learn to adapt to a new form of learning which puts them center stage and not hiding in the last row of desks. This very point was driven home to a few of my students who complained that I wasn't "teaching" them the curriculum. Students are savvy learners. In a short amount of time students can understand what it takes to get a good grade in a class. Sit in the front, take good notes, read the textbook, etc. But when I changed that system, it threw them off. Students are forced to learn through discovery, which can often lead to failure before success is attained. For students, failure has always been associated with laziness and/or stupidity. Those who mastered the "old" system found project based learning and design thinking challenges very difficult to understand at first. The idea that getting a B was unheard of and so they judged themselves as failures and my teaching as inadequate...at least for a while. Even in private school, change is often difficult to achieve. The uphill challenge is that students, parents and educators must retool their ideas and practices within our school system of what success and failure looks like, what homework should look like and most importantly what a Future Ready School really looks like.
In the final analysis of this endeavor, the true burden of change will fall on classroom teachers and what happens within the 4 walls of their class. They have great control over what happens there and must begin to model the change they wish to see in education, accompanied by the support of their administration. Because if there is one thing I've learned as a teacher is that if educators truly want something, they will find a way to get it. Only then can we say we are Future Ready!
"...students, parents and educators must retool their ideas and practices within our school system of what success and failure looks like..."
But getting the tech tools and the internet access does not guarantee success. In fact, it can often lead to failure if not done in a methodical way where all stakeholders are part of the process and the journey. Case-in-point, is the pending lawsuit against Apple and Pearson for the LA public school debacle of iPads and educational software. This revolution in education is not just about the technology, but rather what we do with it and whether or not it is meeting our new expectations. Schools can no longer cling to the idea that its purpose is to simply pass knowledge to students. In fact, it must empower students to create their own solutions to problems rather than spoon feeding them past solutions long forgotten or that no longer work. This will challenge students and teachers alike. For teachers, the classroom must change. From its form to its function! Less lecture and more collaboration. Less standardized tests and more project based learning with design thinking techniques. For the students, the challenge is equally as difficult. No longer just a sponge to absorb information and regurgitate it for the test. They must learn to adapt to a new form of learning which puts them center stage and not hiding in the last row of desks. This very point was driven home to a few of my students who complained that I wasn't "teaching" them the curriculum. Students are savvy learners. In a short amount of time students can understand what it takes to get a good grade in a class. Sit in the front, take good notes, read the textbook, etc. But when I changed that system, it threw them off. Students are forced to learn through discovery, which can often lead to failure before success is attained. For students, failure has always been associated with laziness and/or stupidity. Those who mastered the "old" system found project based learning and design thinking challenges very difficult to understand at first. The idea that getting a B was unheard of and so they judged themselves as failures and my teaching as inadequate...at least for a while. Even in private school, change is often difficult to achieve. The uphill challenge is that students, parents and educators must retool their ideas and practices within our school system of what success and failure looks like, what homework should look like and most importantly what a Future Ready School really looks like.
In the final analysis of this endeavor, the true burden of change will fall on classroom teachers and what happens within the 4 walls of their class. They have great control over what happens there and must begin to model the change they wish to see in education, accompanied by the support of their administration. Because if there is one thing I've learned as a teacher is that if educators truly want something, they will find a way to get it. Only then can we say we are Future Ready!
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