These are challenging times for schools, and with apologies to Bob Dylan, yes, “the times they are a’changin.’” I’ve been retired as a school leader for over six years now, and it’s hard for me to fathom the changes that have taken place in our world. In those six short years, we experienced a worldwide pandemic, Zoom became a household word, natural disasters and climate change continue to cause havoc in our world, and artificial intelligence has burst into our lives, enabling a computer or robot to perform tasks that, in the past, were reserved for humans. Additionally, our world has become increasingly divisive, and schools are confronted with challenges including the banning of books and curriculum content, an increase in school violence, the disparity in access to resources including those for struggling students, and staffing shortages that negatively impact communities, especially those in high-poverty areas.
Schools are essential to communities and have a huge impact on its citizens. We know that school can be the one constant in a child's life, the one safe place where problems are sometimes forgotten for a few hours in a day. We need to make that time meaningful. Too often, school is seen as irrelevant to students. I recently had a conversation with two high schoolers, and they were frank. They felt that often, teachers don’t care about their students; they felt the personal interactions were often lacking in their classes. “If teachers don’t start caring and making their lessons interesting for us, then AI will replace them,” they agreed.
Real learning means applying skills or facts to delve deeper, to ask questions, to research multiple sources to find answers, to make sense of information, to discuss differing opinions with their peers, and to gain skills that can be applied to new situations. This would be a major shift for schools, but if we want our students to be self-directed learners and complex thinkers, schools must shift to a more-relevant curriculum that engages and prepares them to be contributing members of society. Presently, with so many multi-media resources available, our young people are independently exploring topics and engaging in conversations about their interests outside of school - sports, pop entertainment, politics, fashion, creative arts, video games, and so much more.
Today, Dr. Mark Hines shared his blog, “Creating Joyful Schools: A New Vision for Engaged Learning” on the “What School Could Be” global community, and a meaningful discussion followed. This was a great time - the start of a new year and a new semester - to remind educators about the real purpose of school as a place where students explore, discover, create, and share to make a difference for their community. Included in Dr. Hines’ blog was this graphic which I think should be posted in every classroom to remind us of what education could and should be.
Our world is changing rapidly and our children are growing up in a much-different world today. They are digital users from the time they are toddlers, and schools need to change the way we view our students as learners. We underestimate their ability to learn on their own. School could be more relevant if we allowed our students more flexibility in what they learn, who they learn with, and how they share what they learned with an audience of their peers as well as the community.
Let’s work together to reimagine education that is joyful, one that engages students, encourages them to be problem-seekers and problem-solvers, and gives them the tools to be self-directed, creative and critical thinkers who can make a difference in this world. Yes, “the times they are a-changin,’” and we who believe that education can be the key to creating a better world in the future will continue to do this work. I invite you to join us on this journey!
