Our current educational system was designed during the industrial revolution, using an industrial model. We would batch kids by age and send them along the grade-level assembly line, assuming they needed the same things at the same time in order to come out of the system "complete." The culmination of the system resulted in students being sorted into blue-collar professions and white-collar professions. For a long time, the system worked. But over the course of the last 50 years, the wage disparity between those who earned a college degree and those who hadn't has widened significantly. As a result, more and more families struggle to have their basic needs met. Our educational system hasn't adapted to meet the needs of 21st Century society.
In July 2016, my school was awarded a large grant from our state Department of Education to try to do something different, something innovative, to improve outcomes for students. Even on paper, it seemed like a massive undertaking; when I talk with different stakeholders, I get the same questions over and over again:
Our hope is to upset the status quo, to give our students - many of whom are historically disenfranchised and systemically oppressed - the best possible opportunity to pursue whatever college and career aspirations they choose.
In order to empower our students and expand their future opportunities, we need to change our current practices in which time is the constant and learning is the variable.
With our new system, we want to personalize the learning experience for each student by academic readiness, by learning context, and by interest and passion. In future posts in the coming weeks, I'll explore each of these three areas in greater depth while outlining our plans and process.
This space is meant to do a few things. First, document our journey; I know that as we move forward, we'll want to look back from time to time to see how far we've come. Second, I want to inspire others to make the leap; I hope other leaders can learn from our successes and mistakes as they work to empower their students.
Remember those three questions? Here's how I answer them:
Why this? Because we have to do something differently if we want different results.
Why now? Because we can't afford to wait.
Why us? Because we can.
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| Industrial era manufacturing and industrial era education share many similarities |
In July 2016, my school was awarded a large grant from our state Department of Education to try to do something different, something innovative, to improve outcomes for students. Even on paper, it seemed like a massive undertaking; when I talk with different stakeholders, I get the same questions over and over again:
Why this? Why now? Why us?
In order to empower our students and expand their future opportunities, we need to change our current practices in which time is the constant and learning is the variable.
 |
| Preparing students for the future means fostering collaboration and critical thinking |
With our new system, we want to personalize the learning experience for each student by academic readiness, by learning context, and by interest and passion. In future posts in the coming weeks, I'll explore each of these three areas in greater depth while outlining our plans and process.
This space is meant to do a few things. First, document our journey; I know that as we move forward, we'll want to look back from time to time to see how far we've come. Second, I want to inspire others to make the leap; I hope other leaders can learn from our successes and mistakes as they work to empower their students.
Remember those three questions? Here's how I answer them:
Why this? Because we have to do something differently if we want different results.
Why now? Because we can't afford to wait.
Why us? Because we can.
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