Let's "Update" Education

I call my son my personal philosopher.  Over the years, he has stopped me in my tracks with his simple statements that really make you think.  In one instance, I asked him when he got home from school whether or not he had fun at school.  He said “No”.  I then asked him, “isn’t learning fun?” and he said “Dad, learning is fun, school isn’t”.  That statement was five years ago and he is now in third grade and loves school (and learning).   

Recently as my son was playing Minecraft he started to tell me about the next Minecraft update.  (If you have not heard of Minecraft then you do not have a child under the age of 12…more on Minecraft in a later blog post).   He was so excited about what he heard was included in the next update that he told me in detail how the game was going to be improved.  As he was talking, he looked at my iPhone and proceeded to tell me about all of the cool new features that were included in the latest ios update for my phone.  This conversation with my son made me realize two things.  First, kids growing up today are incredibly immersed in technology, and second we need to “upgrade” education.

It is cliché to say that kids today are “technology natives”; of course they are technology natives, their entire lives have been immersed in rapid advancements in technology. As I watch and listen to my son I realize that there are implications to his immersion in technology that have implications for society and learning.  First, “updating” something is second nature for him.  He does not consider “updating” to include buying something new (unless the device will not support the update, but that is another topic).  Rather, updating is something that happens periodically to improve the quality of the game, device, or tool that you are using.  In the past “updates” did not occur as sudden, thus one could wait until a “new” product was introduced to the marketplace before you “updated”.  Rapid innovation and iterations of products are now so sudden that “updating” occurs several times a month in some cases.  My son expects his games and devices to be improved (for free).  Constant updating also sets the stage for him to think about updates that he would like to see in his life.  He and I will discuss his ideas for updates and try to guess whether or not his ideas will be included in the next update.  This constant iteration of products and services are an expectation for him.

entire experience has been in a technology drenched world.

I am now going to shift focus to our education system.  When was the last major “update” in our educational system; if you could travel back in time to a high school in the 1920’s would it look appreciably different than a high school today?   Sure, there may be flashy technology in today’s high school but the structure of the system has not changed since the 19^th century. Think about it.  One hundred years ago students were put in rows and listened to a “sage on the stage” tell them what is important and why they need to “hear” it.  Students were processed through an educational factory system by their “date of manufacture” (grade levels determined by age) in the exact same fashion as students are today.  Although I can start to see hints of radical structural change in our schools (Mass Customized Learning is a great example), in the vast majority of cases there has not been significant changes in our learning delivery system…an upgrade is needed. 

I am excited that we are in a place in time in education where we can change the system’s structures to meet the needs of today’s learners.  School leaders can glimpse into the future and adjust the system to meet the needs of future learners.   I believe we can update our learning system for students.  Conversations in education now center on how to have instruction that will “meet” the students at their interest and ability level as well as instruction tailored to their learning style.  To radically update the system, professional educators will combine their experience and expertise to create learning environments that break down the 19^th century learning model.  I know we can (and must) make these changes.