Nothing Excepting Expecting Exceptionality

 

My final blog post will be a somewhat revolutionary idea in terms of the American educational system: Maybe our practices are fine now? I know, I know, all of our blogs to this point have been about 90 years of collective angst and frustration with the only educational system that we are intimately familiar. I don’t want you to think that I am reneging on all of the points that I have made so far. This is not a cop-out, it is an alternate theory. All I ask is for you to keep an open mind throughout.

 

Proficiency in Math and Science

It is true that our country is in the middle of the pack for mathematics and science in the world. That is definitely not a good thing in the grand scheme of things. In the grander scheme of things, however, great scientists and mathematicians will differentiate themselves from the rest of the pack regardless of education. What these test statistics also fail to consider is the amount of international talent that the United States brings in. Between the exceptional students that our country will always produce and the great international students that will always be drawn to America, should our country really be in crisis mode? America is a country of immigrants, after all.

 

Critical Thinking

Social media is nothing new for the students of today. Facebook was launched in 2004, which means that high school seniors were, at oldest, five years old when the site launched. Our generation does not know a life without social media. Combining this familiarity with social media, a little common sense, and the general propaganda education that students tend to receive, it is not unreasonable to expect students think critically about what they read and reach strong conclusions on their own about what is and is not propaganda.

 

Creativity

In defense of American creativity, I would like to point out the abundance of American media across the world. Across television, movies, and music, there is no comparison between the United States and any other country. Hollywood makes more money than any other country with movies that reach a greater number of screens than any other country. Foreign countries depend on not only the songs produced in the United States, but also the genres produced by American musicians. American television, and moreover all types of media, have an unparalleled influence on the rest of the world. If our country was not creative enough, the United States would not have such a huge cultural sphere of influence.

 

Entrepreneurship

America is known for a few things: patriotism, being loud, and being fat, but more importantly for the American Dream. The American Dream states that, with work, talent, and a bit of luck, anyone can make it big. The dream is deeply ingrained in American culture, and that dream is what drives Americans towards business. As long as there is money in people’s pockets, Americans will be finding business opportunities to take it. Schools cannot teach that innate drive that our culture fosters.

 

Job Placement

One of the chief concerns that I had in my previous post about job placement is the lack of direction towards vocational schools or trade work. On the other hand, this lack of direction towards these opportunities keeps the salaries of these careers up. Not many people would willingly become welders, considering how quickly the career wears down one’s health, but the considerable wealth that comes with the career makes welding a worthwhile profession. This line of thinking follows for most trade professions, they wear down your body but the money makes it worth it, at least for a little while. For these jobs to remain filled and for the tradesmen (and tradeswomen) to keep working, these opportunities should not become overfilled.

 

I want to make it clear that this post is not a cop-out. I stand by all of the points that I made in my previous blog post, and I do not want to devalue those observations. What I do want, however, is for you, the reader, to use your critical thinking skills to analyze what I have said between these three posts and to form your own opinions. It isn’t a cop-out, it is a fitting conclusion.

 

https://www.americanimmigrationcouncil.org/research/immigrants-in-the-united-states

https://www.raconteur.net/culture/american-culture-rules-the-world

http://www.universitytimes.ie/2014/03/how-american-music-took-over-the-world/

http://access-internationalvg2.cappelendamm.no/c951212/artikkel/vis.html?tid=385685

https://www.payscale.com/research/US/Job=Welder/Hourly_Rate

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Par for the Cores

People tend to be averse to change. The American educational system follows Newton’s first law: an object in motion tends to stay in motion, while an object at rest tends to stay at rest. It requires an activational energy to get rid of the inertia. What can provide that push? A plan. A plan with teeth, ready to take a fight the apathy that pervades the American educational system.

 

At the end of the day, someone has to do it, so I guess I will single-handedly solve the problems of the US educational system. No big deal.

 

Proficiency in Math and Science

As I mentioned in the previous post, the United States is in a middling position for math and sciences education. Why are we falling behind the rest of the world in these subjects that are so important to our success as a nation? America treats science as a secondary subject, behind reading and mathematics. Due to a lack of proper education, conspiracies like the flat earth have spread. To ensure that this misinformation does not continue, we must stop treating science as lesser than math and reading. Mathematics is a much more divisive topic to discuss. People are not happy with the status quo, but whenever teachers introduce a new way of doing math, everyone seems to freak out. If we continuously flip-flop between teaching styles, the students will never learn these concepts. Rather, we need to stay the course with the new teaching style. Without taking this risk, our students will never have the chance to elevate above where we are now.

 

Critical Thinking

In today’s world of “Fake News,” where a tweet can be as official a source of news as anything put into print, we must provide students the ability to determine what is true and what is false. As Russia seeks to throw our country into disarray, citizens must be empowered with the tools to decipher what is disruptive propaganda and what is legitimate news. For this to happen, English education must focus more deeply upon not only teaching what propaganda is, but how to identify it in the real world.

 

Creativity

The current educational system does little to help the creativity of its students. Creativity is like a muscle, which means that it must be regularly worked out to become stronger. American schools do not provide enough opportunities for students to improve their creativity, but schools do have options available. Makerspaces provide an area to build and collaborate together, providing students a space to practice and build their creativity. By increasing the number of creative programs and spaces in schools across the country, we will strengthen the creative abilities of students.

 

Entrepreneurship

As I mentioned in the previous blog, entrepreneurship education is vital for the future of the United States. America is built on business, and, in order for our country to grow as a post-industrial power, we must continue this tradition. Business classes should be considered a secondary class on par with gym class and art or music rather than the tertiary, elective class that it is considered today. I know that, from my personal experience, there was a business course held by my school. That course, however, focused more upon finding jobs than learning how to create them. While these classes do not have to be incredibly in-depth, schools should provide some rudimentary instruction as to how a student can begin a business.

 

Job Placement

Vocational and technical schools are not only useful, but vital for the success of our country. As a post-industrial society, we should not expect to have many factory jobs in the future. Like most careers, the future of American work relies upon education, and in this case the education comes in the form of vocational and technical education. There is a stigma today that surrounds vocational school and blue-collar work, but the future of America depends on these lines of work. The United States must emphasize the option of trade-work to graduating high-school students and expand the options of those who choose to pursue this type of work.

 

Solving the nation’s educational problems wasn’t too bad, huh? Maybe I should try for world peace for the next blog. All kidding aside, it is very easy to say what could be done. What is considerably harder is actually enacting these policies and ideologies.

 

How should we, as a country, raise money for the expansion of vocational education or the creation of makerspaces? What process should we follow to provide teachers the resources to teach mathematics more effectively? What are the implications for schools in promoting science and business more than different subjects? How can schools teach to identify propaganda when contemporary media evolves at such a breakneck pace?

 

This process will not be easy and has a lot of question marks. Nonetheless, I think this much is clear: the United States has to make some difficult decisions if it wants to improve its educational system, and the ideas that I outlined would be a good place to start.

 

http://www.corestandards.org/about-the-standards/

http://theconversation.com/the-common-core-is-todays-new-math-which-is-actually-a-good-thing-46585

http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/education/2013/11/science_education_in_america_why_k_12_students_fall_behind_in_science.html

http://www.newsweek.com/russias-propaganda-war-heres-how-west-can-fight-russian-disinformation-833253

https://www.makerspaces.com/what-is-a-makerspace/

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Houston, We Have a Problem

The American school system is broken. Most people would agree with this statement, but no one seems to know how to solve the problem. Before continuing, it is vital to first define the problem. In order to define the problem, we must first determine what we expect out of our students. While this may seem like an easy question, it quickly becomes an issue that is deeply personal.

Five general expectations of our school system are proficiency in math and science, critical thinking abilities, creativity, entrepreneurship ability, and the ability to fulfill a role in the workforce.

 

Proficiency in Math and Science

One of the most common points of discussion about education centers around America’s place in international testing, specifically that we are not in first place. I am generally not one to get caught up in the idea that the United States has to be the best in everything we do, but we are actually pretty far from first. In an international test including 71 different countries, the United States ranked as 38th in math and 24th in science. As a global superpower, America should compare favorably to other superpowers. Instead, we are being beaten by Estonia in nearly every facet. I don’t intend to speak badly about Estonia, but the United States should expect more from our students. While we do not have to be number one in the world, the United States is not achieving as well as it should in math and science.

 

Critical Thinking

In the past, education centered around rote repetition. In today’s world, we have to learn how to parse from the excess of information, information that seems to be increasing exponentially every day. In today’s world of “Fake News,” where a tweet can be a valid news source, students must be equipped with the tools to understand what information is true and valuable. If the American school system wants to prepare its students for the real world, critical thinking skills are a necessity.

 

Creativity

Innovation and invention are keystones to what it means to be an American. The United States is a country of dreamers, which is how we have become one of the most influential countries in the world. Schools must encourage creativity in their students, or at least step out of the way of students who are exceptionally creative. The future of the United States and the world have been created by our youth, and it is important that the American school system not only acknowledges but moreover supports the creative endeavors of future generations.

 

Entrepreneurship

A pillar of what makes Americans American is an innate desire to not just do enough, but to exceed and excel. A manifestation of this desire is America’s downright obsession with business: big, small, or anywhere in-between. American entrepreneurship, however, is on the decline. The American school system must focus on providing students with the tools required to become entrepreneurs, including the knowledge to run a business. For the United States to remain an entrepreneural powerhouse, which how America has achieved such economic success in the past, Americans need to be educated. The school system must put a focus on teaching entrepreneurship for America to remain an economic powerhouse.

 

Job Placement

With the way I have been talking in the previous sections, it may seem that I am forgetting the blue-collar portion of America, but I think it is fundamental to America. There must be a general understanding that many students cannot fill high-skill work. That is fine, though, because not everyone in the workforce needs to be a doctor or lawyer. Instead, these students should receive training that will effectively allow them to fulfill positions that fit their strengths. There is no shame in having these strengths align with physical or blue-collar work. Technical schools are an important tool within our society, but too often they are not funded to the extent they deserve. Technical and vocational careers are an important part of our nation, and the American educational system must work to improve opportunities who want to become part of these valuable careers.

 

America is an amazing country, but it will only do as well as its citizens allow. Our educational system determines how strong our country becomes, but first we must fix this system by focusing on the things that actually matter. In the future, to adapt to an ever changing world, the United States must mold its educational system to focus on proficiency in math and science, critical thinking, creativity, entrepreneurship, and job placement.

Next week, I will write about different ways that we can adjust our educational system within each of these five components.

 

http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2017/02/15/u-s-students-internationally-math-science/

https://www.inc.com/magazine/201505/leigh-buchanan/the-vanishing-startups-in-decline.html

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/education/states-want-career-technical-training-struggle-find-teachers

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