RHB20230419 - What is education, Part 1¶

I want to start a conversation. I love talking about big ideas and I have never worked with big thinkers like I do here at Reddam (we have some hidden philosophers in our midst). I got into teaching because I wanted to change how education was done. The current model of education (subjects, grades, assessments, reports) has not changed in 100 years. Yet, the world around us is changing every 6 months. Does our current model still serve its purpose? Are we actually preparing students to enter the world as competent, productive members of society?

I wonder what your issues are with the current system? Have you ever thought about what would you change if you could design a new education model from scratch? From the ground up? Would you have subjects? Would you have project-based learning? Would you have grades? Would you have reports? We say education is the powerful weapon that prepares learners to be integrated into society, but did you feel ready when you entered society?

I want to do a 6 part series where we look at individual aspects of the education system to ask questions and give our thoughts on what they are, should they be the way that they are and what should our goals be. 1. What is learning? When do we learn? Why is it fundamental to education? 2. What is assessment? How do we measure learning? Should we rank students? 3. Why do we have grades 1-12? Does this allow for mastery? Should we not have levels? 4. What is a student? What is their role in education? 5. What is a teacher? What is our role in education? Are we still learning? 6. What is a school? How should we operate as a school?

There may be some things that would be impossible to change because we are bound by law, by head office, etc. But I truly believe we have a lot more influence over how we do things than we think. And if we have a team of big thinkers asking these questions, I would be excited to see where that takes us.

If you have thoughts or questions on this, it would be great to include it in the discussion. Leave a sticky note below if you are reading this on the board in the staff room. Send me an email if you are reading this online. And if you want to write one of the blog posts, let me know!

Love, Cliff