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This is the latest in a series of blog posts by a partnering cohort member.
- By: Gail Adams There’s an old saying that goes, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” That might work well in some situations, but it is no longer working for education. Education is broken. Educating our children according to the Industrial Age model is educating them for jobs that no longer exist. In his Huffington Post article “Industrial Age Education Is a Disservice to Students” (May 28, 2013), John Baker, founder of Desire to Learn, says education must change from the industrial model of equipping students with the ability to read and write and also recall memorized facts for a multiple choice test--a one-size-fits-all model--to an education suitable for the knowledge economy--an education that equips students to be lifelong learners. The knowledge economy is when value is created using human intelligence. In the knowledge economy, a large number of jobs have shifted to professions that require extensive knowledge and the ability to create new knowledge (Spacey, 2018). Skills needed to for the knowledge economy, according to Spacey (2018), include the ability to create, analyze, design, discover, develop, and improve. These skills do not come from learning random facts that will be on a multiple-choice test. These are skills that are nurtured over the educational continuum, beginning with our youngest learners and continuing throughout their lives. Baker (2013) says he needs “employees who can take solution A and solution B and figure out how to come up with a new solution, C. People like that are rare. They have to understand the problems, analyze the bigger picture, predict the ramifications of what they are proposing, synthesize new knowledge, be creative as they problem solve and collaborate.” That’s where the mission of the Fluency Project enters. The paradigm shift in education from Industrial Age to knowledge economy is probably the most salient issue facing education today. It surprises no one that employers like Baker are having difficulties finding employees with the skills they need--how to create, how to invent, how to solve a problem, how to continually learn. But in addition to these skills, employers want employees who can work as a team, collaborate, communicate, who are flexible and adaptable, just to name a few. These are known as soft skills. Our work with the Fluency Project is so important because it provides us with the opportunity to expand our capacity as educators in the knowledge economy world.The ability to understand the equal footing of narrative data with numerical data and the ability to engender this skill set in our students is just one of the ways we will be agents of change to prepare our students for their next steps. Fluency’s focus on presenting technology in a way that is descriptive rather than prescriptive, meaning the technology is available as a tool for students to incorporate into their learning, but students are not told how it must be used. Our work with Fluency is empowering us to empower our students to acquire knowledge in meaningful, collaborative, creative, reflective ways. The Fluency Project (and other initiatives, like Project Zero out of Harvard University) is leading the revolution in educational reform. Unfortunately, change in education involves changing the mindsets of the people in the ivory towers who think standardized tests are a true indicator of students’ capabilities. Change is a slow process. However, as Fluency educators, we can be the boots on the ground to be the agents of change. We know that we are not the “sage on the stage” as teachers were once called to be. We are coaches, facilitators, nurturers who are tasked with developing the full potential of our students in ways that will make them wealthy in the skills of the knowledge economy. Education might be broken, but through our work with the Fluency Project, we are acquiring the tools needed to fix it. Baker, J. (2013, May 28). Industrial Age Education Is a Disservice to Students. Retrieved January 21, 2019, from https://www.huffingtonpost.com/john-baker/industrial-age-education-_b_2974297.html Spacey, J. (2018, January 21). 11 Examples of the Knowledge Economy. Retrieved January 21, 2019, from https://simplicable.com/new/knowledge-economy
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This is the latest in a series of blog posts by a partnering cohort member.
- By: Zac Shutler Studying perennially thriving organizations can be difficult because there are so many ways to gauge success. It is no wonder that so many leadership experts study sports organizations and what drives the most successful franchises. Quantifying success through the observation of division standings and accrued championships seems like a simpler way to study leadership. Walker dives into the most historically successful franchises and finds that there is a common thread that ties them all together. It isn’t simply leadership, it is the leadership of the team’s captain. He attempts to prove that the character of the player that leads the team has a direct correlation to the sustained historic greatness of that team. Using a multitude of scientific studies, research from Daniel Goleman and Carl Dweck, and numerous historical examples, Walker paints a compelling picture of the importance of leadership, not only on the field, but also within the classroom and the boardroom. Below are the seven traits of an elite captain based on Walker’s research:
I believe that all of the above qualities describe many of the leaders that are part of the Fluency Project. We are focused on improving the lives of those in our charge, we are pushing the limits of what others deem the “rules of education,” we do the work for those who need us the most, we build relationships throughout our buildings, we inspire others with our actions more than our words, we strive to create powerful moments for our students and our staff even if others question the value, and we are at our best when we are purpose driven. I am so proud to be surrounded by a group of elite “captains.” Walker closes the book by detailing that leaders are not born, they are developed. He breaks it down into a simple formula that was shared with him by a former army colonel. Leadership = Potential X Motivation X Development. As educators we are responsible for discovering the human potential, cultivating an environment where we inspire motivation, and developing leadership potential. It is as important as reading and mathematics. Walker ends with a quote that I believe perfectly encapsulates what leadership is. He states: “The truth is that leadership is a ceaseless burden. It is not something people should do for the self-reflected glory, or even because they have oodles of charisma or surpassing talent. It is something they should do because they have the humility and fortitude to set aside the credit, and their own gratification and well-being, for the team-not just in the pressure-packed moments but in every minute of every day.” |
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