Reflections on "Confronting Education" Manifesto by Will Richardson by Homa Tavangar

Belief 2

joshnobles — 2024-11-27 02:49:10 UTC

I agree. Sustainability as a resilient regenerative framework is not a technical problem to solve, but a democratic process made up of diverse actors and plural ways of being and knowing. We’re never going to get it “right”. There is far too much complexity and uncertainty built into our social, political, ecological system(s). Therefore our goal should be about the designing of processes and systems to be resilient and regenerative through diversity, inclusivity and democracy.

What would inclusive systems look like in schools? Do they dare include parents and students?

Belief 3

joshnobles — 2024-11-27 02:50:34 UTC

In summary, we need to compost our shit. That begins with having the courage to deconstruct normative values and social imaginaries through critical pedagogies - Having very real and open conversations about privilege, history, accountability and responsibility. However, in my experience, the boat is only allowed to be rocked so much before it threatens the status quo and those who gain from it.

What does this look like in schools and who initiates these conversations? I believe these conversations need to start with admin and then enabled by teachers. Teachers alone do not have the security to jeopardise their employment on such conversations.

Belief 4

joshnobles — 2024-11-27 02:50:58 UTC

This hits the bullseye. It’s not that we don’t want, know or can imagine better ways of educating. It’s that Modernity has determined the role of education to be the preparation of youth for a growth-based economy via university. There are so many incredibly creative and caring educators out there who are stuck in the system attempting to make change in the only place they can - their classrooms. Yet, the shuffling of students from one instruction-based class to another, stuffing content, essays, exams, presentations and hyper-productivity down their throats day after day, topped up with ECA’s and tuition to round off a “holistic” experience, stifles any single-handed attempt to provide an alternative vision. As long as students are reduced to a single number or grade they believe determines their trajectory in life, that is the only metric (and the values and skills associated with that metric) they (and their guardians) will truly care about. .
In result, schooling the system and learning how to jump through its hoops, becomes education. Make no mistake, this educational experience requires analytical, evaluative and critical thinking skills as well as social and emotional intelligence to succeed in this system. And therein lies the problem. The vast majority of students that thrive in this system take their skills and hierarchical values of competition, productivity and a self-centered approach into the world, further entrenching inequitable, disconnected and ecologically destructive paradigms.

What is it that requires students to be reduced to a single grade for processing? Is it merely a matter of efficiency for college admissions departments? What might schools look like if students were assessed on a portfolio of work? Or if apprenticeships and technical schools were valued as much as academic schools? How many jobs today could be filled with competent employees through training programs alone? How many people would this employ?

Belief 6

joshnobles — 2024-11-27 02:57:35 UTC

“How we name what is at stake will determine what we are prepared to do.” That is powerful. Very similar to Freire's work on critical consciousness.

Belief 4

maurap342019 — 2024-11-30 21:06:29 UTC

Belief 4: In addition, education is contributing to our collective challenges by denying the inherent incoherence and larger negative impact of its own legacy practices. In these ways, education is complicit in amplifying the disconnects and thus the challenges we currently face.

As a special education teacher and leader, this resonates deeply with me. Our current educational framework marginalizes large groups of students who require diverse methods to engage with and demonstrate their learning. While we continue to perpetuate the “traditional” system of education, we have higher and higher percentages of students who are learning well below grade level and are identified as having disabilities that require special education. The numbers speak volumes. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, the national percentage of U.S. students eligible for and served under the IDEA (special education) in the 2022-2023 school year was 15%. 17 states reported 17% or higher, with 4 states over 20%. Puerto Rico reported 37%. We are disenfranchising large numbers of children and still we cling to an outdated, no longer relevant educational delivery system that siloes students into groups with lowered expectations and opportunities. In my own state, there seems to be a troubling disconnect between educational policy and the needs of our students. Decision-makers are pushing forward curricula that avoid critical discussions about real-world issues, opting instead to "protect" students from discomfort. Books are being banned according to a loud minority that disagree with topics such as race and gender identity. This approach not only denies students the opportunity to engage with the complexities of our society but also directly contradicts the need to prepare them for the global challenges outlined in reports like the 2024 World Economic Forum’s Global Risks Report.

Belief 4: "In addition, education is contributing to our collective challenges by denying the inherent incoherence and larger negative impact of its own legacy practices. In these ways, education is complicit in amplifying the disconnects and thus the challenges we currently face."

Pinnacle_Edu — 2024-12-04 00:31:46 UTC

This belief strikes at the heart of many dilemmas I've encountered in my career. As a former classroom teacher and now as a consultant, I've often felt the tension between adhering to established educational practices and recognizing their limitations or even harmful effects. The "double bind" described in the manifesto, where schools pressure students to achieve high standardized outcomes while knowing the negative impacts, is something I've witnessed repeatedly. It's a difficult truth to confront that our educational systems may be perpetuating the very problems we're trying to solve. This realization has led me to focus more on holistic approaches to education in my consulting work, emphasizing well-being alongside academic achievement. However, I also recognize the systemic challenges in implementing such changes, given the deeply entrenched nature of many educational practices and expectations.

Belief 3: "Right now, education is not "in conversation" with these new realities. In fact, the way education (and other institutions) is responding to the "crisis" is the crisis."

Pinnacle_Edu — 2024-12-04 00:44:04 UTC

I find this belief particularly challenging, as it forces me to confront the limitations of many educational initiatives I've been involved with. In my role as an education consultant, I've often seen well-intentioned efforts to address challenges that ultimately fall short because they operate within existing paradigms. The crisis, as described here, is not just external to education but embedded within our responses. This realization has pushed me to advocate for more fundamental reimagining of educational structures and practices. It's not enough to add new content to old frameworks; we need to question our basic assumptions about the purpose and methods of education. This involves difficult conversations about assessment, curriculum relevance, and the role of schools in society – conversations that I'm increasingly trying to facilitate in my work with educational institutions.

Belief 5

2024-12-05 09:52:12 UTC

"It’s clear that traditional approaches and practices of education are no longer fit for purpose."

There are many experimental schools out there. Many problems with education have to do with the downside of putting kids in institutions. A school is going to be a collectivist institution, with shared goals, and expectation of community and collaboration, and no matter how much we "imagine harder" the institutional aspect of schools still sticks, because this is part of the definition of a school. And we start to have a lot of problems when we use the institution to instill values on kids, because they understand when the State or a school tries to indoctrinate them, and some are repelled. Humans have been experimenting with schooling on millions of kids, and many of the things we are doing are pragmatic solutions.

Belief 6..."we must focus on being present and in care of one another"..."identify and move away from those practices that are deepening our crises"

2024-12-05 10:10:19 UTC

I really have trouble with this one (and I was educated in a very non traditional way). My children have a big life outside of school, and they are very conscious when the school as an institution tries to move beyond teaching skills and knowledge in order to instill values or focus on emotional skills or to prepare them for some future the adults have imagineered (we have a solid track record of being wrong). I send my kids to school to learn math, science, arts etc, and I as a parent have a much better sense of what their particular future might look like than some board members and admin who are trying to design curriculum that prepares kids for some imagined future. The reality is each child has a different future laid out for them, so lets not get specific about preparing for some generic future. Now there is nothing wrong with a boutique school, catering to a specific demographic who opts into these values.

Belief 3: "Right now, education is not “in conversation” with these new realities. In fact, the way education (and other institutions) is responding to the “crisis” is the crisis."

2024-12-07 15:27:47 UTC

This really spoke to me. As an educator who in the past decade-and-a-half has been through so many iterations of professional development du jour in order to give students better learning opportunities and to try to grow as a thinker and facilitator, I find myself often falling into an abyss of negativity. The questions we ask now about the perceived (or real? or is it just that everyone changed?) apathy we see in the classroom, the loss of motivation, the desperation students have to achieve success while not wanting (or knowing how) to put in the work--every day is an opportunity to reflect on what little is going well, and why so many things are going wrong. We do have the conversations about assessment and curriculum, about relevance and application, about skills and skill-building. But there is a measurable disconnect between our reactions (thus, this is the crisis) and the work that needs to be done. I think the most profound challenge lies in truly identifying the work.

Transcend thought --> to Action

linzel — 2024-12-07 19:59:26 UTC

Your new manifesto and the documents referenced within are the newest variants of trees falling in the forest. I'll try to keep my frustrations succinct.

As you mention in your manifesto, there are some/many? current manifestations to rectify traditional educational failure [you have a short list on pg 22]. As a member of an interdisciplinary, PBL/Design thinking, collaborative learning program for ten years, very few of the descriptions or statements in educational 'Calls to Action' are new to me or my colleagues. Many of us established and support some version of a paradigm shifting approach to mitigate traditional weaknesses. How, and what to transform, is not a mystery and there is no one-sized response. But there are many currently existing, vastly superior versions, doing great things - in isolation.

In isolation refers to the numerous impediments that restrict mass adoption and implementation of clearly superior learning experiences for ALL learners. In my province of Ontario, the most obvious impediment is the complete lack of a pathway, for public OR independent schools, to implement systems containing the attributes listed in Immordino-Yang et al. The provincial government's Ministry of Education is either inadequate, inept, or politically not not empowered to manifest positive change.

I find my frustration at the lack of acceleration towards positive change debilitating. I LOVE what you wrote in your manifesto. I agree with most of Immordino-Yang et al. I'll add reference to Rethinking Education from the UN and the numerous similar publications. Yet, without political willpower, and support for middle leadership to affect change, it will reach a limited audience [at least in Ontario, Canada]. I was far more empowered and able to improve education internationally than I am in my home province of Ontario. For any educators who have participated in transforming education, nothing in these documents is new.

Just a Thought

clopez264 — 2024-12-31 18:01:21 UTC