Reimagining Education

On this Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, the great man reminds us, “The function of education is to teach one to think intensively and to think critically. Intelligence plus character–that is the goal of true education”(https://www.uab.edu/education/home/soe-news/mlkday-quotes). Dr. King had it right and we keep missing the mark: to teach people to think and to develop solid character.

What is the function of education in many countries, including the USA?  According to the University of Minnesota, compulsory and higher education for all came out of the 19th century.  Its purpose is described as follows: “Education is the social institution through which a society teaches its members the skills, knowledge, norms, and values they need to learn to become good, productive members of their society. As this definition makes clear, education is an important part of socialization” (https://open.lib.umn.edu/socialproblems/chapter/11-1-an-overview-of-education-in-the-united-states).  In other words, some feel the purpose of education is to crank out good citizens and contributing workers.

Contrast that view of the purpose of education with that of the Classical approach to schooling.  The classical approach, “… has the worthy overall goal of teaching children to think for themselves. Using the ‘trivium’ model, children move through three main stages of learning: concrete learning (the grammar stage), critical learning (the logic stage), and abstract learning (the rhetoric stage)” (https://makingrenmanuscripts. exhibits. library.upenn.edu/collections).  This approach to education dates back to the days of Aristotle and has, in the past couple of decades, experienced a comeback.  Classically schooled people tend to be deeper and are more critical, logical, communicative  thinkers.  In the chaos of public school stands a glut of standardized tests, limited physical activity required, ‘cookie cutter’ curricula.  That doesn’t speak to helping people learn to think effectively and critically.

If I were asked to suggest how to reimagine education in 2024, these would be the top 7 on my ‘wish list’:

• Learning interpersonal skills: how to communicate effectively, how to present ideas / opinions logically, how to disagree without using violence in tone or action, how to support /cheer on / encourage others, how to effectively work on a team and how to effectively work individually, how to set and keep boundaries, how to ‘read’ people, making and maintaining healthy friendships / relationships

• Learning ‘intrapersonal’ skills: how to respond rather than react, how to diffuse anger / jealousy / judgements, / disappointments how to manage and quiet ‘self-talk,’ how to meditate to quiet / ground the mind and body, how  to work through difficulties / adversities / challenges / failures, how to come back after disasters, learn individual strengths / talents / abilities / preferences, how to discover and define personal values, how to evaluate feedback and learn from criticism, how to motivate oneself, how to maintain being open to new information and ideas, managing work / school / family / friends / personal time, learn how to learn and how to apply learning, learn logic / critical thinking skills

• Financial skills:  how money works, how to avoid debt, how to budget / manage money, how to invest money, how to get out of debt, how loans work, how mortgages work, how credit cards work, how apartment leases work, how to save money, how to shop effectively, how to write a check, how taxes work, how to prepare income tax forms

• Philosophy: learn from a diverse study of philosophies to form one’s own beliefs

• Purpose: learn to curate a purpose / ‘calling’ in life, learn about jobs that align with your purpose

• Job skills: how to find a job, how to prepare for an interview, how to interview, how to follow up after an interview, how to prepare a killer resume’, how to use guidance tests and surveys to find work that suits you, develop a work ethic

• Community Skills: taking on tasks at the school to contribute to the school community (such as picking up trash, serving food, clearning white boards, sweeping floors, disinfecting washrooms, picking up / storing sports or band equipment), learning to grow food by tending to the school community garden, how to apply to vote

If you could reimagine education, 1. How would you define the purpose of education in 2024?  2. What lessons need to be addressed; what skills need to be learned; what aspects of ourselves need to be discovered and honed?  3. What lessons are missing in the schooling process that would be beneficial to add?  4. What specific areas of the current curricula could be eliminated or reduced in importance in 2024?

Please share your answers, thoughts, and insights on the 4 questions posed above by either commenting below this post if you are reading this on social media, or, if you are reading this through your email subscription, please share, by emailing me, at reimaginelife22@gmail.com.

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