Should Economic Goals Direct Educational Decisions?

Yes, I know yesterday's post was idealistic and vague. I'm sure most would agree with me that the purpose of education should be "to engage and challenge young minds and help them develop and flourish." But they would dismiss that as too broad. Or they would say "and that's why we need to teach 21st century skills. I guess what I'm saying is that maybe we need to step back for a minute and ask whether schools should be instruments of an American economy that no one seems to be able to operate effectively. Can we be sure that aiming our schools at targets we are missing today is our best hope for America in 2019?

Looking back ten years or so—even five years, actually—at state committees that pronounced how schools should be preparing students for the workplace, I don't recall anyone suggesting the development of creativity and innovative thinking as a major theme. In fact, I remember that issue being shunted aside by business representatives in many meetings of policy groups I attended. Suggesting the likelihood of moral and ethical challenges ahead that would require critical and creative thinking would have been met in a similar way—agree, maybe mention in the introduction to the report, and then move on.

Business leaders at those meetings were concerned mainly with their current shortages of "skilled" workers—people with credentials in electronics or the trades, people who could keep the computers running or fix the machines. The health care industry was concerned about the need for technicians, nurses, and nursing assistants. They were thinking in a linear fashion—looking at what would happen if their current shortages were to continue. They did not foresee or take into account much of what we have today in the way of competitive challenges and opportunities. They did not think about how smart technology would be today—precluding the need for training in many areas. Sure, there were books like Robert Reich's The Work of Nations, but business leaders wanted and policies supported the shorter-term agenda—developing skilled workers—instead of the longer term mission—developing the next generation of knowledge workers and preparing students to learn and adapt in a changing world. It's just too hard to define all that within the existing context of our economic and educational systems. So it's excluded.

Instead of basing policies on the near-term thinking of business people and the politically tinged views of economists, we should take the broader, more long-term view of students' lives. That view, I believe, would put us in a better position for what's ahead.

Of course preparation for work is part of a long-term view. But why do we try to shape our most precious resource—children—to an agenda based on guesses and assumptions we can't prove are serving us well now or are best for us in the future? What if, instead, we worked harder to develop healthy brains, to spark a hunger for learning, to help uncover reveal what is best about the individual? What if we were to help all kids figure out who they are and how to nurture what is best about themselves? What schooling was about helping them explore and make sense of their world and the world at large, experience success, try something difficult without fear, explore the possibilities of the current world in hopes that they will be ready for those of a new world?

Yes, such philosophy might still result in "skill gaps." We would, I'm sure, have as many or maybe even more students whose math or writing skills are lacking, as well as some students who don't know much history or don't appreciate the great literary works. We might see dips in SAT scores, etc. But in my opinion, those differences would matter less in a world that valued individuals above systems and ideologies. Maybe people lacking skills who want to fill a role those skills require would be prepared to get to work on expanding their existing skills sets instead of regretting the road not taken in tenth grade. And maybe some would find a creative way to contribute despite their skill gaps.

Here is synchronicity. As I was writing this post, I received an email from ForaTV informing me of a new video by Sir Ken Robinson about his new book The Element: How Finding Your Passion Changes Everything. The title intrigued me—A New View of Human Capacity—so I started to watch. I think he is expressing what I'm thinking as I try to develop this idea. I will watch the rest of the talk and report on it soon. Maybe it will help me with this train of thought, which I admit needs still more thought.