We need to redefine education toward a greater emphasis on skills and experiences, not just degrees from expensive colleges.
With an ongoing debate about the price of higher education set against a backdrop conversation around a sluggish economy, it appears that we are witnessing a time of great change in both public schooling and the state of the university system in America.
Putting aside the controversy and political debate, one thing is clear: people at every level of the education ecosystem in this country are preoccupied with the issue of how to improve American education. Just last week, in fact, a bipartisan group of state lawmakers released their findings after an 18-month odyssey studying the world’s best school systems to find out what we can learn from them. Their takeaways — more emphasis on early education, better vocational training — are a hodge podge of best practices from countries like Finland, Hong Kong, Poland, Singapore and Taiwan.
Engaged in the conversation about how to improve American learning, more an more making astute observations and pushing creative ideas to change the system for the better. So there is room for much optimism.
For example, as examined in the Atlantic recently, the city of Fresno, California, has created a program for public high school students called CART (Center for Advanced Research and Technology) that breaks the traditional mold of high school and focuses on providing hands on training programs directly related to specific career tracks. In simplest terms, the CART program gives kids a way to get involved from a young age in the kinds of research and study that can help prepare them for a lifelong career in their chosen profession.
Meanwhile, the always provocative Charles Murray, writing in the Wall Street Journal, challenges the idea that SAT tests are biased against the poor, arguing instead that success breeds success, and the children of educated, affluent parents are more likely to score high on the SAT due to habits passed down in their family life. Inherent in Murray’s argument is the idea that America needs to get away from the notion that everyone deserves a college degree, and instead start emphasizing an education system in which everyone is encouraged to pursue the paths most closely linked to their talents and interests. Here’s a passage from his piece:
What we need is an educational system that brings children with all combinations of assets and deficits to adulthood having identified things they enjoy doing and having learned how to do them well. What we need is a society that has valued places for people with all combinations of assets and deficits. Both goals call for completely different agendas than the ones that dominate today’s rhetoric about educational and economic inequality.
Perhaps most fascinating of all, education commentator Kevin Carey published a book called “The End of College” where he discusses the immense changes going on at the college level. In this interview, Carey explains how exorbitant prices have led to new trends in online learning, community college development and other alternative ways to arrive at a sufficient education level that allows a person to succeed in life. Collectively, he argues, these trends are redefining the way we view college in America.
All conjecture and commentary aside, these fascinating takes on education highlight some important points about how young people should be thinking about their future. They also necessitate deeper analysis on how we can build a society that accepts and in fact promotes a multifaceted approach to “becoming educated.” Though the challenges we face are numerous, there are two clear takeaways for anyone looking to get an edge.
- All education at the high school and college levels must involve more hands-on learning predicated on real world experience, access to technology and programs in which kids are not just sitting in a classroom but also interacting on the ground with businesses, government and other institutions that make up the daily transactions of the global economy. In a world where automation and innovation now handle the majority of rote tasks, there is no substitute for actual working experience and firsthand understanding of how business gets done.
- The ongoing disruption of college from private and online universities, coupled with the higher education bubble, means that students (both young and at the continuing education level) must be intrepid in seeking out new opportunities, going to community colleges, getting internships, traveling, taking online courses and finding alternative routes toward a degree and/or training in their chosen career. In other words, the future belongs to the independent minded, risk-taking student.
As the old cliché goes, there are many ways to skin a cat, and students today are finding out that there is no shortage of routes toward achieving their educational and professional goals. It just requires some passion, creativity and a little help from communities that champion new ways of learning.