Setting the Stage for a Novel Approach to Public Education
A Recap of Our Reasoning
Emerging advanced technologies such as AI allow us to research and reflect on greater possibilities. The following are just a few important ideas to consider according to our AI collaborators:
“The need for a redesign depends on the goals and values we prioritize for our education system. If the aim is to better prepare students for the challenges of the future, foster a more equitable learning environment, and adapt to the rapid pace of societal change, then a redesign may indeed be necessary.” - Grok (Twitter/X)
“Our understanding of different disabilities and best practices for accommodating them has evolved substantially since 1975. An updated model could better address the diverse needs of students.” - Claude (Anthropic)
“The integration of technology in education has been accelerating, and the COVID-19 pandemic has further highlighted the potential for remote and hybrid learning models. Educational systems need to adapt to these technologies to provide students with the skills necessary for the digital age…The job market is evolving rapidly, with an increasing emphasis on skills like critical thinking, creativity, and collaboration. Education systems must adapt to prepare students for jobs that may not even exist yet.” - ChatGPT (OpenAI)
Perhaps you are still skeptical of the value artificial intelligence has to guide us in problem solving. However, if you discuss the topic of learning growth and innovation with educators, I doubt you’d find their attitude optimistic. Not because of the children but because the rigid and bureaucratic processes of everyday schooling are no longer sustainable.
In preparing to build an approach, I pose the following questions: Why is America not a beacon for literacy proficiency among our youth? Why do school districts fail to attract and retain talented professionals? What is telling about the disillusionment communities express with their schools’ political and ideological agendas? (Leading to more homeschooling and overall distrust of educational leadership.) How do we address the increasing dissatisfaction with educators and administrators as the latter opt against instilling values of discipline in young learners? What is our response to the rising cases in suicide? (2023 was a record setting year with approximately 50,000 Americans taking their own lives.)
I pose these questions not to forget them in the future. On the contrary, they will guide us in the formulation of a vision where these critical issues are confronted rather than swept under the rug. Just as our definition of a modern education system has been defined using four key concepts (see previous article); our reasoning for this novel framework and model can be expressed with four core principles:
The health and well being of adult and child learners is the supreme priority.
Learners of all ages have unbound potential and a personal destiny to express.
The learning community sharpens its intellect and strengthens its skills to apply academic ideas to real world problems.
Learners demonstrate proficiency on standardized tests and attain traditional credentials to empower the execution of their vision.
How did these principles come about?
Well, we went against the current status quo, which is driven by the following principles:
1. Learning instruction and demonstrating knowledge is the priority.
2. Learners must be guided by a specific set of standards and their behaviors limited to specific conduct norms.
3. The learning community hones their intellect and grows their skills to satisfy expectations and meet academic goals.
4. Learners attain credentials to ensure employment and self-reliance.
I want to avoid painting our current system with a broad brush but this is not an academic paper. I understand that my description may appear an “oversimplification” of a nuanced system. Although, how many books and research articles exist already that reveal data points for the shortcomings and outdated philosophies of public education? A great deal. And have we modernized our system yet? No.
Critiques on the policies of our current model have already been published and are readily available. They use statistics and scholarly analysis. What we don’t have is an effort to truly innovate and inspire a future generation of child and adult learners in America that puts the wellbeing of the person first. Can we build upon or coexist with elements of the current model? Yes, and that is expected. However, our purpose is to provide a vision for collaboration and building, not just to debate what exactly constitutes “the status quo” and argue about who is to blame for stagnation.
Of course we are only scratching the surface with establishing these four principles, yet they allow us to have a clear reference of how this framework and model differs from our current system.
Here is what AI thinks after comparing the two sets of principles:
Claude helped me emphasize that we are not scratching the current model for a completely new one.
Grok recognizes the need for a perspective of innovation in education.
cont.
cont.
ChatGPT seems to understand the mission and the challenges that lay ahead.
Passing the Baton
The ultimate reinforcement to our reasoning is the abundance of expertise at our disposal from medical professionals, scientific studies, intellectuals and observations from current practitioners in the fields of education.
In accepting this calling, I recognize there will undoubtedly be challenges and skepticism. However, with the future of our species in the depths of uncertainty, who am I to refuse such a worthy adventure?
The writers of The Irreducible Needs of Children, Dr. Brazelton and Dr. Greenspan explain:
“We have identified seven irreducible needs of infants and young children and their families:
The Need for Ongoing Nurturing Relationships
2. The Need for Physical Protection, Safety, and Regulation
3. The Need for Experiences Tailored to Individual Differences
4. The Need for Developmentally Appropriate Experiences
5. The Need for Limit Setting, Structure, and Expectations
6. The Need for Stable, Supportive Communities and Cultural
Continuity
7. Protecting the Future
These seven basics provide the fundamental building blocks for our higher level emotional, social, and intellectual abilities. We will consider each of these irreducible needs in terms of their implications for family life, child care, education, the social service and welfare systems, the criminal justice system and the health and mental health systems. We will attempt to formulate recommendations for changes in our policies with regard to each of the needs. In doing so, we hope to challenge the status quo and provide recommendations for enlightened policies in the 21st century.”
They explicitly call for a challenging of the status quo. Given that the book was published in 2000, I am, in 2024, providing momentum to their hopes.
Another intellectual, Maria Montessori wrote an engaging book, The Absorbent Mind. In it she argues:
“If society holds it necessary to make education compulsory, this means that education has to be given in a practical fashion…Fathers and mothers must shoulder their responsibilities; and if the home fails for lack of means, then it is required of society not only to give the needed instruction but also the support necessary for bringing up the children. If education signifies a protection of the individual, if society recognizes as necessary to the child's development things that the family cannot provide, then it is society's duty to provide those things. The state must never abandon the child.”
She adds another gem:
“And this opens the door to an imperious truth: the child is not an inert being who owes everything he can do, to us, as if he were an empty vessel that we have to fill. No, it is the child who makes the man, and no man exists who was not made by the child who once he was.”
Here, the stage has been set for our modern approach. One that connects the healthy child to nurturing adults and an intellectually engaging community. And one where the healthy adult stays connected to their authentic self and able to nurture their inner child.
