most of the post millennial generation are still at school. it's not really working for them. ...
TRANSCRIPT
GENERATION
CRITICAL THINKING: WHEN EDUCATION FAILS
UNDERSTANDING A NEW GENERATIONWWW.THESOUNDHQ.COM
CRITICAL THINKING: WHEN EDUCATION FAILSWelcome back to The Generation Edge Series, our
monthly magazine exploring the identity, values, and lifestyle of the post-‐millennial generation. This month
we explore Gen Edge’s critical point of view on education and its impact on their future and the
future of the world.
Because these days reading, writing and arithmetic don’t add up to anything...
03
In the U.S., 14% of new teachers resign by the end of their first year, 33% leave within their first 3 years, and almost 50% leave by their 5th year.
18
$292k50%Percentage of 17 year olds who do not have the required reading skills to hold down a
manufacturing job in US.
‘If you think educationis expensive, try ignorance.’
- Arne Duncan, US Secretary of Education
232BILLION
In the US, the amount of money
spent each year on students who repeat
a grade because they have reading
problems.
of
44%:
7,000: The number of US kids who drop out everyday. By the time you’ve read this page approximately 3 kids will have dropped out. (That’s 1 every 26 seconds).
Amongst industrialized nations, US ranking of the quality and quantity of
high school diplomas.
The amount a single dropout costs US
taxpayers over the course of their
lifetime.
Percent of dropouts under age 24 who are jobless. The unemployment rate of high school dropouts older than 25 is more than three times that of college graduates in US.
In the UK, almost 8/10 students on free meals (key marker of poverty) - failed to get five good GCSEs, including maths and English.
unreliable dangerous impractical disparate
THE REALITY TODAY ISN’T THAT GEN EDGE IS FAILING...
GOING TO SCHOOL HAS NEVER BEEN MORE...
The quality and effectiveness of education has proven to be the most direct and signi8icant factor that impacts a students ability to succeed. However, today’s Gen Edge population is facing an educational landscape that is devastatingly divided and increasingly unfocused on the students themselves.
Turn on the news and you hear everyone from average parents to Louie CK to Rush Limbaugh ferociously debating the new Common Core Curriculum and its effectiveness. In the UK, the teachers union has been in an uproar over the loosening of standards for quali8ied teachers. Hardly a week goes by when a headline about a school shooting, district closing or inappropriate relationship between teachers and students isn’t plastered on the front page.
Are kids’ skills today really all that different or are they simply living in a very different world?
School used to be one of the most reliable and rock steady institutions, but just like big business and government, Gen Edge is seeing this rock crumble along with the rest.
EDUCATIONIS FAILINGGENERATION
Text‣ Recently in the UK, The National Union of
Teachers threatened a nationwide strike over drastically increased workloads and lower pay
‣ Massive budget cuts are plaguing schools, especially those in inner-cities
- Teachers spending personal dollars to fund labs; schools begging parents to donate supplies and time as classroom aids
- Multi-disciplinary, arts, foreign language and physical ed cuts
- Chicago Teachers Union 2+ week strike in 2012, largest in 25 years with 30,000 teachers
“A city's schools are microcosms of the city itself: they run head6irst into a variety of
issues only tangentially related to education.”
- Chris Jones, Chicago Tribune Reporter
'The morale of the profession is at an all time low. Many are angry at what is happening to the education system. Some school leaders are
taking early retirement, while others do not want to take on headships because of the pressure. Those of us in education, leaders
and learners, have never had it so bad.”- Bernadette Hunter, National Association of Head Teachers, UK
The effects of national economic disparities and turmoil have trickled down to our schools and learning institutions, resulting in uncertain stability. For Gen Edge, not knowing if a local school will remain open next semester or if teachers will be present to teach a lesson has become an all to typical dinnertime conversation. Furthermore, conventional basics can no longer be taken for granted -‐ i.e. supplies, resources, and extended school hours for additional help.
UNRELIABLECONTEXTUAL FACTORS
The effects of national economic disparities and turmoil have trickled down to our schools and learning institutions, resulting in uncertain stability. For Gen Edge, not knowing if a local school will remain open next semester or if teachers will be present to teach a lesson has become an all to typical dinnertime conversation. Furthermore, conventional basics can no longer be taken for granted -‐ i.e. supplies, resources, and extended school hours for additional help.
UNRELIABLE
Extrapolating from a survey of American high school students by the Centers for Disease Control, researchers found that bullied students who are threatened or injured by a weapon on school property were eight times more likely to then, carry a weapon to campus themselves.
"It wasn't uncommon a generation or so ago for the doors in school buildings to all be open, and anybody could enter from
almost anywhere."- Tom Gentzel, Executive Director of the
National School Boards Association
"Honestly, it makes me not want to send my children to school. It makes me want to homeschool my daughter. The fact that someone can come in a school and have an armed weapon, and me not be able to get to her and hold her and comfort her because I don't know what's going on with her.
I feel that maybe in my care maybe she's safer."- Mother of elementary student in Atlanta, GA
CONTEXTUAL FACTORS
Gen Edge have come of age in a post-‐Columbine school system, where the image of schools as safe and secure entities has been shattered. School shootings have become a part of the cultural narrative and an educational backdrop for this generation. Where generations past conducted 8ire and tornado drills, many schools now conduct “lockdown drills”.
But the perceived dangers are not limited to gun violence. Inappropriate relationships between students and teachers have also become commonplace for this generation, and issues with bullying (both cyber and physical) are coming to the forefront of conversations around the quality and safety of our schools.
DANGEROUS
Text
The effects of national economic disparities and turmoil have trickled down to our schools and learning institutions, resulting in uncertain stability. For Gen Edge, not knowing if a local school will remain open next semester or if teachers will be present to teach a lesson has become an all to typical dinnertime conversation. Furthermore, conventional basics can no longer be taken for granted -‐ i.e. supplies, resources, and extended school hours for additional help.
UNRELIABLE
‣ In 2013, the NAHT (National Association of Head teachers) in the UK passed a vote of ‘No Confidence’ in the governments education policies
‣ Teacher satisfaction has declined 23 percentage points since 2008, to the lowest level in 25 years.
“A vast majority of teacher preparation programs do not give aspiring teachers adequate return on their investment of
time and tuition dollars.”- UK, National Council on Teacher Quality
“We should be preparing people for a world that is dynamic, demands greater 6lexibility and is about enterprise and creativity. I believe our curriculum and assessment should mirror those conditions. Therefore the planned changes (testing mandates)... are a retrograde step and I deplore them. I can’t believe parents will want their children to be
assessed exclusively and once and for all through an exam at the end of a course.”
- Rob Campbell, chairman of the National Association of Head teachers secondary schools committee, UK
CONTEXTUAL FACTORS
How motivating can it be to turn on the TV and witness teachers picketing because their school has been shut down? Who wants to have their classroom and lesson plans micromanaged with almost all autonomy and authority stripped away in favor of testing criteria. No longer are teachers free to alter lesson plans to cater to the needs of the student -‐ in fact, teachers very livelihood has a direct correlation to their ability to navigate the bureaucratic mine8ield that has become the business of education. Historically schools and teachers were focused on fueling a child’s potential and today teachers own potential is limited by the policies far above their ranks. Not only is education increasingly impractical but the profession doesn’t look like such a smart option anymore either.
IMPRACTICAL
The effects of national economic disparities and turmoil have trickled down to our schools and learning institutions, resulting in uncertain stability. For Gen Edge, not knowing if a local school will remain open next semester or if teachers will be present to teach a lesson has become an all to typical dinnertime conversation. Furthermore, conventional basics can no longer be taken for granted -‐ i.e. supplies, resources, and extended school hours for additional help.
UNRELIABLE
‣ Language barriers - 54 percent of all teachers have limited English proficient (LEP) students in their classrooms, yet only one-fifth of teachers feel prepared to serve them
‣ Academic Readiness - In the fourth grade, 77 percent of children in urban high-poverty schools are reading "below basic" on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP)
‣ Culture Shock - Thanks to urbanization and the rapidly changing face of Americans, many teachers today are looking at classrooms far ‘out-of-field’ from their own upbringing and background leaving them searching for a way to connect with their students. In schools made up of 75% or more low-income students, there are 3 times the number of out-of-field teachers than in wealthier school districts.
“Teachers tend to teach the way they were taught...[they] have something like 15,000 hours of 'muscle memory' about
what it feels like to be a student.” - Karen Cator, Office of Educational
Technology US Department of Education, August 2013
CONTEXTUAL FACTORS
As we see 8inancial divides expanding amongst economically depressed and immigrant families, educational disparity grows at a rapid pace. And given that Gen Edgers are the most diverse generation of all time, this is an issue impacting the majority of classrooms in America. Many of today’s teachers are unprepared for what awaits them in the classroom.
DISPARATE
“Many teachers have vocalized that hungry children in their classroom is a ‘serious issue’. In fact, problems are so severe that a new study shows that teachers spent $37 a month buying food for hungry students, up from $26
a month in 2012.”- No Kid Hungry teachers Report, 2013
“We talk about our schools like they’re broken institutions that need to be 5ixed or discarded, or thrown away, or shut
down; and really instead we need to look at them as places of hope and potential,
which is exactly what they are.” Helen Gym, Parents United, West Philadelphia
A RESILIENT AND SELF RELIANT COHORT
THE REALITY TODAY ISN’T THAT GEN EDGE IS FAILING...
"I uncovered that if learning is embedded in real-‐world context, that if you blur the boundaries between school and life, then children go through a journey of ‘aware’, where they can see the change, ‘enable’, be changed, and then ‘empower’, lead the change. And that directly increased student wellbeing. Children became more competent, and less helpless.” Kiran Sethi, Kids, Take Charge, TedIndia 2009
And with their rebellious Gen X parents in8luence -‐ they know they must look outside the box of traditional education to secure a viable future for themselves and the world.
Gen Edge doesn’t measure educational success on a diploma or dean’s list recognition but rather look towards life experience and practical application as the guiding light of approval.
Alternative paths will be their norm.
AREN’T AFRAID TO LEARN OUTSIDE THE LINES.
GENERATION
Increasingly. Gen Edge is compelled to learn on their own terms. Finding new methods they understand, can apply and most importantly will pay off in the long run. As the world recognizes the failures of the education system, we will see Gen Edge’s adaptability coupled with the turn of digital technology creating true democratization of education. This level playing ground acknowledges differentiated learning processes, strengths and weaknesses and removes cultural and 5inancial barriers students and families are faced with in traditional school systems.
Dallas ISDReceived $791,000 Gates Foundation Grant for a program to create individual plans that cater speci5ically to each student and their learning styleKhan AcademyNonpro5it website that provides free world-‐class education to anyone. “Khan Academy offers an innovative portal that could revolutionize the American educational system.” -‐ NewsweekDemos UKPilot program of student set goals and student/teacher co-‐produced curriculum and benchmarks
PERSONALIZED LEARNING
"The classroom of tomorrow must focus on the learner. Each child is unique in his or her development and GEMS Education approaches the role of the teacher as one who facilitates student discovery, one who bolsters differentiating experiences to
promote personalized learning and one who creates 'schools of one'."Denise Gallucci, CEO GEMS Education Americas
LEARNING OUTSIDE THE LINES
GEN EDGE WILL INNOVATE RATHER THAN REGURGITATE
LEARNING OUTSIDE THE LINES
“Hackers are innovators, they are people who challenge and change the system to make them work more differently, to make them work better. Happy, Healthy, Creativity in the hacker mindset are all a large part of my
education...I call it Hackschooling. I don’t use any one particular curriculum and I’m not dedicated to any one particular approach.”Logan LaPlante, Tedx University of Nevada
Before, learning mimicked traditional call and response style with books, analog supplies and dusty library resources -‐ teachers share information in classrooms and students were instructed to repeat on tests, quizzes and 8inals.
Now, we see our Gen Edge cohort living within a different learning market fueled by a real concern that memorization does them no good in the real world they are being forced to grow into quickly. They aren’t satis8ied learning another history lesson to repeat once they are adults. GenEdge would rather experience real world lessons. In context. In situation. And immediately applicable to the challenges they see in the world.
THE REALITY TODAY ISN’T THAT GEN EDGE IS FAILING...
PRACTICAL
PLANSFOR THE FUTURE
Unlike the milestone obsessed and praise hungry Millennials, Gen Edgers are rede8ining what they consider success to look like.
With the downfall of education, an entire global economic crisis and job security on the fritz, they are considering more realistic goals and dreams.
Rather an aspiring to the lofty corner of8ice, yearly pay raise or entrepreneurial path because they want to create ‘something cool’ -‐ they seek to 8ind a safe way to support themselves AND make a real impact on the world’s problems. Gen Edgers might explore professions that will bene8it more than just their own pocket book, i.e. biomedical engineering, sustainability or even cyber security career paths.
“In the UK, students studying STEM courses (science, tech, engineering and maths) are at a record high. In 2013 -‐14, a record 98,000 students were accepted on STEM courses -‐ up by almost 20% since the previous decade.”- Study from the Higher Education Funding Council
OFFER ALTERNATIVE ASPIRATIONAL MODELSAspiration looks different today and will continue to change. The days of white collar workers, fashionable work wardrobes and company cars are coming to a rapid end.
And Gen Edge doesn’t aspire to this soon-‐to-‐be extinct lifestyle either. They will look to see alternative vignettes of success and lifestyles from brands that match the reality of life.
Demonstrating that brands are aware of and embrace this new way of life will build a connection to a generation that gives very little credit to brands or their personas.
Incorporate alternative career (or job) choices in communication and avoid making conventional trappings of success an overt focus of messaging when speaking to Gen Edge.
BRAND IMPLICATIONS
PROVIDE OPPORTUNITY FOR REAL WORLD EXPERIENCEGen Edge are more likely to want to apprentice or be hired at an entry-‐level, on-‐the-‐ground position by your brand to gain valuable real life experiences and skills.
Consider ways to provide real life job shadow, mentor and apprenticeship opportunities over entertainment events to engage with Gen Edge. Make the brand activation worth something worthwhile that truly bene8its the participants in the long term.
40 Alternatives to College Handbook In his book, James Altucher argues why college is no longer a viable option for youth and offers 40 alternative, real life experiences in lieu of traditional education.
BRAND IMPLICATIONS
RESOURCES
RESOURCES - Information
SLIDE 4
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SLIDE 6http://www.forbes.com/sites/ashoka/2013/02/15/how-should-we-rebuild-the-u-s-education-system/http://nation.time.com/2013/05/23/are-school-closings-discriminatory/https://www.westminster.gov.uk/national-teachers-strike-thursday-10-july-2014
SLIDE 7 http://www.examiner.com/article/school-shooting-decatur-ga-school-has-parents-considering-homeschooling
SLIDE 8
http://www.harrisinteractive.com/NewsRoom/HarrisPolls/tabid/447/ctl/ReadCustom%20Default/mid/1508/ArticleId/1369/Default.aspxhttp://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/wp/2013/02/21/u-s-teachers-job-satisfaction-craters-report/http://washington.cbslocal.com/2013/06/18/report-us-has-too-many-teachers-quality-of-educators-declines/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/education/education-news/teachers-warn-of-incalculable-damage-from-michael-goves-reforms-to-alevel-and-gcse-qualifications-9322794.htmlhttp://www.theguardian.com/politics/2013/may/18/michael-gove-fanatical-personal-trainer
SLIDE 9
http://americanradioworks.publicradio.org/features/personalized-learning/http://www.learningfirst.org/students-too-hungry-learn-challenge-we-can-solvehttp://www.readfaster.com/education_stats.asphttp://endlesslearningcenter.com/education-statistics.htmlhttp://www.rtinetwork.org/learn/diversity/urban-school-challengeshttps://www.dosomething.org/facts/11-facts-about-education-americahttp://www.nokidhungry.org/pdfs/NKH_TeachersReport_2013.pdf
SLIDE 10 http://www.mediamobilizing.org/updates/announcing-revival-roots
SLIDE 11 http://www.ted.com/talks/kiran_bir_sethi_teaches_kids_to_take_charge/transcript
SLIDE 12
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/post/how-well-does-khan-academy-teach/2012/07/27/gJQA9bWEAX_blog.html
SLIDE 12
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/c-m-rubin/the-global-search-for-edu_b_5188225.html
SLIDE 13 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h11u3vtcpaY
SLIDE 14 http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/05/05/high-school-agriculture-programs_n_5267921.html
SLIDE 15 http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/05/05/high-school-agriculture-programs_n_5267921.html?utm_hp_ref=education&ir=Education
SLIDE 16 http://www.slideshare.net/JamesAltucher/james-altucher-40-alternatives-to-collegehttp://www.theguardian.com/higher-education-network/blog/2014/apr/10/more-students-accepted-onto-stem-courses-hefce-report
RESOURCES - Images
COVER http://thebertshow.com/nationofwimps/
SLIDE 6 http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/08/06/buena-vista-school-distri_n_3713599.html
SLIDE 7 http://youthvoices.net/discussion/armed-security-guards-school
SLIDE 8 http://blog.littlebigfund.org/page/2/
SLIDE 9 www.palmbeachpost.com
SLIDE 12 http://www.ryot.org/cause/khan-academy
SLIDE 13 http://clashot.com/editorial-photos/mobile/6139412.html
SLIDE 15 http://fitblogger.ca/fitness-smart-goals/
SLIDE 16
http://www.slideshare.net/JamesAltucher/james-altucher-40-alternatives-to-collegehttp://www.woobamboo.com/category/bamboo_toothbrushes/http://www.asgvets.com/about-asg/veterinarian-internship-and-residency/http://www.sheknows.com/living/articles/979891/how-to-change-a-tire-and-other-things-tough-chicks-know/page:2