Redefining Education for the 21st Century: Going Beyond Standardized Tests

Yes, the American government’s efforts to raise our children’s reading and math levels are valid.  Without a solid understanding of these elementary skills, a child will most likely be unable to progress to higher education.  But how will he/she fare in the longer run?  By obsessing over standardized test scores, we may be putting blinders on our children, denying them the stimulants that ignite their curiosity.  A country--in or out of a recession--thrives on creativity.  New ideas formulate new jobs and new industries, ensuring that our country not only stays afloat but enabling us to make discoveries.  If we restrain our children’s academic focus, we subsequently are limiting the growth and prosperity of our country’s future. 

In trying to figure out what should define American education, let’s take a look at our options:

Data

Since the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, the U.S. government has focused on yearly statistics to determine the success of children’s education.  Government officials have set a goal for every American student to reach grade level reading and math scores by 2014.  But as of December 2011, half of the country’s schools failed to reach these standards.  Even if it is possible to eventually reach this quantitative standard, it may not be a good use of our time.  Many states have already concluded that the NCLB does not match their educational aims, and they in turn are pursuing waivers to the act.

Intellectual Curiosity

In addition to the recession, the government’s fixation with reading and math scores has stripped art, music, and other specialized departments from our nation’s schools.   By replacing cultural and recreational activities with a focus on basic skills, are we actually doing the children a favor?  Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan argues, “when you eliminate extra curriculars and art and P.E. and music, you absolutely hurt your children and ultimately you hurt your state.”  We need to integrate the importance of raw curiosity into the curriculum.   Motivating a child to pursue his/her interests is far more beneficial than forcing skill sets on unwilling students.  We nourish our youth’s enthusiasm for it will spawn far greater results than those measured by test scores.

Awareness of Surroundings

“Don’t ever let school get in the way of education” said one mother to another.  It was a crisp winter day and snow had blanketed the town overnight.  The first mother had dressed her children in snow gear and was excited to share her passion for the outdoors with her children.  On the contrary, the second mother feared missing a day of reading and math classes was one day too many.  But when comparing the sublime, snowy mountainside to arithmetic exercises, which will inspire a child more?

By simply observing her surroundings, one student at the Royal College of Art imagined a way to improve the world around her.  Ariane Prin witnessed loads of waste exiting RCA’s art rooms and cafeterias every day. “I believe design is about exploring the social and natural opportunities around us, taking advantage of every situation by connecting human activities with environmental principles.”  With such an optimistic mindset, Prin soon invented a way to break down these scraps of clay and flour and recycle them into tools used by every student both today and in the future: pencils.  Let us look to this innovative artist for inspiration.

As some voices in the United States have already expressed, it is pertinent that we re-assess our definition and approach to education.  We must get our hands off of the calculators and our heads out of the computer data. After all, it was Albert Einstein who said, “Everything that can be counted does not necessarily count; everything that counts cannot necessarily be counted.”   Instead, we need to breathe in our surroundings and listen to our instinctive yearnings.  By fostering our children’s fervor, they will learn to direct their own education and, finally, our future.

Guest Contributor: Burgess Rice

Comments

[Coach Purses]

Oh wow.... Congrats... Best of luck for your future...

[Waverly Wood]

I enjoyed Burgess’ blog about education in America. I found it very informative and a pleasure to read.
Burgess addresses the No Child Left Behind Act. There is contentious debate about the success of the No Child Left Behind Act, and I agree that America needs to realize that high standardize test scores do not create the future leaders of our country. It would have been interesting to see a study about what standardize test scores really measure, do studies show that students with high standardized test scores are more successful than students with lower scores? If so, how are they more successful, academically, socially, or creatively? My guess would be that higher standardize test scores lead to more academic success (based on the way our educational system is run), but I would doubt higher scores lead to higher levels of creativity, innovation, or social competence.
I wondered whether Burgess thinks creative educational methods (education that focuses on more than standardized tests) is constantly needed at all grade levels or is more important to specific ages and grade levels? I believe that focusing on early childhood education is essential because when children enter preschool and kindergarten, their skill sets are most similar, and over time the educational achievement gap begins to widen. This leads me to believe that creative educational methods are needed most in early childhood education, and could possibly be used as a way to address the educational achievement gap.
I also enjoyed the section of the blog about human connection to nature. It would be have been interesting to introduce Tim Beatley's "Biophillic Cities" research here. Beatley claims that humans need to feel connected to nature, and that this is essential to producing happy, healthy, productive members of society.