Creating a vision for our educational system means imagining what schools should look like in the future. These visions are constructed within certain constraints and at the same time the possibilities are infinite. Resources are always limited, especially time. We are also bound by underlying cultural assumptions and more salient political and economic barriers. However, within this framework, we can generate innumerable pictures of what a better education system might look like. Visioning is a skill that we must practice in order to master. Realizing the visions that we construct rely upon taking factors into account that matter to future generations. Among other goals, we are trying to prepare young minds for a labor market that will not exist until decades later. What will it mean to be well educated 30 years from now? The impact of globalization and technological innovation will mean that we must be willing to change the paradigm that currently shapes the decision-making process in the field of education.
Originally, schools in the U.S. were institutions reserved primarily for a privileged wealthy class. In the early 1800’s the concept of public education evolved and by the early part of the 20th century, all states had developed a public school system. Today, schools operate much the same way they have for decades. Although schools and teachers have acquired more advanced instructional tools, fundamentally school systems have not changed. What is preventing education from moving forward? What can education leaders do to facilitate a change? State mandated testing does not support the changes necessary for our students to compete in the age of globalization and technological innovation. If the state mandates a paper and pencil style test for our students, then educators are forced to prepare the students to pass state mandated tests. You cannot change curriculum without changing the political, economic and legal context created by the state and federal government. Another consideration is acceptance of change by parents, community and society as a whole. How many times have we heard “get back to the basics” in reference to education? Some feel they learned the “sit and get” method and feel their children should be educated that way too. The public school system was designed to educate and prepare students for the workforce. Therefore, one cannot help but ask the question, “If our workforce needs have changed as the result of globalization and new technologies, why hasn’t education?” We have to take into account that education is not an autonomous social system.
What connection exists between education and globalization? How quickly does the connection gain integrity and momentum? Globalization permeates all aspects of education from the location of schools to the price of municipal bonds issued by a district. It shapes curriculum when members of the decision-making class reasonably compare the math and science scores of students in the U.S. to those of students in both developed and underdeveloped countries. National and International conflict over religion and resources shapes the foreign policies of the state within which our schools exist. Hopefully only in the evenings, after completing their homework, our students play video games against their peers residing in places from Berlin to Cape Town. Our students will compete for jobs in new industries, such as biotechnology, against candidates native to Singapore or Prague. As our class practiced visioning, representatives from each group mentioned globalization. The phenomenon will become increasingly significant for educators as societies continue to improve communication and transportation technology.
There is a basic idea that today’s students are connected or tethered to technology every second of their life. The only exception happens to be when they are in school. According to Don Tapscott, author of Grown up Digital, today’s/tomorrow’s students are digital natives while we from past generations are digital immigrants. He further points out that today’s Net Generation is characterized by 8 behavioral norms. Of these norms, freedom, customization, collaboration, entertainment, and speed have a direct correlation with student engagement in school. Evidence can be seen in their growing demand for online, anytime, and customized learning experiences. At last years Midwinter conference, Tapscott shared that American student enrollment in online coursework has grown to well over a million students from 42,000 in 2002. Today’s students require learning experiences that include multisensory stimulation as a norm rather than an exception. Unfortunately, teaching and school still looks like it has for the better part of the last 60 years. In a January 2010 article in Kappan magazine titled Education and the Role of the Educator in the Future, co-author Ian Jukes suggests that “in a world experiencing exponential change…we continue focusing on the short term-- preparing kids for the next unit, next semester, or the next grade—we fail to recognize that our current system is becoming obsolete”. When asked why he thought he has become the best hockey player who ever lived, despite his lack of size and strength, Wayne Gretzky replied by saying that while other players go to the puck, I have always busied myself by going to where the puck is going to be”.
Perhaps its time to start thinking beyond the 3 R’s, summer breaks, 7-period days, and age related grade levels and start enveloping our curriculum standards within 21st century survival skills. It is a reality that our current generation of students must be taught differently and that much different will be required of them to succeed in school, work, and society. As educational leaders we must create inertia towards change by convincing the public that the old fashion way no longer produces the desired outcome. How can we graphically demonstrate the consequences of our schools staying stuck in the past? It seems that we only argue over two possibilities; going back to the good old days or staying on the current track. As educational leaders, we have to generate other options so that public discourse regarding education revolves around new possibilities rather than old ones.
