The entire structure of public school, from the classroom to the schedule to what is taught and how it is taught, is based on a series of false premises.
Its design guarantees that kids will be shortchanged and waste a huge amount of their childhood in an institution that will leave them ill-prepared for the lives they will lead.
Read on to explore how and why this is the case.
Its design guarantees that kids will be shortchanged and waste a huge amount of their childhood in an institution that will leave them ill-prepared for the lives they will lead.
Read on to explore how and why this is the case.
Whole Classroom Instruction
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The picture we form in our heads when we hear the word “classroom” is nearly universal: students of a specific age range sitting in rows of desks, a teacher in front of the class, a blackboard, a whiteboard, or a screen of some sort on the front wall. Almost all of us have spent thousands of hours in these kinds of classrooms.
Similarly, we have a nearly universal understanding of how a “school” works. Students move between classrooms during the day, move “up” through grade levels over the years, and eventually leave school for the workforce, likely to never step foot again in the place where they spent so much of their childhood. Assessments in this rigid system are done primarily via test-taking.
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These structures are not new; schools have looked like this for over a century, and the classroom model has existed for millennia. This approach to organizing classrooms and schools is sometimes referred to as the “Whole Classroom Instruction Model.” Why? Because it is the attempt to teach everyone in the room (the “whole classroom”) the same material, at the same time, and at the same pace.
Although this is the model most of us have experienced, it is far from the only way to educate children. In fact, if we truly want children to grow up to be confident, self-reliant, creative, problem-solving, kind, happy, engaged citizens, it's probably one of the least effective strategies one could employ. There are many significant problems with the Whole Classroom Instructional Model, or WCIM for short.
But it seems to work. What's wrong with it?
The biggest problem with WCIM is its very defining characteristic - that we group children with different levels of engagement, maturity levels, varied interests and abilities, and inconsistent levels of attention into one classroom solely based on their birth date, essentially using the same way of dividing up kids that we use for daycare institutions.
Another issue is that the human brain is not designed to learn by being a passive receiver of information. As a result, what is learned is often quickly forgotten after tests are taken.
Also, it has been shown over and over again that children learn best in settings with a diversity of ages, not just with people who happen to be born the same year as them.
Teaching the same lesson to a whole class means that some will be bored, some engaged, and some struggling. However, we either expect the classroom teacher to somehow get all the students to a similar level of understanding, or at least make sure each one progresses enough so they can move on to the next grade level.
Also, it has been shown over and over again that children learn best in settings with a diversity of ages, not just with people who happen to be born the same year as them.
Teaching the same lesson to a whole class means that some will be bored, some engaged, and some struggling. However, we either expect the classroom teacher to somehow get all the students to a similar level of understanding, or at least make sure each one progresses enough so they can move on to the next grade level.
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This is a herculean task to put on a teacher, and one of the reasons for high levels of teacher stress and attrition. Teachers end up spending an inordinate amount of time on “classroom management” - a nice way to say “discipline.” Since teachers can never offer enough extra help to those who need it most, or enough challenge to those who grasp the concepts easiest, they are faced with having to choose which strata receive the most attention or attempt to divide their limited attention among all levels, which is a circus ring juggling act at best.
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The damage from this hierarchical teacher-centered model extends beyond the students. The weight of responsibility on teachers to maintain their authoritative position, prepare lessons, and handle the blow-back of students who are discouraged, bored and otherwise disengaged leads to frustration and burn-out. Parents have to constantly struggle with their kids to stay on top of homework that they would rather not do. And then there is the cumulative affect all this has on society, not only because the system doesn't allow children to reach their potential, but also because it exacerbates the feelings of otherness and alienation in those who have trouble constructively engaging in the process.
Since education policymakers understand these dynamics, they regularly come up with band-aid fixes to address them. The most common of these are multi-tiered programs.
The Absurdity of Multi-Tiered Programs
Multi-tiered programs are designed to address the WCIM problem from two angles - the academic side, which is commonly addressed by an approach called Response to Intervention (or RTI), and the behavior side which is usually addressed by a corollary called Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports (or PBIS). Such systems have been implemented by the vast majority of school districts in the US.
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In these multi-tiered models, students fall into one of three categories as illustrated by a three-tiered pyramid. (See illustration.) About 80-90% of students fall into the wide base of the pyramid, 5-10% in the middle, and 1-5% at the narrow top. Those at the bottom perform well academically and behaviorally in the classroom. Those in the middle require behavioral and/or academic interventions that can be done in a group setting (for example, they may be pulled out of class for a group remedial reading lesson). Those at the top of the pyramid require intensive individualized attention to (hopefully) achieve compliance with the expectations of the class.
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The multi-tiered approach is based on a conflicting set of ideas. On the one hand, we group kids by age because we assume they will all be at roughly the same level of emotional maturity, have similar levels of compliance with the rules, and be on more or less the same level of academic performance. Yet at the same time, we know that kids of the same age can vary greatly in all of these areas, so we have to come up with a system to deal with their variability. Of course, this takes extra teacher time and school resources. This is crazy. We could instead be designing the school experience to the needs, abilities and passions of each individual child. In other words, completely do away with multi-tiered systems of support.
The Teacher Gauntlet
Teachers are under constant pressure from administrators and parents to be sure that students perform well. They are observed, evaluated, micromanaged and judged. Everyone agrees that teachers need to be held accountable, but we also demand something that is almost impossible - to help students reach their highest potential in spite of having to do so in an obsolete model that kids generally find boring, repetitive, uninspired, and punitive.
Many schools in the US have adopted a framework to evaluate teachers called "The Five Dimensions of Teaching and Learning" (also known as 5D+). It was developed by the Center for Educational Leadership at the University of Washington and is a great example of how schools try to prop up a flawed system.
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The 5D+ program (and others like it) require endless training on the part of teachers and administrators. It is overly complex, time consuming and demeaning. When writing this section we interviewed tens of teachers in our local schools and almost all of them felt it was an absolute waste of their time and ineffective. A common sentiment was summed up by one teacher who referred to it as a “complete joke.”
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All of this is incredibly hard on teachers. Two-thirds leave the profession for reasons other than retirement, including "lack of adequate preparation and mentoring, pressures of test-based accountability, lack of administrative supports, low salaries, and poor teaching conditions." (source)
In addition to teaching, they are often called on to act as counselors, disciplinarians, mediators and parents. And as teachers, they are expected to plan lessons for students at vastly different levels of engagement, knowledge, attitude, and compliance to school and classroom rules.
Why Prop Up a Failing System?
People who defend public education as it exists now will point to these reforms, programs and initiatives as proof that serous efforts are being made to address the many failings of the system. There is no doubt that these are undertaken with the best of intentions and that those who create, advocate for, and implement them believe that they are great solutions. However, we at the Center for Inspired Learning see the vast majority of them as a colossal waste of time, effort and money. Why prop up a failing system when an entire rethinking of public education is so urgently needed and way overdue? There are far better PROVEN methods of education our kids. That's where we should put our efforts. The Inspired Learner Model is our solution to the problematic and obsolete Whole Classroom Instructional Model.
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Six Problems with our School System
This video provides a great perspective on what needs to change and why. The six problems discussed are: 1) Industrial age values 2) Lack of autonomy 3) Inauthentic learning 4) No room for passion 5) How we learn 6) Lecturing Conclusion: "There is no doubt that we need to fundamentally change our system of education." |
KEY TERMS
Whole Classroom Instructional Model (WCIM) - The century-old structure of sorting children by age, randomly placing them in groups of 20 to 30, then teaching them the SAME material, at the SAME time, at the SAME pace, in the SAME way, by the SAME teacher. Children are seen as passive recipients of information and knowledge and rarely, if ever, take ownership of their learning. Students move between classrooms during the day, move “up” through grade levels over the years, and eventually leave school for the workforce, likely to never step foot again in the place where they spent so much of their childhood. Assessments in this rigid system are done primarily via test-taking. The teacher is at the center of the learning process.
Synonyms:
Learner-Centered Model (LCM) - The impetus for learning comes from a child's innate curiosity. This structure gives students control over the content of lessons and the learning method and promotes autonomy and active learning. The learner is at the center of the learning process. The teacher is seen as a facilitator of the learning process rather than "the sage on the stage."
Synonyms:
Inspired Learner Model (ILM) - A learner-centered education model developed by the Center for Inspired Learning that is designed to work in US public elementary schools using existing school infrastructure, budgets, and staffing. Its components include project and activity-based learning (PABL), peer mentoring, enhanced learning through technology, student choice, parental involvement, community engagement, and other mechanisms to support and encourage children to become lifelong curious learners. Besides traditional elementary school curriculum, ILM may include an emphasis on self-care, financial literacy, media and digital literacy, communication skills, conflict resolution, global citizenship, the arts, and learning at least one foreign language.
Synonyms:
- Standardized Education
- Teacher-Centered Learning
- One-Size-Fits-All Instructional Model
- Factory (Assembly Line) Education Model
- Taylorist Model
- Coercive Schooling
Learner-Centered Model (LCM) - The impetus for learning comes from a child's innate curiosity. This structure gives students control over the content of lessons and the learning method and promotes autonomy and active learning. The learner is at the center of the learning process. The teacher is seen as a facilitator of the learning process rather than "the sage on the stage."
Synonyms:
- Individualized Learning
- Student-Centered Learning
- Adaptive Learning
- Blended Learning
- Personalized Learning
- Competency-Based Education
Inspired Learner Model (ILM) - A learner-centered education model developed by the Center for Inspired Learning that is designed to work in US public elementary schools using existing school infrastructure, budgets, and staffing. Its components include project and activity-based learning (PABL), peer mentoring, enhanced learning through technology, student choice, parental involvement, community engagement, and other mechanisms to support and encourage children to become lifelong curious learners. Besides traditional elementary school curriculum, ILM may include an emphasis on self-care, financial literacy, media and digital literacy, communication skills, conflict resolution, global citizenship, the arts, and learning at least one foreign language.
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