I’ve seen a few animations in the past from the folks at the Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts (RSA), and they were all quite interesting. They take key speeches from their events and create an intricate marker board illustration, animated to follow along with the speech. Reading some of their YouTube comments, you’ll see people saying things like “I wish my teachers did this in school, it would have helped me learn a lot easier!”

We recently came across this video, where Sir Ken Robinson talks about traditional public education, and ways to reform it to do a better job of accommodating all students.

Continue reading “Changing Views of Education”

A recent article by Catherine Gewert, Harvard Report Questions Value of ‘College for All’ featured in Education Week discusses a major issue in the American Educational System. In the report that was released by a group of Harvard Scholars, they point out that education is too focused on classroom-based academics with four-year college as a goal. The fear is that this is not serving all students – some have different needs and skills that a traditional education doesn’t cover.

In the report they looked to European systems of vocational education, arguing that we need this in America. This would include providing apprenticeships, internships, and involving employers more. This would also include career counseling from earlier on, and allow students to focus on a particular area of interest. This change is also being called upon because of job forecasts that show there will be a gap between jobs available that require associates degrees or vocational training, and the number of people who acquire training and associates degrees to fill those jobs. Basically, schools will be preparing people for the real world by taking the traditional route, while the real world will have a lack of people who are prepared for the job needs that are available.

I think this change makes complete sense; we all excel at different things, and we don’t all fit into the same box. So to try and force everyone to take the four year college route doesn’t seem logical. I think the way things have been going, we have been neglecting students who might have talents and interests in other areas. What do you think about this proposed change in education? Could we be missing out on educating many students because they don’t fit into the mold? Or is the traditional education system a tried and true method because it works the best?

Although you might still recall feelings of dread when you were told that you had to work together with a group of peers on a project for a class assignment, they are the projects you remember the most. In the fourth grade I worked with a group of my classmates on a book report and although I dreaded the task before, I had a lot of fun completing the assignment and I still remember exactly what it was about. This leads me to believe in the idea of project based learning for students.

Continue reading “Project Based Learning Gains Momentum”