Always Looking Toward the Future

       School is about learning.

       Although we "do" a lot of things in school: sitting, listening, following rules, writing, reading, playing sports, eating lunch, seeing our friends, joining clubs; the primary goal of school is learning.  If we're not learning, we're wasting time and we're losing an opportunity.  If we're not learning, we're planting the seeds of lifelong struggles to support ourselves and our families; we're risking our dreams.

       This is why schools are always looking toward the future.  Elementary teachers are preparing their students to be successful in middle school.  Middle school teachers are preparing their students to be successful in high school.  And high school teachers are preparing their students to be successful in college or in a career.  There is always a "next step"; another mountain to climb; another goal to achieve.  Schools understand this and teachers understand this.

       Pre-K to grade 12 contain a lot of "steps".

• 14 years of school
• 2,520 school days
• 16,380 hours of school
• homework, classwork, books, notes, pencils, laptops, studying

Just as children physically grow a little bit each day, they should also learn a little bit each day.  In the end, the actual ability to learn will be their most valuable asset.  In the end, we want all of our students to continually look toward their future.

Amazing Things Await Those that Can Learn

       Our school system has an event we call Future Link.  Seventh grade students come to the local community college and participate in conversations with scientists and botanists and engineers; and they think about what they want to do as an adult.  Every speaker has the same message: People and companies are doing amazing things and you can be part of this world of discovery if you work hard in school and learn as much as you can.

       I listened to a talk about the building of the James Webb Space Telescope and was amazed by the scope of the project.  Over 1000 people from 17 countries have been working on the design and building of this telescope.  Eighteen specially designed mirrors will be used.  The telescope is so big that it can't fit in the spaceship, so it had to be designed to fold in sections and then to unfold once it got into space.  Huge problems had to be solved, designed, and built.

       I was particularly impressed with the list of engineering fields that were employed by the team that build this telescope.  All sorts of specialties and specialists were needed to work together to build this amazing product.  Some of the seventh grade students in today's classrooms will one day work with the James Webb Space Telescope on its 5 to 10 year mission to identify stars and galaxies and planets and black holes that we (today) don't even know exist.

       It's amazing and it all starts in school.  Math, Science, Technology, Coding, English, Foreign Languages; everything that are students learn today will one day be used to do amazing things.  I can't wait to see their future.

Future Schools: It's All About the Learning

       In the future, our middle and high schools won't use grades and grading--at least not the way we think of grades and grading today.  Parents will brag about what their children are learning.  As the school year ends, students will reflect on what they learned--rather than on the grades they got.  Colleges will identify qualified applicants based on what they have learned in their P-12 schools.

      Students will move at their own pace; some will finish high school when they are 16 and some finish when they are 21--and both are perfectly acceptable.  There will be an appreciation for the value of education throughout our society; and all students will feel valued in their schools.  Teachers will teach classes and help individuals; sometimes face-to-face and sometimes online.  "Sit-and-get" lecture will be replaced with active learning that includes students working and learning together--actually talking with each other during school.  Questions will be asked and problems will be solved everyday.  Students will view effort and struggle as value and necessary elements of the learning process.

       Computers and tablets will be viewed as tools for learning and for gaining information.  Students will find the data and facts that they need to make conclusions and to discover new things; to prove theorems and to create stories and art; to publish, to communicate with their learning team, and to keep lists of further areas of inquiry.

       Some students are already enjoying this school experience; for others it probably sounds like a fantasy.  I believe that current elementary school students will see pieces of this future school before they graduate and their children will see this school system as normal.  Our society can not accept an outdated system to prepare our students for their futures.  Change is not a luxury; it is a necessity.  It's not about being #1 in the world; it's about doing what's right for the next generation.