The Time for Change

Sir Ken Robinson spoke about change in his Ted Talk, "Bring on the learning revolution." In a powerful speech, he encouraged educators to create a personalized curriculum that allows students to find their passion and talents, which will lead them to a life of fulfillment. He references a firefighter who was told at a young age in school that being a firefighter was a waste of his talent and that he should go to college and become a professional. This is a message that is unfortunately communicated too often to students, and it leads students to spending thousands of dollars in college tuition, only for them to not be happy or content with that profession.

Personalized curriculum is a big opportunity for change in our school system, but unfortunately with the way that public schools are set up now, it is an impossible goal. Sir Ken Robinson said, "Education in a way dislocates very many people from their natural talents. Human resources are like natural resources. They are often very deep. You have to go looking for them." Middle and high school teachers have up to 180 students each semester, and traditional classrooms are not designed to be able to dig deep and help students discover their passions and talents. Too often when personalized learning has been attempted, a new technology has been overemphasized. And then of course the curriculum fails because technology alone cannot transform learning. The learning environment, the roles of teachers and the pedagogy has to evolve as well for a real change to occur. But I do believe education is at a turning point. The pandemic has affected every person and every aspect of education, and has highlighted the importance of building relationships and creating authentic, personalized lessons. Students want flexibility and choice in their learning more than ever, and I believe the current environment is the moment to take risks and make the necessary changes.