It's not a new idea, really, but bear with me. This idea has caught fire in my mind as I've volunteered over the years in my son's public elementary school. In the classrooms, I've worked with advanced kids. I've worked with kids who are painfully behind. I've witnessed the skill, love, frustration, and dedication of teachers.
I was up at the school volunteering yesterday and came away with the feeling that social promotion is failing yet another generation of kids. My first thought was that the solution is to get them when they are very young and invest intensive daily one-on-one tutoring. Of course this is not going to happen because it is not practical. It is not scalable. But most of all because these kids are not seen as "our" kids. We are just biding our time until we can lock them away in "our" jails.
This is regarding 10 and 11 year olds who have been in my son's school district since Kindergarten and are are now in 5th grade. They can barely read English and cannot do basic math. Why? Last night I came up with a solution to the problem that, unlike one-on-one tuturing, is actually scalable.
I work in Silicon Valley, and I have witnessed the following first hand. I have sat in conference rooms in which I'm the only person who attended US schools. Our corporations are looking overseas for well educated employees because well educated employees are not available in the USA in large enough numbers.
Our people are standing in food lines and applying for food stamps.
Our prisons are packed with illiterate Americans.
Our advanced kids are lacking individual attention. They are not challenged enough. They are bored.
Our kids who are behind are lacking individual attention. They are battling rage, frustration, and self-esteem issues and are giving up in vast numbers.
I believe we should use technology to try to solve these problems.
My vision includes the following:
A computer for every child, starting in kindergarten and continuing through 12th grade. On these computers, high-quality kickass adaptive learning software that provides individualized instruction at the right level for each child. The lessons are never too hard or too easy. The lessons are always just right for each child. This is what I mean by "adaptive." This technology already exists. All we need to do is implement it in the schools.
By harnessing technology, our teachers can get away from teaching the same content over and over. This is what computers are good at: Diagnostics, repetition, tracking. Technology can free up the teachers from this drudgery.
Teachers can instead focus on project-based learning. Each kid could spend 1-3 hours per day on the computer learning the mechanical skills of reading, math, and writing. The teachers' time and energy would be spent showing the kids how to apply the mechanical skills in innovative and imaginative ways.
Grades (1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th...) are meaningless. Only skills have meaning. I know 3rd graders whose skills run circles around the skills of many 5th graders. So why are we so focused on grade levels? In the real world, only skills matter. If we do away with the notion of grade levels, we can also do away with the old argument of social promotion versus grade retention. We can also do away with "gifted and talented." All children are gifted. All children can learn. The computer software can give each child exactly the right amount of encouragement and challenge.
Children also need the human connection of a teacher. Computers can never replace teachers, but computers can take on some of the tasks that teachers cannot do well. The expectation that teachers take 20-30 kids and provide individualized instruction is unrealistic. The best teacher in the world cannot do this. It is against the laws of time and space. However, teachers can do things that computers cannot do well. Teachers can inspire. They can lead. They can put a hand on the shoulder and guide the way. I know this sounds corny, but I can't help it. It happens to be true.
Of course, this idea would require a major shift in mindset and a major investment in technology. It would require that IT professionals be hired in each district to maintain the computers. It would require a change in teacher training. Not being an education expert, I'm sure I don't know what all the requirements would be. But it might just be worth trying as a pilot project somewhere.