By Guest Author Jan K. Katz, MS
The middle-class axiom “study hard and you’ll get a good job” has proven untrue in the recent economic downturn. This axiom rarely exists at poverty level, where academic accomplishment could be interpreted as an attempt to separate oneself from the community.
A good sense of humor, telling a story well and having a good relationship with each student are ‘nice to have’ when teaching students of upper socioeconomic classes, but essential when teaching poverty-level students (1). In a recent survey of job skills relevant and necessary in the 21st century work environment (2), creative thinking and social skills drive 80% of skills needed for 21st century jobs:
Social Intelligence: connecting to others in a deep and direct way, sensing and stimulating reactions and desired interactions.
Virtual Collaboration: working productively, driving engagement, and demonstrating presence as a member of a virtual team.
Cross-Cultural Competency: operating in different cultural settings.
Transdisciplinarity: literacy in and understanding concepts across multiple disciplines.
Novel & Adaptive Thinking: thinking and developing solutions and responses beyond the routine or rule-based.
New Media Literacy: critically assessing and developing content that uses new media forms, and leveraging these media for persuasive communication.
Cognitive Load Management: discriminating and filtering information for importance, understanding how to maximize cognitive functioning using a variety of tools and techniques.
Design Mindset: representing and developing tasks and work processes for desired outcomes.
Only 20% of needed skills, computational thinking and sense-making, are covered by standardized testing. Standardized testing creates an environment where ‘teaching to the test’ trumps creativity and honesty. (3)
In Finland, a decade of national school reform focused on creating academic equality throughout the country. (4) It is being heralded as a veritable school reform miracle. After scoring low for years in the international Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development random “PISA” survey, Finland has ranked in the top three with Singapore and Korea for the past decade. The United States only holds a middle rank. (5)
Finland’s national education policy reform focused on equality, not excellence.
There is no tuition required for any school in Finland. The only standardized test of student performance is the matriculation exam given at the end of high school. Each classroom teacher is responsible for creating their own testing and grading. “Compared with the stereotype of the East Asian model - long hours of exhaustive cramming and rote memorization - Finland's success is especially intriguing because Finnish schools assign less homework and engage children in more creative play.” (5)
It’s time to restore the “garden” in kindergarten and prepare America’s future workforce to play together creatively and cooperatively in the ‘sand box’.
(1) Ruby K Payne, 1995, “A Framework for Understanding Poverty”. http://www.ahaprocess.com/About_Us/Ruby_Payne.html
(2) Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools, December 2011, "Future Skills Profile for the 21st century work environment" from the report "Key Findings From A Survey of Hiring Decision-makers”. http://www.acics.org/events/content.aspx?id=4718
(3) Steven Leavitt and Stephen Dubner, 2009, “Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything”. http://www.freakonomics.com/
(4) Pasi Sahlberg, 2011,“Finnish Lessons: What Can the World Learn from Educational Change in Finland?” http://www.amazon.com/Finnish-Lessons-Educational-Change-Finland/dp/0807752576
(5) The Atlantic, December 29, 2011, “What Americans keep ignoring about Finland’s School Success”. http://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2011/12/what-americans-keep-ignoring-about-finlands-school-success/250564/