Schools obsolete, not failing

On page xxi of the introduction in Tony Wagner's book The Global Achievement Gap, Wagner says "School's haven't changed; the world has. And so our schools are not failing. Rather, they are obsolete..."  This is an interesting and something that goes against what the mainstream culture is telling us.

Personally, for me, this statement is a breath of fresh air, because too often in the United States, we just want to find a scapegoat.  And for a long time, at least since No Child Left Behind became a law, that blame has been put on the schools.  The schools have failed, not that the schools are just really behind.  I am reminded of a quote that Milton Chen used in his book Education Nation from Winston Churchil "Leave it up to the United States to finally join the World War once they have tried every other option and failed."  We are behind in the United States, but this new generation of teachers can change that.

A good question is how can we change the system?  Well, I'm sure that you may be guessing what I am about to say, but we need to change our mentality from an either/or thought to a both-and thought.  So, rather than just teaching what the school requires you to teach, teach that AND the skills that students need to know in this society.  Skills that are required for college and for post secondary jobs.

Our primary goal, as teachers and future teachers, should be the betterment of our students.  We need to help our students find out who they are, what they want in their lives, and where can they be truly happy?  We do this by being there for them as a listening ear when they are stressed, angry, or scared.  We teach and treat them like they are human beings who can succeed at anything they want in the world, just reach for it.  We, as teachers, need to be the teacher who can change that students life forever.