Empathy and Problem Solving: Connect with the World
What Are the Benefits of Design Thinking?
Chapter 7 Create a Maker Revolution
The Danger of Learned Helplessness
How about a Drone Club? Why Not!
3D Printing, Robotics, and STEAM
Chapter 8 Empowering Learners to be Revolution@ries
Learners Need Us to Make a Revolution@ry Leap
Students → Learners → Revolution@ries
Active Creators or Passive Consumers
Who Are These Revolution@ry Learners?
Chapter 9 Revolution@ry Leaders
Chapter 10 Revolution@ry Learning
Personalized Learning in One Room
Preface
We believe that the education system—at every level—is in desperate need of a revolution. With that in mind, this book is our manifesto. With it, we hope to incite the kind of change that will provide better, more relevant opportunities for students in schools everywhere.
Why is change a necessity? Because the world has progressed. All around us, industries leap forward in terms of technology, innovation, and productivity, while the education system clings to structures that were created more than seventy years ago. Society has moved beyond the Industrial Revolution. It does not need a workforce of laborers for industry as it did in the twentieth century. It does not need a workforce in cubicles. It does not need leaders who hold an unyielding grip on tradition.
The most important reason for this revolution is our students. Most of the education world believes instructors should drive the teaching without learner input, but we believe learners should be included in decisions that affect their education—and their future. If this revolution in education is going to be successful, we must rid ourselves of the “sage on the stage” mentality. And to do that, we have to trust that our learners are capable of creating the future.
Derek and I (Darren) have come to realize that our lives have much in common. We are both principals at the middle school level. Both of our schools have students ranging from upper-elementary age to high school ready. They are both stages of significant transition, and our work as principals allows us to understand these worlds to an extent. We hope this book will show you how working with and growing kids in our respective contexts drives our passion to innovate the structures and supports of our schools.
While there are some obvious differences between Derek and me, our family backgrounds are also strangely similar. Farming is an important part of both our lives. Derek is from rural Georgia, and I still farm in South Dakota. The landscapes and weather vary, but our experiences are the same. We both have a strong work ethic thanks to parents who drove themselves into the ground laboring every day. We both place a strong emphasis on faith in God and the neighborly kindness that encompasses rural America. We both have a powerful connection to the land and what it produces. We both understand the importance of being able to use a unique and innovative skill set with few resources.
I have learned