That speaks to the second bucket. Although it's likely that given Julia's family background and her resources she will perform well enough in school, that doesn't mean that she finds school engaging. She's likely bored. She may be stressed soon, too. Odds are her focus will be all around “getting by,” but it's unlikely she finds that school speaks to her or how she learns. Witness the numbers of second-semester seniors in high school who stop trying once they figure out which college they will be attending. It's also likely that Julia will graduate without a real sense of what she cares about or different pathways she could carve out for herself after high school ends. Even worse, many Julias graduate high school burned out and feeling like a failure after being rejected by the dozens of selective colleges to which they apply. One student we spoke to for my book Choosing College said he felt like he had “had a midlife crisis” after his dream school rejected him. He was 18 at the time.
This speaks to the final set of reasons why today's schooling system doesn't work for the Julias of the world. Spending her weekends doing test prep or extra math classes in the afternoons just to stay ahead in the rat race of rankings is exhausting. And it sends the unambiguous signal that schooling is a game to be won—not a pathway to help individuals prepare themselves for life. Although Julia might have the tools to play the game well, that doesn't mean it's a game worth playing. It's likely that once she enters middle school what she's really learning to do is constantly compare herself to others along a narrow set of measures. Nor is it likely that she's learning critical organizational or collaboration skills, let alone agency, self-efficacy, and self-direction. These are critical skills not to get in to college, but to successfully navigate college, the professional world, and her life. School is setting her up for a “real” midlife crisis.
A BETTER WAY FORWARD
Too often the debates around improving schooling get stuck in a zero-sum framing where for every winner there must be a loser. But the reality is that there are many more losers in our current education system than winners. By moving to a positive-sum system and a mindset of abundance rather than scarcity, we can transform that system into one that benefits both the Jeremys and the Julias of the world.
In that world, as children grow up, schools will help them discover and build their passions, understand what it takes to pursue what they want, learn how they can contribute value to society, and fulfill their human potential. Although many people are scared of change because of what they might lose, everyone has much to gain.
As schools have struggled over the past three academic years and the media has fretted about learning loss, education experts have recommended everything from summer school for all to redshirting every student. What these ideas share in common is that all students should just have more of the same type of schooling experience they've always had—a schooling experience that wasn't working.
In the years ahead, students will need personalization to meet them where they are—not just academically, but emotionally and socially as well. They will need support and help building strong relationships and networks. They will need to develop strong habits of success. We will need to think comprehensively and expansively, because if the goal is to help all students succeed in today's complex society, going back to the way things were is not an option.
That's what this book is designed to do. In the chapters ahead, we revisit many of the themes and ideas presented here in the Introduction. Unpacking them offers a way forward so that all members of society can benefit from a better, more enjoyable, and more positive schooling experience.
Chapter 1 explains how to reframe the predicament in which educators find themselves as an opportunity, not a threat.
Chapter 2 encourages educators to start with the end in mind—what's the purpose of schooling?
Once the goal is defined, it's easier to work backward to make sure students develop what they need to be successful. Chapter 3 walks through a theory to help schools define their proper scope so that they can successfully fulfill their purpose.
Against that backdrop, Chapter 4 describes what students are really trying to accomplish—and where traditional schools fall short. It asks all of us to move past the notion of learning loss.
Chapter 5 outlines what the student experience should look like to help students accomplish their priorities. It shows why we need a system that guarantees mastery for each student.
Chapter 6 reimagines the teaching experience with an emphasis on helping educators think about the “T” in teachers standing for “teams.”
Chapter 7 speaks to the parent experience and how to design schools and new solutions to fit into the progress that parents desire.
Chapter 8 talks about the technology imperative in today's world and offers some tips for choosing educational software.
Chapter 9 discusses the importance of the right culture and how to create it.
Chapter 10 helps educators create a mindset of testing, learning, and iterating. It proposes that rather than creating a “plan” and following it blindly, educators shift to thinking about “planning” as a verb—a perpetual cycle that allows people to learn and improve.
All of these changes described in the preceding chapters will be hard. Stakeholders will have varying levels of agreement. To bring the different strands together, Chapter 11 offers a framework to help leaders manage change when key stakeholders have varying views on the goals of schools or how to realize those outcomes.
With the havoc that COVID has caused and the challenges educators, students, and parents face, the appetite for new solutions that work for everyone will be larger than before.
* * *
To seize the moment, we will follow the fictional stories of Jeremy and Julia set in an elementary school in California at the beginning of each chapter.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
Today's school system doesn't work well for anyone given the complex demands of today's world.
The system assumes all students have resources that they don't; it neglects teaching them certain key skills and dispositions and connecting them to other networks of people; and it sorts them prematurely.
Moving from a time-based system to a mastery-based one is imperative.
Shifting from a zero-sum mindset to a positive-sum one is overdue.
There's a way forward that can customize for different student needs and help all individuals build their passions and fulfill their human potential.
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