Educator and prolific author
Yong Zhao delivered Friday’s keynote address.
His work focuses on the implications of globalization and technology on
education. His slides can be found at http://zhaolearning.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/WorldClass.pdf,
and here are some highlights from his speech:
·
School boards are
uniquely American but have lost power over the past 20 years.
·
It’s not how
hard you work, but what you are working on. In the outcome of education, what
matters?
·
Over time,
we’ve been building “statues” that don’t accomplish things (ref: Easter Island).
·
“Catching up
or leading the way?” Americans are seduced by the wrong measure as enticed by Singapore,
China, and Korea (2008). If NCLB had been fully funded, there would have been
more damage. All assumptions were based on the predication that American schools
were bad and couldn’t compete, but there was no evidence to say American
education was bad.
·
American
education is not getting worse. It’s always been bad as measured by test
scores. (If our education is so bad, why are we still here?)
·
So why is America still here?
·
The data would
say that top scoring countries are the “chop stick” countries. “Spoon and fork”
countries don’t do so well J
·
Asian
countries have a lack of confidence. They score well but don’t want to read –
they don’t have the interest.
·
Counting what Counts is Zhao’s new book, available in two weeks. A lot
of numbers lie about education. The side effects of education are like those on
a medication bottle – may cure _______ but can cause ______. What do you give
up to get something?
·
What used to
matter may not matter in the future. We think too linearly – tomorrow may be
the past.
·
College and
career readiness is considered “out of the basement readiness” yet college
grads continue to have problems finding jobs in their field (employment or
underemployment). They become boomerang children (i.e. coming home to live in
your basement).
·
“Who’s afraid
of the big bad dragon?” The Chinese were good at homogenous education, which
was necessary because past jobs included assembly line jobs. They needed to
squash creativity. We have employee-oriented education. Schools are employers –
they measure kids. Kindergartners aren’t ready so we’ll fix it; we’re always
looking at the deficits, looking to homogenize. Kindergarten readiness
standards are like job interviews. We impose on children the content and skills
we think will be valuable in the future because it was valuable in the past.
·
That’s not
true anymore – robotics does those jobs now. We are in the second machine age.
More jobs are being replaced (e.g. Turbotax, divorces are done on line, Google
car with no driver). As such, we need fewer tax accountants, lawyers, human
drivers, DMV, car insurance agents, traffic lights, etc.) Look at The World is Flat by Friedman.
·
The US spends
more $ than most countries and MA more $ than most states. That money is wasted
if other countries provide the same education for less $.
·
Two questions:
o
Are we
prepping kids to do things machines can’t do?
o
Are we
prepping kids to do things that can’t be outsourced?
·
Multiple
intelligences – everyone is good at something/no one is good at everything =
POTENTIAL. Nurture – can you trigger potential? You may be a genius, but you
need teaching, coaching, mentoring. As a school are you allowing 10,000 hours
on what helps kids? It doesn’t make sense to try to improve things we’ll never
be good at.
·
Not everyone
wants the same things. What is one’s motivator / object of desire (e.g. power?
influence)? People are driven by different things and have different passions.
Not all were valuable before.
·
Today there is
hope. There is the creation of new jobs. (Rudolph’s nose was red and he was put
in special education J. One Christmas Eve, Santa needed GPS and having non-blackness
was a benefit.) Today, how will car interiors be re-invented for driverless
cars - should they contain hot tubs – again J?
·
This is the age
of abundance and leisure (psychological, intellectual, and emotional products).
Most consumables are wants, not desires. Values have changed. Creating choice
is important since a machine can manufacture a product (e.g. shampoo bottles
are art, etc.)
·
The foggy
Christmas Eve has arrived. Traditionally useless people are now useful.
·
New education
jobs must enhance individual talents. Students now become disengaged – it’s the
new paradigm. We must prepare students to create jobs, not take jobs, and
support every strength. We need an entrepreneurial mindset and use our talents
to serve others.
·
What is
student autonomy? Personalized education. We need to hold standards accountable
for mattering. Global technology is needed.
·
We must be
“world class learners.”
·
We face the cliff
of the middle class. Now entrepreneurs are in a global market. 2400 on the SAT
is not useful – that’s existing structure.
·
Help students
to become great in their own way – then they will not live in your basement.
@YongzhaoEd
