Life+skills

aka "soft skill" "productive adult skills" lifelong learning

teaching, learning, education, success

"Start defining success as any path that leads to a happy and healthy life. Start teaching us to make our own paths, and start guiding us along the way." - from a petition from [|high school students] in protest to the expectations focused entirely on academic success.

2019.11.30 * Teaching to the test, academic success or failure, ... has gone too far. Kids know this. They understand that much of the opportunity to learn important life skills in a safe environment with the support of caring guidance and coaching, has been hijacked. Yes, there is content that kids must learn - reading, writing, arithmetic. These are essential basic knowledge and they can and will be tested. No problem there. What is shocking is how poorly so many kids do at these. Without mastering these fundamentals they are powerless to become functional lifelong learners. * From all accounts, the high school students writing the petition, have a good grasp of these basic skills. They are in a position to think about the broader implications of the "education" that they are participating in. They implicitly understand that whatever their intrinsic motivation and interests and strengths, the external factors are hopelessly distorting the core understanding of what learning and education should be. They are right. It should be about them. Not just "them" getting perfect grades and SAT scores to get into a good college to get a high paying job. Those aren't something that motivate or excite most high school students. * At the Central Florida STEM Council sponsored panel discussion at I/ITESC panelist described what they were looking for in new hires and interns. All were looking for young people who presented themselves and their ideas well in person and in writing, took initiative, and could work well with others. Critical thinking, organization skills, were also cited as important. Great grades were a potential red flag - compliance and focus on the wrong things, that would detract from their ability to deal with real world situations where unlimited time and resource to achieve perfection were not options.* Back to the kids. They know that there is something they want and need from school and they aren't getting it. Knowing something is "wrong" is a start. * The "school" is doing somethings right - setting high expectations, offering AP courses and encouraging kids to participate in extracurricular activities in leadership roles. This is guiding kids to take the opportunity to make their own paths. These aren't something that can be "taught". They have to be "learned". Making time to learn, understanding the value of making the most of these opportunities, these are things that educators can do with kids. Making them your own - kids have to learn to do that and it is hard work. * There seems to be a failure to communicate. There are likely over zealous adults who reduce the message to its simplest terms - success or failure, pick one. How many high schoolers listen to and understand messages with subtly and gray areas? Fixing that is going to take some doing. It takes "two to tango". What are these students doing to take control of their learning? Making their situation known to a broader audience is a start. What solutions are they proposing? What are the roles and responsibilities for teaching and learning and whose are they?