I just read an interesting blog article titled Creating Innovators: Why America’s Education System is Obsolete by Erica Swallow. Ms. Swallow quotes Harvard Innovation Education Fellow Tony Wagner:
“Today knowledge is ubiquitous, constantly changing, growing exponentially… Today knowledge is free. It’s like air, it’s like water. It’s become a commodity… There’s no competitive advantage today in knowing more than the person next to you. The world doesn’t care what you know. What the world cares about is what you can do with what you know.”
In reading the article, I realized the answer is not turning our homes into schools, but turning our homes (and our schools!) into places where children have the freedom to explore, to make connections in ways not possible in a system focused on memorizing content and competition rather than cooperation among peers. Easy access to in formation via the Internet, smart phones, tablets, etc, makes memorizing the names of the planets or the elements in the periodic table almost ridiculous. Why keep information in your head when you can Google it and get what you need in seconds?
We need to focus on teaching children how to think, solve problems, create solutions out of nothing…to innovate. Students who are able to synthesize information, to hybridize it, and turn it into something new will be the leaders of their generation. Because home schooling is so flexible and allows students to pursue their interests, we have the opportunity to raise up a generation of innovators who will overcome seemingly insurmountable obstacles to achieve their dreams.
So how do you translate that into something you can do in your home with your children? Provide opportunities for creativity. Instead of toys that bleep and buzz, give them building sets such as LEGOs or K’nex. (The ten year old boy pictured at left won $10,000 in a K’Nex contest.) Instead of remote controlled cars, give them a bag of mini marshmallows and a box of toothpicks, and challenge them to build a bridge that will support 100 pennies. Find recipes for homemade clay and gak, and let them make a mess. Ask them why this recipe turns in to a firm clay while that one is soft and gooey.
The number of free resources for such activities available on the Internet is incredible. As the children get older, look for service opportunities, apprenticeships and internships. Get them involved in real world activity instead of rote memorization of facts.
Am I advocating throwing away the textbooks and letting children do anything they want? No,there is still a place for knowledge in the world of the innovator. At a bare minimum, every student should learn math through at least geometry.
They should learn to read fluently and with comprehension at high school level or above.They should learn to write fluently and correctly. Even with the proliferation of technology, it is still important to be able to communicate ideas effectively. Students need a good grasp of history, both of their native land and of the ancient and modern world. (Notice I said history, not social studies…they are not the same animal!) Science is best learned through experimentation.
So we can’t toss the textbooks just yet, but we can adapt our home school environment to create a place that encourages collaboration and innovation. Colleges and universities actively recruit students who are independent learners and creative thinkers. Let’s hope more and more of them are home schooled as time goes on!