You may remember the oldies song that goes..."What the world needs now is love, sweet love."  Ok, we still need a lot more love and less hate out there, but I'm talking about what the world needs now in respect to the education of children.  

In the book I am reading right now entitled "Your Child's Growing Mind" by Jane M. Healy, the author says in Chapter 8, "Fortunately, things are changing (in schools).  While we still want to give children every chance to succeed in traditional learning environments, we now appreciate that learning may happen in many ways, through varied channels.  Moreover, what has been so imortant in schools - a facility to memorize rules and large amounts of data - is becoming increasingly obsolete as computers do these tasks better and faster.  Students still need basic academic skills, of course, but in a dynamic, fast-changing technological world, different forms of intelligence are assuming new importance.  For today's kids the ability to solve all kinds of problems, get motivated, think reflectively and flexibly, synthesize data, and actively pursue learning throughout life will be important hallmarks of success."

Although I think many understand and agree with this statement, many schools reflect quite the contrary.  They continue to place emphasis on standardized tests and funding and less on real learning.  Unfortunately, the way things are set up, they have to and much to the disappointment and frustration of teachers and parents.

I remember having an epiphany one day while doing "school" during our early years of homeschooling.  I was trying to emulate the public school model at home and was following a very structured curriculum.  A big mistake!  Anyway, my son and I were reading a section on sharks in his science book together.  I began to realize you could spend an entire lifetime on just the subject of sharks and all the facts and details about them.  I began to realize that you could spend a lifetime on just about any subject and not exhaust the amount of facts and information available out there, especially with access to the internet.  Then I began to look at the "requirements" of what our kids are "supposed to know" and cover.  Surprisingly, they were not very different from what was required of us years and years ago and yet there is SO much more information to learn about today and so many things that have changed in our world.  How could one possibly cover all there was to know about any particular subject and how would you know where to stop and how much information was sufficient?  I also reflected on the multitude of more efficient and effective ways available for us to access information.  Many of these methods are even specifically geared toward your child's learning style.  I began to ask myself what exactly I most valued for my kids in regard to their education.

Now back to Jane Healy's book.  In the next paragraph, she points out that in different cultures and different places in the world intelligence is defined differently and what is valued in education differs based on what is valued in the culture or place you live.  For example, the knowledge of farming is going to be of higher value than technology in some places and vice versa.  But then she goes on to explore some old and newer views of intelligence along with the three most important basics for lifelong learning:  meaningful memory, motivation, and metacognition - the ability to think about our own thinking.  How true!  These aspects are valued no matter where you live and whether you live on a farm or in the middle of Silicon Valley.  That is really all it boils down to.  Isn't the most important tool for our kids the ability to think on their own creatively and problem solve?  What I want most for my kids is for them to be able to know HOW to access information when they need it and WHAT to do with that information once they get it, as well as be motivated to apply that information in a helpful and useful way no matter what the subject or area of interest.

In another book I have not actually read yet, but intend to as my kids get closer to young adulthood, I found the description to be quite interesting.  The book is called "Do Hard Things: A Teenage Rebellion Against Low Expectations."  In one review, a reader summarized the 5 main points of the book.  Teens are challenged to do the following:

1. Things that are outside your comfort zone.
2. Things that go beyond what is expected or required.
3. Things that are too big to accomplish alone.
4. Things that don't earn an immediate payoff.
5. Things that challenge the cultural norm.

It seems obvious then that memorizing facts to pass a standardized test that will be forgotten as soon as the test is finished does not accomplish or provide an opportunity to put into practice these 5 challenges, much less strengthen meaningful memory, motivation and metacognition.  Yet over and over again, although parents and educators seem to know this deep down inside, the public school conveyor belt continues to churn and spit out students who are left wondering what to do once they leave school and how to go about taking charge of their future.  I frequently come in contact with parents and educators who espouse their frustrations and difficulties with the public school obsession with standardized testing.  I hear on TV of the incentives that are dangled before students, teachers, parents and administrators trying to improve educational outcomes.  Often they are monetary incentives, but where does real drive and passion come from?  What really motivates individuals to strive?  If we place value on the importance of our children becoming lifelong learners who are motivated to "do hard things", then we have to have an educational system that reflects those values.

This reminds me of two quotes I have posted in our home library.  One says, "Innovation: The best way to predict the future is to create it."  What are we truly doing (not just talking about) in regard to education to create the kind of world we would like to see in the future?  The other quote is, "Passion: A powerful force that cannot be stopped."  When are we going to get out of the way or our kids' passions, the things they are already motivated to do and are gifted at, and let them do what they were created to do?  We will have to stop requiring them to memorize useless trivia that only takes up their time and diverts their focus from their God-given talents.  This takes A LOT of trust.  I know because I, myself, wrestle with this constantly as a homeschooler, but when I step back and work to "inspire and not require", the results are marvelous and quite fascinating to observe.

In an absolutely fabulous talk I watched recently, creativity expert Sir Ken Robinson challenges the way we're educating our children.  He champions a radical rethinking of our school systems, to cultivate creativity and acknowledge multiple types of intelligence.  Why don't we get the best out of people? Sir Ken Robinson argues that it's because we've been educated to become good workers, rather than creative thinkers. Students with restless minds and bodies - far from being cultivated for their energy and curiosity - are ignored or even stigmatized, with terrible consequences. "We are educating people out of their creativity," Robinson says. It's a message with deep resonance. Robinson's TEDTalk has been distributed widely around the Web since its release in June 2006. It's one I encourage everyone to watch.

So what the does the world need now?  To put into practice what we have discovered scientifically and know deep down inside to be true about real education.