Prepare Our Kids for Life, Not Standardized Tests | Ted Dintersmith | TEDxFargo
TLDRThe speaker recounts their awakening to the inadequacies of the current education system after an email from their child's school. They compiled a list of essential life skills like problem-solving and perseverance, only to find schools focused on irrelevant tasks. This realization led to a broader examination of education's purpose, revealing a system designed for the industrial age rather than today's innovation-driven world. The speaker's journey includes creating the documentary 'Most Likely to Succeed,' which showcases schools embracing innovative practices to prepare students for real-life challenges, advocating for a shift from standardized testing to inspiration and engagement in education.
Takeaways
- 📧 The speaker's journey began with an email from their children's middle school about teaching important life skills.
- 🤔 The speaker questioned what schools should be doing to teach life skills and made a list of essential skills and traits.
- 🏫 The school's initiative was a monthly 45-minute session with gym teachers presenting problems, which the speaker found unsatisfactory.
- 🔍 The speaker started tracking school activities, finding many irrelevant to life preparation and some potentially harmful.
- 🚀 With a background in innovation, the speaker recognized the rapid pace of change and the need for a new educational model.
- 📚 The current school system was designed for a different era, focusing on efficiency and routine, which is outdated.
- 🌐 The speaker found that while the overall system is flawed, there are pockets of great innovation in some schools.
- 🎥 The speaker produced a documentary, 'Most Likely to Succeed,' to showcase what schools and students can achieve with the right approach.
- 🎉 The film has been well-received, with many schools and education conferences embracing its message.
- 📣 The speaker's goal is to spread the message of the film to all 50 states, advocating for a shift in educational focus.
- 🌟 The speaker calls for a reimagining of education, prioritizing inspiration, engagement, and life preparation over standardized testing.
Q & A
What was the initial trigger for the speaker's involvement in educational reform?
-The speaker's involvement in educational reform began when they received an email from their children's middle school about a session on teaching important life skills. The vagueness of the communication piqued their interest and led them to question what schools should be doing to teach life skills.
What were some of the life skills and character traits that the speaker believed should be taught in schools?
-The speaker believed that schools should teach skills such as inventive problem-solving, communication, teamwork, and the ability to figure out complex situations. Character traits like determination, perseverance, resourcefulness, the ability to stand up to failure, being bold, and appreciating the wonder in nature and human achievement were also mentioned.
How did the school's initiative of 45 minutes a month with gym teachers presenting challenges differ from the speaker's expectations?
-The school's initiative was much less comprehensive and transformative than the speaker had hoped. Instead of teaching life skills, it involved showing graphic videos to discourage behaviors like smoking, which the speaker felt was not an effective or holistic approach to education.
What was the speaker's reaction to the school's approach to education after attending the session?
-The speaker felt vaguely dissatisfied with the school's approach, which led them to think more deeply about their children's education and its relevance to life.
How did the speaker's perspective on education change after creating a list of life skills and observing their children's schoolwork?
-The speaker realized that much of the schoolwork assigned to their children was irrelevant to life skills and that there was a lack of focus on preparing students for the future. This led to the creation of a third column for things that would jeopardize a child's prospects in life.
What were the speaker's observations about the current state of education and its impact on students' future prospects?
-The speaker observed that the current education system was not preparing students for the future, with a focus on following instructions and standardized testing rather than fostering creativity, innovation, and life skills.
How did the speaker's career in innovation and venture capitalism influence their views on education?
-The speaker's career in innovation and venture capitalism, where they backed entrepreneurs aiming to improve the world, gave them insight into the importance of creativity, innovation, and risk-taking, which they felt were being discouraged in schools.
What historical context did the speaker provide about the design of schools and how it has changed over time?
-The speaker mentioned that schools were thoughtfully designed in 1893 by the Committee of 10 to prepare students for a world transitioning from agriculture to manufacturing. However, by the 1980s, it was clear that the education model had become obsolete and needed to change again to adapt to the innovation economy.
What was the speaker's reaction to the 1983 report 'A Nation at Risk' and its implications for education?
-The speaker was deeply concerned by the report's assertion that if the U.S. education system had been imposed by a foreign country, it would be considered an act of war. This highlighted the urgent need for educational reform.
What did the speaker do to promote a vision of schools that prepare students for life and not just standardized tests?
-The speaker supported a documentary filmmaker for two years to create 'Most Likely to Succeed,' a film that showcases innovative schools and practices that prepare students for life. The speaker plans to take the film to all 50 states to spread the message of educational reform.
What is the speaker's call to action for communities and stakeholders in education?
-The speaker is asking communities to find people who share the vision of schools as places of possibility and hope, and to pull together an audience that includes teachers, parents, students, and policymakers to communicate the importance of preparing kids for life, not just standardized tests.
Outlines
🤔 The Dissonance Between School Education and Life Skills
The speaker recounts their initial interest in the education system sparked by a vague school email about teaching life skills. They compiled a list of essential skills and traits such as problem-solving, communication, and perseverance, expecting the school to cover these. However, they were disappointed to find the school focused on a monthly health initiative with graphic presentations, which did not align with their expectations. This led to a deeper reflection on the relevance of school activities to real-life preparation. The speaker began tracking school activities and found that many were irrelevant to life skills, and some even jeopardized students' future prospects. They expressed concern about the future job market and the need for creativity and innovation, fearing that the current education system could lead to unemployment and marginalization.
🏫 The Historical Design and Modern Shortcomings of Schools
The speaker delves into the historical design of schools, which were created to prepare students for a manufacturing-based economy, emphasizing efficiency and routine execution. They acknowledge that this model was successful in its time, creating a robust middle class and making America a world leader. However, they argue that the model has not evolved with the shift to an innovation-based economy and has instead become obsolete. The speaker criticizes the focus on standardized testing and the lack of adaptation to the current needs of society. Despite this, they remain hopeful due to the innovative practices they've observed in some schools, which they believes can be scaled and implemented more widely.
🎥 Advocating for a New Vision of Education Through Film
The speaker shares their journey of advocating for a new vision of education that focuses on inspiration, engagement, and trust rather than standardized testing. They decided to use the power of film to spread this message and partnered with a documentarian to create 'Most Likely to Succeed,' a film showcasing innovative schools and educational practices. The film has been well-received at festivals and education conferences, and schools have shown interest in adopting its principles. The speaker is committed to taking the film to all 50 states, urging communities to rally around this vision and to engage policymakers and influencers in redefining education to better prepare students for life.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Life Skills
💡Educational Reform
💡Innovation
💡Standardized Testing
💡Character Traits
💡Passion and Purpose
💡Manufacturing to Innovation
💡Accountability
💡Inspirational Education
💡Film as a Medium
💡Community Engagement
Highlights
The speaker's motivation stemmed from a vague school email about teaching important life skills.
The speaker compiled a list of life skills such as inventive problem-solving and communication.
The school's initiative was a monthly 45-minute presentation by gym teachers on selected challenges.
The speaker felt dissatisfied with the school's approach to teaching life skills.
The speaker began tracking school activities, finding many irrelevant to real life.
The speaker identified school practices that could jeopardize students' future prospects.
Innovation is sprinting forward, making traditional education models obsolete.
The speaker's career in innovation and venture capitalism provided insight into the need for creative thinkers.
Schools were designed in the past to meet the needs of a different economic era.
The 1893 Committee of 10 designed schools for a manufacturing economy, not creativity.
A 1983 report labeled the U.S. education system as an 'act of war' if imposed by a foreign power.
Efforts to improve education focused on intensifying the obsolete system rather than innovating.
The speaker discovered innovative schools that were preparing students for the modern world.
The film 'Most Likely to Succeed' showcases schools that empower students and teachers.
The speaker aims to bring the film to all 50 U.S. states to spread the message of educational reform.
The speaker calls for communities to rally around a vision of education focused on inspiration and engagement.
Transcripts
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