Leading The Way To Transform Education
In this post, written by Peg Gillard, Peg shares with us her thoughts on education transformation. Peg is an veteran educator and administrator that has a deep understanding of the issues and leadership of our education systems face today.
Educational reform, educational transformation, what exactly is the difference? What does it matter? Who should be involved in such a process? How do we go about changing what we have and know?
Reform means to bring about a change in order to improve; to make an institution better; to revise, reshape, remodel.
Transform is defined as making a thorough or dramatic change in the form, appearance or character; transfigure, metamorphose, overhaul, revolutionize.
Engaging in Educational Reform simply uses the current framework and remodels what is already in place or perhaps adds to it. This assumes that the underlying structure is sound, sturdy, has the fortitude to withstand the tests of time and change. It assumes that the basic structure works for most of the “clients” most of the time. It assumes that the educational experience provided by the current system provides “clients” with the necessary skills to contribute to today’s world, succeed in that world, and enhance it. It assumes that the system can support growth.
By immersing in Educational Transformation, we are starting at scratch and providing new creative possibility without limitation of a current structure for something so different and unique that it invites the world to greet and celebrate it, catch up to it, create more of it. Educational transformation invites all citizens to participate in a process that continually morphs as society, culture, and people change. Educational transformation allows for dreaming, innovation, creativity, trial and error, experimentation, and voice to all “clients” and stakeholders.
I believe it is time to take the leap of faith and transform our educational system. To me, this is both a frustrating and exhilarating period in education. There have been so many reforms over the centuries, but no real transformations. It is a slow process to “put the brakes on such a huge moving machine” and morph it into something completely different. It is exhilarating to think of the amazing opportunities there are to re-imagine the entire system! To create something that can continue to grow, morph and sprout without boundaries seems electrifying!
Methods and beliefs about teaching and learning are antiquated and not based upon current research on brain development. The brains we are trying to stimulate and open are different from the ones of even 50 years ago. Brain research adds a unique dimension to teaching and learning. Educators and scientists need to work together to hone the crafts of teaching and learning by using the discoveries as they happen in real time, and what better way than collaborating by using technology.
We have clearer fundamental understandings about the human capacity to learn, grow, change, create, innovate, collaborate, communicate, and design with audacity and freedom. These understandings must become part of our educational philosophy and beliefs about education in order for true transformation to occur. Using this fundamental understanding of the human capacity to learn and grow, work has been done to identify 21st Century skills needed for focus in education, yet we are still operating within an 18th Century system. There is little reason for many in education to innovate as it is not yet supported and sought. Standardized assessments lead to standardized teaching, skills and knowledge. If it is standard, it is not innovative and does not address the needs of the 21st Century INDIVIDUAL learner, teacher, business owner, entrepreneur, system, needs. It addresses only the standard average group.
Relying on trial and error, experimentation, and freedom to think outside of the “standard” are part of the amazing lifelong learning process. I believe that those seeking transformation in education today can be likened to the pilgrims who left their homeland seeking something new, seeking the freedoms that were denied at home, and seeking to change the culture within which they were locked. In leaving what they knew, they created an incredible country with an innovative government that provided the freedoms all who had come to settle here desired and one that was alive with growth-oriented opportunities. We must all come together as one to design a system that produces citizens of the world with skills that can be applied in all cultures and in all “possibilities,” one that is free from the standard operating system.
The founding fathers’ original ideas were that an educational system should produce good citizens who had knowledge to make educated decisions about their country, their lives, and their society. Now we must produce global citizens who can celebrate all individuals’ uniqueness as well as the positivity and importance of the oneness of humanity. We must produce citizens who can operate within a culturally diverse atmosphere to promote goodwill and Grace, wisdom and connection. We must build a system where people of all ages become lifelong learners with a passion for learning and creating a living, growth-oriented, collective and collaborative knowledge base.
Educators, leaders, citizens of the global world must be part of the challenge in order to facilitate this transformation. This process must include all those who are touched by education and that are all of us. We must all facilitate and lead education towards transformation. We must all take the lead to push towards the 21st Century skills that we know children and adults must have to grow themselves and the universe.
Every citizen needs to be involved in transforming the educational system. We must behave in such a way that we call the transformation forward and support it. We must believe that transformation will be positive for the greater good. We must come together as a collaborative community to transform education to create an ever-evolving human and humane world culture.
#bealeader is honored to have Peg Gillard as our special guest for the entire hour for our weekly chat this Thursday, July 26th at 7pmET. We will discuss education transformation and how leaders can take a more active role in the process. Join us exclusively on Twitter.
Jen, Thanks for sharing Peg’s thoughts with us. I especially like the line, “The founding fathers’ original ideas were that an educational system should produce good citizens who had knowledge to make educated decisions about their country, their lives, and their society.”
Amazing how smart our founding father’s were.
Our founding father’s were right on the money in many ways, Dan. I’m very excited for Peg’s visit with us at #bealeader this week, she has so many wonderful insights into education and how we as leaders can take a proactive role in the development of collaborative practices to move the ball forward. Education is not a passive issue, it will take all of us to correct the issues we see in our schools and each of us from private and public sectors need to be more engaged to lead the way. Thanks for your comments, Dan. Always a pleasure.
Thanks Peg for your call to “transform” education and for reminding us that education must prepare students as global citizens who will work and live in our global society. Many workers will work in their local communities, and many more will be working and collaborating via computers/Skype etc. with global their couterparts, from their home or office physical locations. No doubt changing what we are presently doing to educate youth in our education system is most imperative for the future of our natiuon and this planet, given the scope of global problems that most adults are still challenged by, and yet are unable to discover a common ground for real effective action!
One challenge is, how can we transform from scratch, while we are actually in the process of educating millions. I’m wondering that perhaps we need a very powerful dialogue among global educators and policy makers who can collaborate effectivelly, including the ability to inform public policy that results in action and funding.
No easy task. but your post is an excellent way to keep this all on the front burner.
Thank you Peg and thanks Jen for your excellent efforts as well. EdC
I am excitedly l anticipating tomorrow’s #bealeader chat! I hope to gain many and varied insights into how exactly we do change this while in the midst of continuing to educate! It is more about changing a philosophy and mind-set about what education is and how it presently works. It will be very enlightening to gain perspective from folks in all fields with a variety of experiences with education.
I am honored to be a guest on #bealeader!
It is an honor to have you, Peg, as our guest on #bealeader. Your leadership and wisdom on the topic of Education Transformation is one that will inspire many to take the lead to move forward to bring this topic to fore front of many minds. I hope that we can inspire many to get involved across the US and around the world by sparking this conversation on Twitter. Thank you for taking the time to join us and give us your time. See you tomorrow evening at #bealeader