The 4- Hour Diploma?

It's not surprising that research shows an incredible decrease in student engagement after one reaches adolescence. Why else the rainbow knee-high socks and punk-leather Ramones jacket 9th graders love to wear?

 Elementary school, full of its silly putty and division, is fun. I distinctly remember my class pet, Lily the lizard and my favorite book, Finding Bigfoot.  Even research shows that middle school remains a place of enlightenment for students. They actually want to be there. 

Enter high school. It's like a bomb of boredom goes off unleashing an atomic presence of anxiety and burnout. 

Could a personalized entrepreneurial project be a key into revamping the enthusiasm for learning that drastically falls when students enter 9th grade?

Authentic assessments and an entrepreneurially-based personalized curriculum is slow work, but can be very meaningful. I'd love to see this learning model more aptly distributed to students from less-advantaged backgrounds. Obviously, a teacher at the Avenues cannot have the same lessons in a public school without figuring out a way to make the learning environment safe and comfortable so that behaviour doesn't become an issue. A teacher in an average public school, let alone a poor city school typically cannot enter a classroom expecting the students to behave. This may perhaps be the biggest difference that may greatly broaden the achievement gap. 

"What's wrong with education cannot be fixed with technology." - Steve Jobs

Steve Jobs is right; however,  technology, specifically mobile devices and tablets now that they are more cheaply produced, can engage students on a more personalized level and allow for the structure of the education system to be transformed into a more blended learning environment for cheap. Students who have a tablet can watch lectures at home, collaborate with classmates on a global level, then come together with local classmates to present their work. Throw this in a school building 5 days per week with rooms acting more as learning centers and teachers become focused facilitators, helping students create their own projects. 

Recently, however American schools have mentioned increasing the work day in hopes to get more education into the students. That way, U.S. schools will be like other countries that are doing better. Pasi Sahlberg argues distinctly against this. He stands by that overworking students and standardizing curriculum only inhibits creativity- an extremely valuable characteristic is the world's best leaders and innovators.

Two resources have barked at me to say this is all wrong:

1. Tim Ferriss and the 4-hour work week

2. The Japanese concept of being overworked and working to death, called Karoshi

Instead of thinking what can we add to the school system, like an extra hour of study, maybe we should be thinking how school can be more efficient. With the 35 hour study week in which most students don a book bag and tread the hallways of k-12 or higher ed, can these hours be spent more efficiently? Add in the stress of hours of homework and after-school work for pay and my eyes glaze over like Krispy Kreme on Christmas morning.

To explore this option, what resources can students better leverage for a quicker (maybe better?) diploma? 

I had a student in class once read Ferriss' book. I owe it to him for this blog post. He told me that he doesn't like to waste his time. I said, "Who does?" Ryan, wherever you are, I hope all is well. 

Thanks to Tim Ferriss for the witty title idea and brilliant insight into how to be more productive, like a ninja. 

Don't Be Cruel to a Mind That's True - Comfortable Learning in the Classroom

When's the last time you willingly walked into an argument, happy to join the "conversation".

The answer, for most, is never - unless you're Mike Tyson.

No one likes to feel stupid and no one likes to ask the stupid questions. Be "that guy".

These are the memories we remember most as a child. The time you were the last one to realize what the math teacher meant when she said, "don't mix apples with oranges." The time you were picked last in gym class. Left out. The time you asked a stupid question in class and time slowed like molasses. That's the last time for asking questions, you say to yourself. Strike three for creative thinking. Sir Ken Robinson was right.

Take a look at online discussion forums and it's the same thing. Thousands of trolls ready to pounce on you, make you feel stupid and pedantic.

Let it go.

Move on.

Great teachers know that step one requires building a class where students feel safe and comfortable to learn. The safe class room. Not an easy thing to do with 30 teenagers ready to pop a pimple at any moment (Tweet this).

At the Global Education Forum NYC, I saw the makings of a safe global-learning environment. Penpals, Padpals, and  student-centered global discussions that matter. Students able to talk meaningful ideas that will change the world.

Soul pancake is great. Fun, clever, full of challenging conversation. But, it's too easy to be cruel.  Too easy to leave a nasty denigrating comment behind the avatar of an Oompa-Lumpa. It's a beautiful platform to discuss meaningful questions, yet a terrible place to build students up to learn when they already enter your classroom feeling so low.

Self- efficacy is at an all time ebb. It's far easier to stare at a TV all day or text meaninglessly all day. Far easier to watch Judge Judy than learn about law. Students don't want to feel dumb because feeling dumb adds another element of instability to a life that may already be so unstable.

Eating Pie in the Sky

There's a level of disengagement in students today that's beyond alarming. It's frightening. Like Freddy Kruger frightening. I've seen that change, however, when students dream big.

When entre-students fly higher than Icarus could have dreamed while their classmates choose dampened wings. 

It's happening already with projects like The Future Project. Take a walk in their revolution and you'll see students engaged in entrepreneurial ventures - from selling jewelry to using skateboard branding to promote social change. 

​As teachers, we have the unique ability to be the catalyst for students to dream big. We can't change the school design. Heck, we all know we get crabby from sitting in awfully uncomfortable chairs for eight hours. Yet, we can get students to believe, we can get them hungry for pie, and we can give them the tools. 

It's not setting them up for failure. It's not unrealistic. It's letting them know that reality is unrealistic and we too recognize this (Tweet this!).

Teachers don't get into this profession to teach students to repeat history. They join teaching as a vocation because they recognize that reality can be better.  We teach them to be Shakespeares and Newtons. We inspire them to innovate.