Inclusion in Education — Abandon the One-Room School House and Embrace Knowledge

The educational system in the United States barely evolved from the 1800s where teachers imparted knowledge to learners. Students of all ages gathered in a one-room schoolhouse where they were taught morality and how to read the bible. By the 1850s education had advanced to meet the needs of industry by teaching literacy which consisted of reading, writing, and math. Over time, the skills taught by schools changed based on business needs. Although the subjects being taught has expanded, the delivery method remained the same. Students sit in classrooms listening

as teachers impart information. Success is measured by students’ ability to absorb facts and figures or apply concepts. Until now!

Virtual Education

With schools becoming virtual, our entire way of teaching students can change, using a wide array of learning methods accessed online. Time allocated for learning can extend beyond the traditional school day, letting students dig deeper into the topics that interest them. Technology offers educators the ability to personalize the learning experience, by using Artificial Intelligence to understand patterns they can predict the learners’ behaviors and customize exercises that keep each student engaged. Just as gamers become addicted, competing to reach the next level we can create limitless learning, with students pushing themselves forward.

Moving from Teacher to Guide

In our current teaching paradigm, the teacher is responsible for presenting, reinforcing, and drilling students on the content. Imagine positioning the teacher as the guide, who presents a challenge and provides structure. The class will be required to work collaboratively to develop solutions. The teacher becomes more of a coach, providing consistency, answering questions, creating situations that require students to understand and apply information, taking it beyond the traditional lecture question-answer format. Each class will be responsible for reaching specific learning objectives, attaining a common level of learning. These levels will establish the minimum for grade advancement, but learners will be able to learn at their own speed and reach higher levels.

Teach Students what Businesses Need

It is time for our education system to evolve, following businesses that had to be forced by CORONA-19 to use existing technology. Businesses discovered that their employees CAN work effectively from home, but managers needed to learn new behaviors. It was not easy to change, but businesses have adapted without sacrificing quality, cost, or productivity. Schools should do the same, figure out how to tap into technology, to teach students the skills businesses need:

• Time management skills
• Team-building skills
• Analytical skills
• Negotiation skills
• Problem-solving skills
• Sales and marketing skills
• Financial management skills

Students need to learn how to use the Internet to find factual information, how to create a logical argument, and how to compromise. The rate of change is accelerating, we are bombarded with more information than we can ever process, and students need to learn how to make informed decisions. When our education system began, people were taught to read, write — while these skills are still essential, students need to become tech-savvy to function in our digital age.

Responsibility for Truth

Access to information has increased, with physical books replaced by eBooks, Encyclopedia’s by Wikipedia, microfiche by internet searches. Finding authoritative sources continues to be a challenge, but with easy access to answers, people forget to question their reliability. Teachers need to take responsibility for helping students find the truth. Fact-based learning begins by distinguishing between fake, false, and misleading information shared on social media. The new face of literacy is the ability to find the truth.

Our education system COULD be so much more if we focused on teaching students to think, to be prepared to enter the business world as an entrepreneur or a worker. Schools have lost track of the purpose of education, which was preparing the next generation of workers. Education should not be for memorizing facts, figures, equations other information found on the internet. Students need to learn where to find answers, validate that they are correct, identify risks, assumptions, and biases. Schools were designed for a classroom because that was the only available option. It freed children from work in the fields, industries, and household responsibilities. Since then, the labor laws protect children, who can connect virtually, and are able to learn without commuting.

Public education was created to elevate the lower classes and strives at creating a minimum level of literacy. The future should be focused on elevating each student to reach their maximum potential. Why fixate on an antiquated system of learning? Education needs to break free, embrace technology, and create a generation of technology-savvy innovators, who have the skills to complete and create.