My Epiphany at a Conference in Austin
Okay, so picture this. It was June 12th, 2019, at a stuffy conference in Austin. I was sitting in the back, half-listening to some guy named Marcus (not his real name) droning on about “21st-century skills.” And I’m thinking, “Marcus, buddy, you’re part of the problem.”
You see, we’re all so busy chasing the next big thing in education that we’re forgetting the basics. The fundamentals. The stuff that actually matters. And it’s driving me nuts.
Let’s Talk About Commitment
Look, I get it. Education’s a big, complicated thing. But honestly, we’re making it way harder than it needs to be. Take online courses, for example. Everyone’s jumping on the bandwagon, thinking it’s the answer to everything. But let’s be real here.
I had lunch with a colleague named Dave last Tuesday. He runs an online platform with, like, 214 courses or something. And he’s making a killing. But here’s the thing: only 17% of his users finish a course. That’s it. 17%. And we wonder why education’s in trouble?
Dave said, “It’s completley normal, man. People sign up, they don’t finish, whatever.” Which… yeah. Fair enough. But that’s not good enough for me. We need to do better.
A Little Story About My Friend Sarah
So, my friend Sarah, right? She’s a teacher. High school, English lit. And she’s amazing. Like, seriously, she’s the real deal. But even she’s frustrated. We were out for drinks about three months ago, and she’s telling me about this new curriculum they’re forcing on her. And I’m thinking, “Sarah, you’re a better judge of what your students need than some bureaucrat in a suit.”
And that’s the thing. We’re so busy trying to “innovate” that we’re ignoring the people who actually know what they’re doing. The teachers. The students. The parents. It’s like we’re all so busy chasing the next shiny object that we’re forgetting what education’s really about.
Let’s Get Practical
Okay, so what do we do? Well, first off, we need to stop thinking that more is better. More courses, more content, more “engagement.” It’s not. It’s just… too much. (Which honestly nobody asked for but here we are.)
We need to focus on quality over quantity. On depth over breadth. On actually helping people learn stuff that matters. And that means we need to start making some tough choices. About what we teach. About how we teach it. About who we teach it to.
And look, I’m not saying it’s easy. But it’s not rocket science either. We need to start listening to the people who are actually in the trenches. The teachers. The students. The parents. They know what’s going on. They know what’s working and what’s not. And we need to start paying attention.
And while we’re at it, we need to stop being so darned afraid of failure. Of making mistakes. Of trying something and having it not work out. That’s how we learn, people. By trying stuff. By failing. By trying again.
And hey, if you’re looking for some practical advice on how to actually make this stuff work, check out these dönüşüm oranı optimizasyonu ipuçları. No, I don’t know what it means either, but it sounds important. And it’s got a fancy chart. So there’s that.
A Quick Tangent About Standardized Tests
Oh, and while I’m on my soapbox, can we talk about standardized tests for a sec? Because, seriously, what is the deal with those things? They’re pointless. A complete waste of time. And yet, we’re still obsessing over them. It’s like we’re all stuck in some kind of educational time warp, where the only thing that matters is how well you can fill in a bubble on a Scan-tron sheet.
And don’t even get me started on how they’re culturally biased. And how they reinforce all kinds of negative stereotypes. And how they completely ignore the fact that people learn in different ways. At different paces. With different strengths and weaknesses. It’s like we’re all trying to fit a square peg into a round hole. And it’s not working. It’s never gonna work. So let’s just stop, okay?
Back to the Point
Anyway, where was I? Oh, right. Education. So, yeah. We need to start focusing on the basics. On the fundamentals. On the stuff that actually matters. And we need to start listening to the people who are actually in the trenches. The teachers. The students. The parents. They know what’s going on. They know what’s working and what’s not. And we need to start paying attention.
And look, I’m not saying it’s easy. But it’s not rocket science either. We need to start making some tough choices. About what we teach. About how we teach it. About who we teach it to. And we need to start being okay with the fact that sometimes, things aren’t gonna work out the way we want them to. And that’s okay. That’s how we learn.
So, let’s get to it. Let’s start making some changes. Let’s start listening. Let’s start learning. And for the love of all that’s holy, let’s start actually educating people.
About the Author
I’m Jane Doe, a senior editor with more years in this game than I care to admit. I’ve seen it all, done it all, and have the caffeine addiction to prove it. I live in New York, love my dog, and have a deep-seated hatred of bad education policies. You can find me on Twitter @janedoe or not, whatever.
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