americanbornglobalvision

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Reblogged from gjmueller

gjmueller:

A 15-year-old student’s ed reform plan: Self-directed learning

Arooj Ahmad is a high-achieving 15-year-old high school sophomore at Libertyville High School in suburban Chicago who has taken a focused interest in reforming the U.S. education system, which he calls outdated.
He says that schools spend too much time forcing students to memorize a mountain of facts rather than teaching relevant knowledge that can help them select a career path and function well as adults.

Keep reading to find out what he things is wrong with education and how to fix it.

Over the past year, my attention has been drawn to changes that are needed in our American school system. When I speak about it to others…others I feel are quite intelligent and enlightened, I get strange defensive responses. Responses like, “Teachers have too many kids in their classes to offer different types of classes.” and “Are you sure they don’t teach critical thinking in grade school now-a-days…they probably do it differently than when we were in school.” I suppose maybe I’ve been talking to the wrong people. Maybe I should hunt down 15 year old high school students and ask them what they think of my ideas. Why is a change in education so urgent? Because we are on the cusp of a new world. Our country is leaving the Industrial era (the era in which our current educational system gears kids to be successful) We are entering a new era…..with unseen details. We must prepare our children for their new adult world. I don’t know everything they will need to be successful….but, I do feel confident that critical thinking will be more important than rote knowledge.

A 15-year-old student’s ed reform plan: Self-directed learning

Arooj Ahmad is a high-achieving 15-year-old high school sophomore at Libertyville High School in suburban Chicago who has taken a focused interest in reforming the U.S. education system, which he calls outdated.

He says that schools spend too much time forcing students to memorize a mountain of facts rather than teaching relevant knowledge that can help them select a career path and function well as adults.

Keep reading to find out what he things is wrong with education and how to fix it.

Over the past year, my attention has been drawn to changes that are needed in our American school system. When I speak about it to others…others I feel are quite intelligent and enlightened, I get strange defensive responses. Responses like, “Teachers have too many kids in their classes to offer different types of classes.” and “Are you sure they don’t teach critical thinking in grade school now-a-days…they probably do it differently than when we were in school.” I suppose maybe I’ve been talking to the wrong people. Maybe I should hunt down 15 year old high school students and ask them what they think of my ideas. Why is a change in education so urgent? Because we are on the cusp of a new world. Our country is leaving the Industrial era (the era in which our current educational system gears kids to be successful) We are entering a new era…..with unseen details. We must prepare our children for their new adult world. I don’t know everything they will need to be successful….but, I do feel confident that critical thinking will be more important than rote knowledge.

(via thelearningbrain)

americanbornglobalvision

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