The Broken Model
This week’s
reading, “The Broken Model,” was another interesting and
thought-provoking topic. Sal Khan argues that today’s education system is
outdated and ineffective, explaining that the model worked better long ago but
no longer meets the needs of students today. One major issue he highlights is
that “in our current education system, students are grouped by age, not by
what they actually know.” Khan believes schools should move toward a
mastery-based model, where students advance only after they demonstrate true
understanding of the material and the ability to apply the necessary skills—not
simply because their birthday falls at a certain time of year.
Another quote
that stood out to me was, “The classroom lecture is delivered at a single
pace, even though students learn at very different speeds.” This hit close
to home. My daughter is an excellent reader with a very strong vocabulary for
her age. Her best friend, who has been in her life since they were six months
old, is also very smart but struggles with reading when the teacher moves too
quickly. This shows how one pace does not work for all learners. I believe
teachers should be supported in addressing the needs of every student so they
can fully understand and master skills before moving on, rather than advancing
simply because the school year has ended.
Khan also discusses how learning
gaps develop over time when students are pushed forward without being truly
ready. He points out that we accept this as “normal” because it’s what we are
used to. That idea is honestly scary—because it’s true. When gaps are ignored,
they only grow larger, making learning more difficult and frustrating for
students in the long run.
Something to discuss as a class: Khan suggests that “normal”
can hide problems in education. Can you think of a classroom practice that
feels normal but may actually disadvantage some students?
For me I think standardized testing is one. I remember
stressing over these test and they cause so much anxiety in students. We are
used to the weekly test but the thought of a once or twice a year one was a lot.
Horace Mann Hall at Rhode Island
College (RIC) is named after Horace Mann (1796–1859), an educational
reformer widely known as the "father of the public school
system".
Hi Corey. To answer your question, a classroom practice that feels "standardized" and at the same time, serves as a disadvantage, is sitting in your desks taking a test, in uniformed rows of desks. I know this was a huge disadvantage to me because I have test anxiety.
ReplyDeleteThat quote you chose, "he classroom lecture is delivered at a single pace, even though students learn at very different speeds" also hit close to home because there are no "accelerated" or "honors" programs that I know of in my small hometown of Medfield, Massachusetts unless it was math. I remember, clear as day, one time in fifth grade a boy was complaining we were going too fast during a spelling test and Mrs. Lowerre responded, "well this is a fast class." I was mortified for the poor boy.
At the same time, we were expected to perform well on standardized tests in order to keep our hometown's intense and intimidating reputation as a "top 3 school." Even my fifth grade brain knew there was something completely wrong with Horace Mann's "Broken Model."
One thing I think has become too normalized in classrooms is teachers openly expressing their personal opinions, especially on topics that pertain to the class. Certain school subjects discuss topics that provide great opportunities for students to engage in healthy debate among their classmates. When facilitated appropriately, these class discussions encourage students to perform independent research on a topic, draw their own conclusions, then defend their position, and challenge their peers, citing supporting evidence. This is an amazing way to support independent thinking and challenge students' critical analysis skills. However, this only works if the environment supports diversity of thought. As soon as a teacher reveals or suggests their stance, that immediately registers as the correct answer in the minds of the students.
ReplyDeleteOne class I took at RIC revolved heavily around these types of class discussions, and demonstrated the perfect environment as the teacher never revealed his stance and instead challenged everyone's position, taking on the role of devil's advocate. This made the class incredibly engaging as you discovered the weak/strong spots of your arguments and informative, hearing a true variety of uninfluenced thoughts and opinions.
Hi Corey!
ReplyDeleteI really liked your example of your daughter and her best friend moving at different paces. Sometimes all it takes is going a bit slower and reiterating parts of a lesson. Every child can reach their full potential, it just takes a different amount of time and work! I also liked how you pointed out gaps. If you are not as well versed in one area and move on.. it becomes exceedingly difficult to stay with a teacher and understand fully. It is a risk to move on without students understanding and yet they still do it because "lesson 14 HAS to begin on Wednesday to stay on track with curriculum". I really enjoyed your blog, it pointed out even more issues the reading spoke about and your examples were great!
Hi Corey!
ReplyDeleteI really related to your comment about your daughter and her friends that read at different levels. I myself struggled a lot in school growing up with reading and read at a much slower level than other students in my class. This often made me feel behind in school and less capable to succeed. This relates to your point of "when gaps are ignored, they only grow larger". This is so important to know as a teacher because you want to be able to identify the students in your class that are falling behind quickly so that you are able to spend more time with them and get them back on track. I really enjoyed reading your blog!
Hi Corey,
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing a real life example about your daughter's best friend, this really highlighted Khans idea that one size does NOT fit all in terms of learning and pace in a classroom setting. The question you mentioned at the end of your response also got me thinking. I too agree with you and Khan that testing has become the new normal, and that it is not an accurate measure of a student's potential to learn. I stressed about tests so often and deeply that sometimes I would have a panic attack in front of an entire lecture hall full of students. There must be a better way to "test" student's knowledge, one in which draws on creativity as Khan suggests.
Hi! I appreciate how you connect Khan's ideas to real classroom experiences. The story about your daughter and her best friend highlights exactly why mastery-based learning matters
ReplyDeleteHi! Thanks for sharing. I resonated with the story about your daughter and her friend. One of my first work experiences was in a Montessori school, where mastery-based learning/repetition is one of the central pillars of the educational model. Students have semi self-directed work and repeat lessons to mastery with the guidance of their teacher. Unfortunately Montessori education has become inaccessible to most students -- it's quite a shame because the method was designed for some of the poorest children in Italy. I wonder what pieces of the Montessori method we might be able to apply into our current system? Here's an article about some of the pillars of Montessori education if you're interested in reading more https://amshq.org/the-ams-difference/core-components-of-montessori/
ReplyDeleteHi Corey,
ReplyDeleteI agree with Khan's statement on a "mastery-based" model education versus grouping students by age. A lot of students in my classes, myself included, felt bored in some subjects because the information came to us more easily than it did for the other students. It wasn't necessarily because we were "smarter than the others" or that they were "less smart." Everyone retains information differently from one another, and that's why age-based education is flawed in the ways that Khan mentions in his writings, especially when you mention the gaps that some students develop because the pacing wasn't helping them learn.
Hi Corey
ReplyDeleteThe part about pushing kids forward is a problem that cant be ignored. I see kids in middle school that can not even write a complete sentence. How they get this far baffles me. Once they fall so far behind, they get lost. There are so many students with anxiety and depression. I wonder if this aids in that.