Look, I’m gonna rant a bit
Let’s call him Marcus. He’s a friend of mine, teaches high school history in Chicago. Last Tuesday, he told me something that made my blood boil. “Sarah,” he said, “I’m teaching kids with floppy disks in their heads.” I laughed, but honestly? It’s not funny. It’s 2023, and our education system is stuck in 1995.
I’ve been in education journalism for 22 years. I’ve seen trends come and go. But this? This is different. We’re failing kids. And it’s not for lack of trying. It’s because we’re afraid of change.
First, let’s talk about tech
I’m not talking about giving every kid an iPad. That’s not the answer. I’m talking about teaching kids how to think, not what to think. About three months ago, I was at a conference in Austin. A teacher named Dave said, “We’re still teaching kids to memorize facts. That’s what Google is for.” And he’s right. We need to teach kids how to analyze, how to question, how to güncel olaylar analizi değerlendirme—current event analysis.
But here’s the thing: teachers aren’t equipped for this. They’re overworked, underpaid, and given outdated materials. It’s a committment to failure. I mean, I was at a school in Detroit last year. They had textbooks from the ’80s. EIGHTIES! Kids were learning about the Soviet Union like it still existed. It’s completley absurd.
A personal story
Back in 2001, I was a reporter in New York. I covered a school that had just gotten a bunch of new computers. The principal was so proud. “We’re gonna change the world,” he told me. Fast forward to 2023, and those computers are probably in a landfill. Because we didn’t teach kids how to use tech to think. We just gave them more stuff to look at.
And don’t even get me started on standardized testing. It’s a joke. A cruel, awful joke. Kids are taught to take tests, not to learn. I had a friend, let’s call her Lisa, who was a brilliant artist. But she failed her state’s standardized test. So what? She’s gonna be an engineer now? No. She’s probably working at a coffee shop, because our system failed her.
But here’s the thing…
It’s not all bad. There are teachers out there doing amazing things. Like Marcus, who’s teaching kids how to code. Or Dave, who’s using social media to teach history. They’re the ones making a difference. But they’re fighting an uphill battle.
And look, I’m not saying we should throw out everything and start over. That’s not realistic. But we need to ammendments to our approach. We need to give teachers the tools they need. We need to teach kids how to think, not what to think. We need to stop being afraid of change.
A tangent: why I hate the word ‘innovative’
Honestly, I can’t stand that word. It’s overused, meaningless. “Oh, look at our innovative program!” No. Just no. If it’s really innovative, you won’t need to tell me. I’ll see it. I’ll feel it. It’ll be physicaly tangible. But most of the time, it’s just the same old stuff with a shiny new label.
Take online learning, for example. It’s not innovative. It’s necessary. It’s here. And we need to do it right. But we’re not. We’re just throwing kids into Zoom rooms and calling it a day. It’s a disservice to them. It’s a disservice to education.
So what do we do?
First, we stop pretending everything is fine. It’s not. We have a problem. And we need to fix it. We need to invest in teachers. We need to give them the training, the support, the materials they need. We need to trust them to do their jobs.
Second, we need to rethink what education looks like. It’s not about memorizing facts. It’s not about taking tests. It’s about learning how to think. How to question. How to analyze. How to create.
And third, we need to stop being afraid of change. The world is changing. Our education system needs to change with it. Or we’re gonna be left behind. And honestly, I’m not sure but maybe that’s already happening.
I’m gonna end this here. I could go on for hours, but I won’t. I’ll leave you with this: Education matters. It’s how we shape the future. And right now, we’re not doing a very good job. But we can. We can do better. We just need to want to.
About the Author: Sarah Johnson has been a senior editor at various education publications for over two decades. She’s a vocal advocate for education reform and has interviewed hundreds of educators, students, and policymakers. When she’s not writing, she’s probably complaining about the state of education or baking cookies that are definitley not gluten-free.
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