Synthesizing Education

A January 3rd article in the New York Times discussed the implementation and development of new Master’s degrees as a result of tough economic times. Once again, I ask: are we, in K-12 education, considering the implications that these types of new degrees will have on the lives of our students? I highly doubt it. These types of trends are critical to understanding what kind of preparation students will need in the future. Consider two of the new Master’s degrees discussed in the article: social networking and narrative medicine. Are we creating learning environments where kids are developing relationships with students, teachers, and educators outside of the walls of the structure we call “school”? If anything there are feeble attempts to teach students these skills and apply this new type of thinking.

 

We need to continually search for patterns that are being developed by three entities: higher education, businesses, and the economy. I don’t want to hear that education is “not a business”. I understand that, but that doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t look to the future employers of our kids so that we can adequately equip them with the skills necessary to do the jobs they will be sought after for upon graduation nor does it mean that we shouldn’t look at the oppurtunities students will recieve as post-graduates to offer them an inkling of an understanding of what new fields will be relevant to their futures. I do not mean that we need to gear them with majors throughout their high school careers, but they should have a “taste” of the different fields and what they entail. Maybe the focus should not be on what students will major in as undergraduates but, instead, look more at what specializations they can obtain for the long haul, or better yet, maybe we need to start to redesign curriculums to focus on the interdisciplinary skills that these new occupations require?

 

With foresight comes the ability to develop options.

Related Articles:

• Ducking Issues in Education
• The Ravitch Situation
• Education and Context
• Further Evidence of Student Engagement With Technology
• STEM Funding Must Provide Sustainable Professional Development!