TED.com speaker, Sir Ken Robinson, delights the audience with his clever wit and poignant message on the worldwide problem of education systems. My aunt in Pasadena, California is a teacher to early elementary school children and can probably speak on this fact. I have had at least one conversation with her on what I call the “evolution of thought.” I’m not going into it here, but suffice it to say that evolution denotes a progressive development – not necessarily better, but different. An educational institution must adapt to this development or be ineffective. The mindset that educational systems seem to rely on is our nations’ collected references on historical data. While easier to implement and measure, it is not entirely effective, and stagnates the “system” in a quagmire of perpetuated problems. While the world continues to change around us, our methods of teaching do not keep the pace. Ultimately, I think many teachers would profess that the job doesn’t pay for creativity, and they’re right. Teachers are underpaid for the service they provide to the world. Perhaps when people realize the value and credit due of their office, some creative individuals can reform the system and guarantee the success of our futures.
The bright side is that there are schools out there that cater to exactly this kind of thinking. In fact, even in my [nearly] local district changes have been implemented to allow for various focuses to receive extra attention and guidance. There are a host of specialized school systems such as the Progressive systems; Magnet, Montessori, or the diverse array of private schools. While not available to everyone, they at least stand as practical examples of the application of non-standard or non-traditional educational means.