Reimagine Learning by Britt Bowerbox

Reimagining Learning March 13, 2020, was the last day of my junior year of high school. As millions of people began adapting to a new quarantine lifestyle, students across America found themselves bored, unproductive and anxious for the future of their schools. For the majority of American youth, standardized education begins at the age of six, in first grade. For some, even earlier with preschool or kindergarten classes at the ages of three or four. From this point forward, academic achievement in core subjects (English, math, science, social studies) becomes the indicator of success in learning among students. Those able to learn the subjects quickly and efficiently are lifted to new opportunities, and those who cannot are simply left behind. The synonymous connection between the current American system of education and learning itself is deeply flawed. By establishing the vast difference between the two, we can begin to understand the many deficiencies with how our schools are currently organized. Learning has existed since the beginning of humanity, and is ingrained in all parts of the human experience. As newborns, we learn to communicate and begin exploring the world around us. Learning is not confined to a certain place, time or situation, and gives us the ability to find fulfillment in knowledge and discover our passions. Learning is also interconnected. For example, if I learn to not touch a hot stove by accidentally burning myself, I may be inclined to research the science behind heat or use my language skills to prevent others from making the same mistake. The current American system of education, unlike learning, was established in the late 1800s and has remained fundamentally unchanged since that time. Industrialization popularized the concept of a multiple period school day, with bells signaling the transfer from subject to subject. Letter grades of A-E were first used in 1897 at Mount Holyoke College to measure performance on an exam, and the first nationwide standardized tests were administered in 1901. When contrasted like this, it is clear learning and the education system share only a few similarities. As a student and member of Generation Z, I can attest to this through personal experience. The year I was born, Apple released the iMac G4, hybrid cars were growing in popularity and exciting new technology was everywhere. I have never known a world without the influence of robotic automation, and at a very young age, I experienced the power of a computer search engine at my fingertips. Today, personal mobile smartphones are as common as the clothes we wear. The question is raised, if all the information one could ever desire is only a quick Google search away, why am I memorizing formulas and classifications, only to forget them after the test is taken? In a world of “look it up,” and “Google that,” ignorance is not the detrimental concern it once was. Education has not evolved to address the issues of today. Statistics will show suicide is the third leading cause of death among youth aged 15-19 (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2017), and an estimated 10-20% of adolescents globally experience mental health conditions, most remaining under-diagnosed and under-treated (World Health Organization, 2007). Research by the American Psychological Association has even discovered that typical schoolchildren during the 1980s reported more anxiety than child psychiatric patients did during the 1950s. What are we doing to address these issues? Why has school-related stress only increased since the initiation of the American education system? No one can deny that exposure to stress at young ages can have disastrous consequences as one progresses into adulthood. We are seeing the results of this stress through incarceration rates, drug abuse, crime and unemployment found in communities everywhere. Today, as schools across America resume, both teachers and students are experiencing an unusually extreme “summer slide” due to the absence of academic routine for over four months. Now, imagine, if during those months of quarantine, students like me had continued discovering and growing, because their learning was not tied to a certain school or routine. Imagine a new kind of education, one that fosters the innate love of learning within every person and encourages originality, not systemic conformity. Franklin Delano Roosevelt once said, “We cannot always build the future for our youth, but we can build our youth for the future.” Education, at full potential, has the ability to end the poverty cycle, bring strength to under-served populations and create more fulfilling lives for all. The same system will always produce the same results, and the time for change has never been more urgent than the present moment.