Why Innovate in the Classroom?

I have been thinking recently about great teachers that are having students do amazing things in their classrooms. These innovative educators take on new challenges and push their students to do the same. One of the reasons these innovative teachers do this, is because they have their student’s futures in mind. In my post titled The Problem with Education is not Education I wrote,

Back in 1918, Franklin Bobbitt in Chapter 6 of The Curriculum, made the following statements regarding the the changes needed in the educational system of the day.

“As the world presses eagerly forward toward the accomplishment of new things, education also must advance no less swiftly It must provide the intelligence and the aspirations necessary for the advance; and for stability and consistency in holding the gains. Education must take a pace set, not by itself, but by social progress.”

He continues,

“Any inherited system, good for its time, when held to after its day, hampers social progress. It is not enough that the system, fundamentally unchanged in plan and purpose, be improved in details…And yet to do the nineteenth-century task better than it was then done is not necessarily to do the twentieth-century task.”

This statement makes it clear that as educators, we must always have the student in mind first. Just because something worked in the past doesn’t mean that it is still relevant for our students today or in the future. We must as teachers look at the needs of the society and what our students will need when they enter this society. It is only through this method that we ensure that what we are teaching our students is appropriate, relevant and authentic. When considering everything done in an institution of learning we must gauge what we do including traditions with the following question, How is this serving the educational and emotional needs of the students in our current societal context? When considering this question educational institutions also need to give due regard to the fact that preparing students for the next step in life is not enough in our current society. We cannot only prepare students for the next grade level, division or college. It is not enough, and to continue in this manner is doing a disservice to our future generations.

I am not talking about making sure you cover all the content. What I am suggesting is that we make school relevant to what society needs. Content should no longer be the main thing students learn. How much of what you learned in school do you use on a daily basis? A curriculum tells you what schools value and what students need to learn and this is important but it is how students learn it is up to the teacher. An innovative teacher doesn’t think of themselves as a teacher. They are a facilitator of educational experiences that enable students to interact with the content in meaningful ways.

We must all reflect on what we do and why. We must all ask How is what we are doing serving the educational and emotional needs of the students in our current societal context?If educational institutions, administration, and faculty all take on asking this important question when reviewing curriculum, activities, skills, projects, standards, pedagogical approaches, assessment practices and traditions there is bound to be change. If we hold on to something just in the name of tradition we fail to innovate. We fail to put the needs of our students first. While some traditions will most likely stay, some will need to be rethought. Remember what Franklin Bobbit said, “Education must take a pace set, not by itself, but by social progress.” Change must occur, if we don’t and we fail to fulfill the current needs of our students, based on our current societal context, we are failing to offer a sustainable and relevant education to our students.

So why should we innovate in every classroom? It is simple, to ensure we are providing the types of learning environments that will help our students best prepare for the ever advancing and changing world they will enter. I am once again reminded of a statement made by John Dewey from “My Pedagogic Creed,”

“Education is the fundamental method of social progress and reform.”

Continuing he states

“When society once recognizes the possibilities in this direction, and the obligations which these possibilities impose, it is impossible to conceive of the resources of time, attention, and money which will be put at the disposal of the educator.”

If we make our educational institutions places for students to grow and develop the skills needed to become life-long learners, empathetic contributors to the process of positive societal change; we will change the way society as a whole views school and the teaching profession. We will help the future generations thrive. It is for these reasons that I ask every educator to carefully consider your current practice and ask that most important question, How is what I do serving the educational and emotional needs of my students in our current societal context?

Thank for reading

Dr. Shannon H. Doak