What should education look like?

Plenty of people have been talking about ways in which our schools have been failing us.  So, what would a sound, effective system look like?

• Use multi-age grouping
• Center learning around problem solving using real-world situations and scenarios
• Balance group work and individual work
• Focus on writing in order to develop thinking and communication skills
• Integrate student interests into the mix while also introducing new things
• Integrate the arts (drawing, painting, sculpting, instrumental music, vocal music, dance, drama, etc.) into the learning
• Maintain a low teacher-to-student ratio
• Engage in  multidisciplinary problem solving
• Teacher moves among the students, interacting with them
• Students construct understanding through examining information, considering different views, discussion, and Socratic questioning
• Relate learning to life and situations where the knowledge will be used
• Hands-on, project-based learning
• Self-paced learning
• Use stories and scenarios to teach
• Emphasize hard work and effort; Instill the confidence that you don't have to be born with special skills or abilities to be good at learning or doing things
• Flexible schedule - if students finish quickly, they get to move on. The reward for finishing "the work" is not more work.  Enrichment is the reward.  Build in time for those who need more time.
• Respect individual differences, including allowing for the path unique to each child, their strengths as areas of weakness
• Use a bottom-up, organic approach to planning and guiding learning.  Instead of being dictated by the Department of Ed, the state, and the school administrators, involve teachers (and parents) in planning what should be learned and creative ways of helping students to learn desired content.
• Make connections, helping students to relate newly learned information with things they already know
  
• Incorporate experiences that develop thinking and creativity: building robots, coding, constructing machines, making models. playing video games (to develop problem solving skills), creative arts, and sports like gymnastics, swimming, individual and team sports, which cam help develop confidence, grace, stamina, and a sense of fair play.