Building a Classroom Worth Learning In

 Building a Classroom Worth Learning In 

When Dr. Michael Wesch started his talk with the acknowledgement that the classroom is not the real world I was hit with every disagreement I had ever had with others in education. 

I am not a disagreeable person, but I strongly believe that our current education system does not work to encourage active student learning. Dr. Wesch's talk shows exactly why this is: 

While watching his son, George, learn to walk Wesch saw the learning process in its most pure form: trial and error. Wesch saw that his son, who had fallen at least 50 times, continued to rise and try again. From this observation he saw that for learning to take place students must fail without fear of repercussion, feel connected, believe in themselves and their ability to accomplish goals, as well as be excited. 

Wesch then took this knowledge and made an action plan: he began to reimagine how the grading system should look. Instead of the grading system being something to sort students by, he saw it as a goal to accomplish. He made a track in which students worked together to flourish and accomplish a goal. 

Students were not punished for "not being good enough." Instead he took the time to find their individual strengths and pushed them to thrive. Learning is not about being 100% right the first time and never coming back to it again. Learning is a process filled with failure and success.

Wesch's grading system reminds me of the conversation many schools are having around standards-based grading. In this system students have multiple opportunities to master skills, and teachers are given more useful diagnostic data to understand where gaps are. I believe a system like this, coupled with Wesch's findings could be a good place to start the conversation around revolutionizing our education systems.