Cassandra Seltzer • The Harriton Banner • May, 2013

I went back to middle school. On purpose. Not just any middle school, but the very halls in which I lived out my sixth-to-eighth grade career. And what did I do? Observe other, smaller, people live out their sixth-to-eighth grade careers. I followed my former art teacher (now the ‘gifted’ teacher for seventh graders) around, migrating from class to class on a mission. The man formerly known as “art teacher Todd Marrone” has a proposal: revamp the state of classroom education to motivate kids to care about their learning. Tall order.

Marrone writes of an alternative plan for student motivation, saying, “If an individual is not interested, invested and/or personally accountable for achieving a goal, he or she will only move forward under the immediate supervision and intimidation/encouragement of someone who is. [This] model is an inefficient use of resources, shortsighted and unauthentic. The moment the supervisor is removed from the equation, the motivation dissipates.” Ironically, he brought me in as a kind of “supervisor” to observe his teaching, to take notes and realize possible alternatives. (more…)

As outlined, I contend that the current American education system is embarrassingly unaligned with the anticipated needs of its future citizens. This is not the fault of teachers, unions, administrators, community leaders, parents nor, least of all, young people. This is the fault of time and the system’s inability (and/or lack of significant motivation) to make decisions based on foresight, innovation and progress instead of tradition. It’s time to stop pointing fingers at one another and begin to work together to prepare young people for the Information Age in a realistic, relevant, authentic way.

Intrinsic motivation has infinite advantages over extrinsic motivation. If an individual desires to achieve a goal, that individual will use all of his or her available resources in a pursuit to realize that goal. If, however, an individual is not interested, invested and/or personally accountable for achieving a goal, he or she will only move forward under the immediate supervision and intimidation/encouragement of someone who is. The latter model is an inefficient use of resources, shortsighted and unauthentic. The moment the supervisor is removed from the equation, the motivation dissipates.

I believe, and am willing to prove, that a group of young people can and will achieve great things when intrinsically motivated and held accountable for one another’s success and happiness. How? (more…)

INTRODUCTION
Before a successful decision can be made in any field, one must first define success and defend the criteria for the evaluation of that success. The seemingly obvious task of education is to prepare a young person for a successful adulthood. This, of course, begs the question what is successful adulthood? Psychologists, philosophers and economists may disagree on the topic of successful adulthood but, for practical purposes, let’s define it as a happy, productive individual who leads a life of purpose and meaning. What that looks like, exactly, is up to the individual.

It should be the educator’s and/or educational system’s task to prepare a young person for a successful adulthood by moving them towards that ultimate goal with the greatest level of efficiency, to maximize the quality of their investment of time and energy, and to flexibly nurture choice and diversity, dependent on the individual’s interests and aptitudes. Our current system does neither. (more…)