Creating Innovators: The Making of Young People Who Will Change the World by Tony Wagner
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Creating Innovators built on the knowledge I gained from reading Most Likely To Succeed and from watching the movie with my District Team of the same title. Tony Wagner uses stories from a variety of people whose vignettes show us that there are many different ways to measure success and happiness. Not surprisingly, none of the stories shared that happiness came from high State Exams or SAT scores. The people featured each walked a path unique to their interests, and because they were supported, they found their success and their happiness.
We need to learn from these stories and others like them:
Essential Question: "What are the capacities that matter most for innovation, and how are they best taught?" (Intro, pg xiv) |
This question is one that guides my research in rethinking and reimagining what school can and should be. But it doesn't stop there. what does quality instruction look like in this new paradigm? How do we get all stakeholders in a school on board with this kind of change to learning. Wagner pushes this further to ask, "How do parents nurture some of the important skills and attributes of their children?" (Intro pg xv) The conversation isn't just about school or about learning, it's about what is right for modern learners. And we all have a hand in their learning.
We need to innovate education. As quoted from Joe Caruso on pg 9, "Innovation doesn't have to be about creating the next iPad. It can be the way you treat a customer." This is exactly the kind of innovation Seth Godin talks about in his book, Linchpin. The skills students need are shared by article after article after article, but Wagner gives his own Seven Survival Skills:
Wagner moves into a discussion about "Millennials." I hear people all the time talking about how young people are too entitled, rude, apathetic, and unmotivated. Maybe these young people are differently motivated, and we have been so busy complaining about them, we haven't tried to actually work with them, to hear them, and learn from them. I don't think I need to bring up the infamous Socrates quote about young people. Millennials care about working socially and with meaning - they want their work to have impact. Are we setting the stage to allow for this kind of work, or are we perpetuating the same setting that has been given in school for the past 100 years? "The Millennials are our future. They are the generation who can and must create a healthier, more secure, and sustainable way of life... They need our expertise, guidance, mentoring, and support, but we have to offer our help in a new way." (pg 22)
We can't continue to bring in kids to a classroom, and sit them down to hear a lecture and then work on practice problems and rote memorization style work. The internet (essentially the vastness of all human knowledge) is now at nearly everyone's fingertips. How is cramming content into a kid's head going to serve them in their lives? "Academic content is not very useful in and of itself. It is knowing how to apply it in new situations or to new problems that matters most in the world of innovation." (pg 52)
I believe there is a place for essential literacies in all subject areas. I am questioning how those literacies are delivered in 2017. Must they still be taught in siloed classrooms? Can they not be blended together in a way that better represents the real world and actual connections among the traditionally separate subjects?
I noticed some commonalities among the vignettes. They all had adults that allowed them to pursue their passion inspite of the way things have always been done. All of the young people were humble - not hyperconfident or imposing. Each of the young people were creators, not consumers, of content. And in each of the stories, I saw a little of myself as a learner many years ago, or as a teacher making some questionable moves in the early days of my career. Reflection requires an honest look at mistakes we have made, otherwise we do not learn from them.
If we want young people coming into society as adults thinking about being anything other than AVERAGE, we have to change how we embrace young learners. Christine Saunders from Vanderbilt University says (pg 206), "It shocks me the number of young people who have no idea what they are interested in because they have been pushed to achieve versus pushed to explore."
Now we have another generation of youth, Generation Z, preparing to take the stage. Hopefully they will not earn the condemnation and ire that we handed to the Millennials. These young people are the first truly digital natives, born in a world with digital technology in hand. Can we leverage these new learners and push past our own fears of failure or of taking blame to give young people a chance to show us what they are really made of?
We need to innovate education. As quoted from Joe Caruso on pg 9, "Innovation doesn't have to be about creating the next iPad. It can be the way you treat a customer." This is exactly the kind of innovation Seth Godin talks about in his book, Linchpin. The skills students need are shared by article after article after article, but Wagner gives his own Seven Survival Skills:
- Critical thinking and problem solving
- Collaboration across social networks and leading by influence
- Agility and adaptability
- Initiative and entrepreneurship
- Accessing and analyzing information
- Effective oral and written communication
- Curiosity and imagination
Wagner moves into a discussion about "Millennials." I hear people all the time talking about how young people are too entitled, rude, apathetic, and unmotivated. Maybe these young people are differently motivated, and we have been so busy complaining about them, we haven't tried to actually work with them, to hear them, and learn from them. I don't think I need to bring up the infamous Socrates quote about young people. Millennials care about working socially and with meaning - they want their work to have impact. Are we setting the stage to allow for this kind of work, or are we perpetuating the same setting that has been given in school for the past 100 years? "The Millennials are our future. They are the generation who can and must create a healthier, more secure, and sustainable way of life... They need our expertise, guidance, mentoring, and support, but we have to offer our help in a new way." (pg 22)
We can't continue to bring in kids to a classroom, and sit them down to hear a lecture and then work on practice problems and rote memorization style work. The internet (essentially the vastness of all human knowledge) is now at nearly everyone's fingertips. How is cramming content into a kid's head going to serve them in their lives? "Academic content is not very useful in and of itself. It is knowing how to apply it in new situations or to new problems that matters most in the world of innovation." (pg 52)
I believe there is a place for essential literacies in all subject areas. I am questioning how those literacies are delivered in 2017. Must they still be taught in siloed classrooms? Can they not be blended together in a way that better represents the real world and actual connections among the traditionally separate subjects?
I noticed some commonalities among the vignettes. They all had adults that allowed them to pursue their passion inspite of the way things have always been done. All of the young people were humble - not hyperconfident or imposing. Each of the young people were creators, not consumers, of content. And in each of the stories, I saw a little of myself as a learner many years ago, or as a teacher making some questionable moves in the early days of my career. Reflection requires an honest look at mistakes we have made, otherwise we do not learn from them.
If we want young people coming into society as adults thinking about being anything other than AVERAGE, we have to change how we embrace young learners. Christine Saunders from Vanderbilt University says (pg 206), "It shocks me the number of young people who have no idea what they are interested in because they have been pushed to achieve versus pushed to explore."
Now we have another generation of youth, Generation Z, preparing to take the stage. Hopefully they will not earn the condemnation and ire that we handed to the Millennials. These young people are the first truly digital natives, born in a world with digital technology in hand. Can we leverage these new learners and push past our own fears of failure or of taking blame to give young people a chance to show us what they are really made of?