Bart Simpson in detention correcting the grammar of Pink Floyd’s ‘Another Brick in the Wall’ song. The song is a protest song that criticises British rigid and controlling schooling system in the 50s.
1. Living in uncertainty
The rise of digital technology has fundamentally changed the way we live, work and communicate. The “tidal wave” of Artificial intelligence, robotics, 3D printers, augmented and virtual reality is now the reality that is making the major transformations in a workplace sector. Not to mention globalisation: fast transportation allows us to live and work in different countries; digital communication helps us to engage with our partners and colleagues across the globe and work remotely. In the meantime, while the Web and technology are changing many important functions of modern society, education remains modelled on an approach developed hundreds of years ago. It has been slow as we have been reluctant to transform the critical task of educating the next generation of citizens and leaders. According to World Economy Forum Study 85 % of jobs that we will have in 10 years do not exist yet. So how do we prepare ourselves and future generations for the ‘uncertain’?
Statistics shows that half of the graduates do not work in their field of study. Unlikely surprising as many students after completing school find themselves struggling to define their interests and skills. Consequently, they often choose to take parents or peers advice. However, when you get into the university you have a freedom to teach yourself the skill you need. But if you have little motivation and interest in the subject you end up contributing to that half of the graduates who do not work in their field of study. And then you ponder your future again…just this time with a debt.
Some believes that choosing your career after high school is too early, but is school education dedicated to enable every child to reach their full potential?
2. If reality is uncertain should education plan for uncertain?
2.1 The past
The school is a place where you learn about the surrounding world and more importantly you learn about yourself, you start building your character and prepare for what the future holds. Early childhood education has a major impact on a child's physical, mental and emotional development. According to the National Scientific Council on the Developing Child, the brain of a child nurtured in safe, loving and secure environments is more likely to develop in a normal and healthy manner compared to that of a child traumatized at least once. There is a direct link between education, architecture and psychology, but it’s usually misplaced in a mechanism of capitalism.
Around 16th century graded schools were introduced in Germany and then spread worldwide. The success could be easily explained: standartised education set clear parameters and rules on which child’s educational progression could be measured. Graded schools practiced one directional teaching, cellular classrooms allowed for direct supervision and instruction, textbooks provided knowledge which was then evaluated by grades.
In 19th century with an industrial revolution such concepts as ‘child centred education’ (1912, Rosenwald schools) ‘informality, flexibility, freedom escalated in the new school ideology. American educationalist and philosopher John Dewey’s raised the idea of ‘’learning by doing’’-if you want to learn and adapt you must interact with the environment. ‘‘I believe that the school must represent present life - life as real and vital to the child as that which he carries on in the home, in the neighbourhood, or on the play-ground’’. [1] Furthermore, Dewey’s education was deeply rooted in democratic principles: teachers and students must learn together and all participants in the learning experience should have equal voice.
Delft Montessori school by Herman Hertzberger, 1960-66. The wide wooden steps as a creative and gathering space has been replicated in many educational projects across Northern Europe .
Between 70s and 90s the concept of community school and lifelong learning –school for all ages at all ages- were introduced in the United Kingdom -‘’to turn the community into a school and the school into a community’’. (Halsey 1972: 79) [2] . A community school was defined as ‘an open school ‘ and ‘openness’ is reflected in classroom practice, administrative processes and purpose- built design: no fences and walls separating students and public, public utilities such as shops, libraries, leisure facilities located on campus as well as open plan teaching areas.
Currently most public schools practice a little bit of John Dewey’s ‘personalised education’ and ‘learning by doing’ philosophy, but there is a lack of connection to reality- the industry. In terms of ‘openness’ of the school and extended learning programme- bureaucracy is complicated and time/ money consuming. To sum up, slightly advanced graded school educational model prevails. However, the difference between 19th century and 21st century teaching is significant. Knowledge is accessible via internet and no more resides within classroom teacher or textbook. What matters are the skills, social abilities and how to use and give the purpose to this available information and data.
2.2 The present - education as network
Personalised education is highly complex. It involves tracking and evaluating student’s interest, motivation, frustration and a number of other personality factors. Silicon Valley is on the case and experiments with traditional education and high-tech learning. AltSchool, created by former Google executive, Max Ventilla, is developing the software that can store a record of each child’s work and progress that can be passed on from teacher to teacher, and teacher to parent, managing test scores, teacher evaluations, and snapshots of physical projects like posters or cardboards creations; Playlist is the student home, an online collection of curriculum units that teachers can stock and sequence for each child [3].
In EAST PALO ALT school, by Dr. Priscilla Chan and her husband, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, parents of students at the school work with coaches and teachers to help write growth plans to measure and track a child’s health, education and social-emotional progress, such as having a healthy relationship with adults or knowing how to ask for assistance [4].
Tahoe expedition academy is a private school that's redesigning education to empower creative problem solvers with a social conscience. The school provides adventures that push students to the edge to build their characters. Each high school senior has spent 130 days away in the past three years, some interviewing refugees in Greece, some going to the American Mexican border to speak to immigration officers [3].
Diane Tavenner, founded Summit’s flagship school, Summit Preparatory Charter High School in 2003, with the mission to prepare a diverse student population for success in college, career and life, and to be thoughtful, contributing members of society. She is also recognized for its commitment to continuous improvement and collaboration, establishing pioneering partnerships across industries, including renowned learning scientists and researchers, universities, technology companies, teacher preparation programs, foundations, and community organizations.
The past few exemplary schools focus on creating a network of relationships starting from relationship with oneself, family, local community and wider society in order to prepare for the uncertain future. It seeks to connect the curriculum to reality by providing practical knowledge and exposing students to current affairs. It enables decision making and encourages asking questions and seeking assistance as not feeling well or not knowing something is part of being a human. And by keeping quiet or in fear we move nowhere.
3. Form follows function
· MVRDV’s Roskilde festival school upcycled old cement factory into a high school which aims to promote the values of the Roskilde Festival through courses in music, media, leadership, politics, art, architecture, and design. [5]
· Rosan Bosch Vittra schools takes down the walls of the cellular classrooms and creates learning landscape which is built around flexibility and differentiated learning situations, where furniture, modules, and spaciousness call for play and creativity. [6]
· Downshall primary school in Essex hosts day centre where older people, some with early dementia, can interact with children. [7]
New ways of learning and teaching requires new types of educational spaces: space for tinkering, discussion, exploration and research. Space for constructing and testing child’s ideas. The place for creativity and self-expression as well as a mechanism that connects pupils with an industry and educates students to be active citizens of the society (N.F.S. Grundtvig,). School should be a new type of playground: fun, encourage curiosity and promote social and ecological values. However, ‘‘play’’ is not always fun, it can also be rude, mean and racist. Therefore, the design should consider elements that promotes pupils’ physical and mental wellbeing. Lack of social spaces to gather and build relationships can result in pupil’s disengagement, insecurity or a sense of not feeling safe, affecting mental health, behaviour and learning.[8]
‘’The school should feel like a shelter from the storm or an oasis in the middle of a desert, a safe haven for the child’s spirit ‘’-Maria Montessori
As the fate of the future lies in the children - the school building is a whole small-scale city. As in all cities there is a hell of a lot of politics and bureaucracy that lies behind. Therefore, for schools to transform- teaching, architecture and politics have to change together. The last but not least, pupils must be involved in their educational system and facility creation, as in these fast pace tech times it’s very often us – the ‘grown ups’ who has to catch up with reality, learn to ‘unlearn’ and change.
During the unprecedented situation now it is clear that the new educational infrastructure is on a way and the school itself will have to become much more versatile, innovative and adapted for home-schooling . We see tv broadcasters, cultural institutions, app developers and teachers uniting and mobilising their powers to help children finish their school year this year. We have the whole blank canvas in front to invent and this time build resilience.
References:
[1] https://infed.org/mobi/john-dewey-my-pedagogical-creed/
[2] http://infed.org/mobi/community-schools-and-community-schooling/
[3] https://www.ft.com/content/d629e512-e805-11e6-967b-c88452263daf
[5] https://www.mvrdv.nl/projects/266/roskilde-festival-h%C3%B8jskole
[6] https://rosanbosch.com/en
[7] https://www.theguardian.com/education/2017/dec/11/primary-school-elderly-people-work-with-young-pupils-essex
[8] https://edexec.co.uk/badly-designed-school-buildings-can-cause-students-to-turn-off-from-learning-and-even-damage-mental-health/
https://www.ahh.nl/index.php/en/projects2/9-onderwijs/114-montessori-school-delft
https://durhamcountylibrary.org/exhibits/jeanes/schools/plans.php
http://hicarquitectura.com/2017/01/herman-hertzberger-delft-montessori-school/
A. Lange (2018) ‘The Design of Childhood: How the Material World Shapes Independent Kids’ (Bloomsbury Publishing; 1 edition )
X.Salle, V.Romagny (2016)“The Playground Project” (Zurich,JRP Ringier,).