The education system that implemented in schools today is a very outdated model based on a “one-size-fits-all” scheme, in “the interests of industrialization and in the image of it” (Robinson). It was designed more than 100 years ago, the school system was preparing a workforce specifically for the factory based, industrialized economy. How can this system, which was built for mass general education, be redesigned to meet the needs of each individualized student? This system is based towards standardization. The government faces a similar problem when jets were being used in World War II. The jets were being made for an “average sized” pilot, and being mass produced. In test flying, there was an alarming high rate of crashes, and it was discovered that the crashes were correlated with way the jets were made. There was no “average sized” pilot, and this problem was fixed when the jets became customizable, and different pilots could set the settings needed to fly. Can the same customization process be done for education and the learning process? Not only in school and at home, education should be an active-participating process for the students the learning environment that surrounds them. Because the current education system if failing to meet the needs of students, it is failing them by obligating them to be obedient, not to question the teachers about procedures, and most importantly, students are taught to feel inferior, out of power in their own learning activities. The current education system does not give all children equal learning opportunities, limiting the students from their socioeconomic status to personal learning disabilities. The system should be based around the question “How to learn?” instead of “What to learn?”. Students from all over the world are to take the PISA, a unique standardized test. Results show that American students ranked well below their other fellow industrial countries (PBS, 2016). Nevertheless, in the reading portion of the test, American students, in schools that serve fewer than ten percent of poverty, ranked first in the world. The problem is that America has a child poverty rate twice as high than Canada and Germany, and these out perform the United States (PBS, 2016). These countries who outperform the United States have a percentage very low of kids in poverty. Nationwide, over one third of students from low income communities do not finish high school. “The achievement gap is caused by the opportunity gap” (PBS, 2016). Schools must head in the direction of closing that achievement gap, by providing equal educational opportunities to all students. How can this be done? Students from low income homes are more susceptible to risks that affect learning. These children affected by the daily stresses of this quality of life come into the classroom unprepared to learn. This causes children to fall behind, unable to pay attention. Eric Pakulak, a researcher neuroscientist from the University of Oregon, experimented the cognitive process of focusing attention with preschool students. Using an EEG measuring the brain waves of the child, Palulak had the student sit in a room with a speaker on each side. One speaker played a story with pictures, and the other played a second story the child was asked to ignore. Coming out of each speaker was intermittent sounds which Palulak used to measure which story the child was more focused on. He concluded that the ability to focus is directly correlated to the socioeconomic status of the child. Everything that happens at home will affect the child’s cognitive processes and how the child processes information in the school environment, and some effects can even affect the child well into adulthood. The current education system is faced with the problem that every student comes in with a particular set of learning skills, but not everyone has the correct tools to do so. The system, right now, has no regard for the fact that not every student is on the same learning level. Most of the students entering middle school are really good at “copying” but do not know how to answer when a critical thinking question was thrown their way (PBS, 2016). Students should be taught how to be able to retrieve past information taught in school more effectively, instead of making them memorize it again and again, the “How to learn?” approach. Danah Henriksen, an assistant professor at Arizona State University in the Mary Lou Fulton Teacher’s College in Division of Educational Leadership and Innovation, explains that “transdisciplinary thinking skills are cognitive tools that emerge and recur through the research on extraordinary thinkers” (Henriksen). She explores the seven cognitive skills a person possesses. The first skills she presents the reader is perceiving, which requires observing and imaging. Henriksen describes this skill as the first step to understanding anything, because it involves paying close attention through the five senses; imaging is the process of re-observing something mentally. The second cognitive skill is patterning, which includes recognizing and forming patterns. The next cognitive process Henriksen presents is abstracting, which involves capturing the essential nature of something, grasping its essence. The fourth process is embodied thinking, which involves the two skills of kinesthetic thinking (thinking with the body) and empathizing (imagining feeling what another person feels). The fifth cognitive skill everyone possesses is modeling. This skill involves building a model using all previous mentioned cognitive skills, requiring the use of abstract thinking, divergent thinking, and dimensional thinking. The next skill is play, which is what people do for the fun of it. It is, as Henriksen puts it, “using knowledge, body, mind and abilities for the pure enjoyment of using them” (Henriksen). The last cognitive process Henriksen presents in her book is called synthesizing. This cognitive skill unites all other cognitive skills discussed and researched previously. These cognitive skills are essential to the teaching and learning experience. Heriksen supports the argument that the education system needs to implement a way to develop these very important cognitive skills, supporting the “how to learn?” stance. “The hard sciences are thought of as objective, analytical and replicable, with a clear process for problem solving. The arts, literature, and music, however, are typically perceived as softer, more subjective, empathic, and tetinimitable. Despite this, many scientists and engineers use the arts as scientific tools, and insights of the artistic have paved the way for successive scientific discoveries and their practical applications. If learning to think creatively in one discipline opens the door to creativity in other disciplines, there may be a unique structure of thought processes, or habits of thinking, that are generally shared by creative people and innovators” (Henriksen). Another problem the education system faces is the role of the parents and their participation in it. Parents are of critical importance in helping children in the learning process, and they learn better. The education system is failing to effectively engage the parents in the learning process by assuming no responsibility in it. Children spend 75% of their waking hours at home, but the education system does very little to implement any educational experience in this time. Reading is a critical skill, and studies show that low income students lose most of it during the summer months. Known as summer learning loss, this contributes to the achievement gap. This problem is also evidence that parents are left out of the educational process their children are taking a part of. The parents possess a set complementary set of cognitive skills that work with their children. Joanna Christodoulou, a neuroscientist, explains that one first learns to read to then read to learn. This means that the child must learn to read, in early education, to be able to learn. Christodoulou explains that reading is not a skill the brain is wired to do, and it requires the child to train regions of the brain, designed for other purposes, and organize them to be able to read. The child’s environment has a huge role in the development of Broca’s area, responsible for language production, and Wernicke’s area, responsible for language comprehension. It is proven that early reading problems causes learning set backs later in the child’s life. Students from low income and less advantaged households might have a slowed down development in parts od the brain that are critical to reading and language. Joanna Christodoulou found a very strong (negative) correlation between the development of Broca’s area and socioeconomic status. Neuroplasticity is the brain’s ability to respond to changes in environment and behavior. As well making the brain extremely enhanceable, neuroplasticity can also make the brain extremely vulnerable to negative changes. Chronic stress is a very negative factor that makes the brain susceptible to negative effects. Stress can weaken development in areas of the brain that are in charge of the ability to learn and to process emotions. The learning brain and the emotional brain of a child is a developed in the limbic system, which includes the hippocampus, very important for memory, and the amygdala, which acts as the body’s detector for any problems. If the amygdala detects any problem, it acts like a smoke detector, and it releases the stress hormone, cortisol. If the stress becomes chronic, the amygdala will continue to pump cortisol, which will flood the whole body, and it initiates the person into a state of “high alert”. This chronic release of cortisol to the brain can disrupt the chemical balance and structure of the limbic system. Stress is a very big factor impeding the child from coming to school ready to learn. A prevention for this stress problem is human interaction, a buffer. If a child feels safe and nurtured, stress is lowered. A positive social classroom environment works best to lower stress levels in students. School readiness entitles a safe, joyous, engaged, positive educational community. Grit, meaning the ability to work through obstacles, or determination, is a strong predictor of success. Both, IQ and character, are genetic and learned. Students need motivation and inspiration to spark curiosity to be able to learn. They should be taught perseverance, to not give up when they fail. This is implemented by teaching the student to constantly challenge themselves in everything they do. When students challenge themselves, they are able to do things they thought unimaginable before. Although, learning to challenge oneself may not be enough in itself to succeed educationally, it encourages students to keep trying. A teaching environment that nurtures the student’s positive personal qualities is nothing new as an education practice. The 1960’s and 1970’s was called the Cognitive Revolution, in which there was a shift in understanding human behavior by studying human behavior and human emotion. Sal Khan, creator of Khan Academy, approaches the strategy that teaching the student that they can learn, will help them learn more effectively. “In order for someone to really achieve their potential, they have to really believe in themselves” (Khan). Inspired by his niece, Khan established a non-for-profit online tutorial service, Khan Academy. For over a decade, Khan Academy was posting online tutorial videos for a wide variety of subjects, but now has decided to add something Khan noticed is missing from the current education system. In his program, he added short mindset interventions. Khan noticed there is a stigma when the student gets something wrong, the student feels the stress and burden of failure. Khan Academy provides a safe-to-fail learning environment that helps the student with encouragement and learning strategies and approaches. The program encourages the student to keep trying, being praised and rewarding for, not only getting the answers right, but for retrying the exercises again and again. This program, known as Learn Storm, is evidence that cognitive learning and technology are becoming, very slowly, intertwined and intersected. Technology is a huge factor in the customization of the education process, shifting away from average and focusing on the individualism and needs of the student. There should be a value of the student’s time. Technology is not a solution, nevertheless it serves as a tool.
