Are we teaching what they need to learn?

American schools are failing. That is a fact that cannot be debated. We can debate the causes for it, but our schools are failing. We are turning kids out who cannot read, who cannot use arithmetic, use cannot think abstractly or rationally, who cannot seek out information, who cannot communicate information, who are not prepared for the future. One of the biggest questions we must ask ourselves, are we teaching what we should be teaching?

I believe schools should be teaching three main things. First, how to collect information. Second, how to use information. Third, how to express information. Let's look at these in depth.

How to collect information. The normal way a student collects information is either directly from the teacher or from a book. The book is either a textbook or a book in the library. These are useful ways of finding information, however, in the modern world, what is the main source of finding information? Google.

216 million people in the United States used the internet in 2007. That is 71% of the population. In China, over 220 million people used the internet. An estimated 1.5 billion people use the internet worldwide. Of the searches performed on the internet, over 60% were performed using Google. Are we teaching students how to search on Google? Do students know the difference between .com and .net? Are you teaching them how to use the internet?

In July of 2008,over 69 million people found health information online. This information is extremely important to everyone, not only people in the medical field. Are students in our schools learning how to find this information online? Are they learning how to know if the source they found is trustworthy?

In everyday life, a person does not have access to an expert (which is who a student is asking when they ask a teacher) or a library. How often do you carry a textbook to work or keep one handy when walking through a city? However, we do have access to the internet. Access to the internet is no longer restricted to the home or office. We have immediate access to the internet in restaurants, hotels, and our cell phones. We do not even have to be inside to access the internet. It is imperative that all students know how to use the internet, how to find information, and how to judge the reliability of the information.

Second, how to use information. When students find this information, they need to know how to process it. One of the most important tools we have to process information is math. According to a recent AIR Study, the average US 8th grade student performs at a basic level for math and science. This is unacceptable. Students need to be proficient in algebra. They need to be able to look abstractly at objects. They need to be able to work with numbers and understand what they mean.

It is hard to pick up a newspaper, watch the news, or read the news online without seeing some sort of poll. Most Americans take this at face value without knowing where the numbers come from or how statistics can be manipulated. Students should be taught how to create statistics, how to analyze statistical data, and how statistics can be manipulated.

One of the biggest tools used in the workplace is Microsoft Excel. Most students come in contact with Microsoft Excel in their technology class. However, this is also when they learn about the entire Microsoft Office package. A mere cursory glance is offered at Excel. Students need to be proficient at Excel or other spreadsheet programs. They need to be able to make graphs from it. They need to be able to identify trends and relationships.

In schools, we rarely teach at the higher thinking levels. The reason is "teaching to the test." High stakes testing is heavily tied to how much money a school will get. The better the students do, the better the school looks, and in some cases, the better the paycheck of the teacher. In this scenario, it is better for a teacher to teach what will be on the test. Make sure the student knows certain facts. There is no room for teaching how to analyze or critical thinking skills because money is involved! This is wrong.

Finally, students need to know how to effectively communicate information.

In April of 2008, 11 billion videos were watched online by Americans. Youtube.com alone counts for over 100 million videos per day. There is a lot of information being presented by videos!

As of July 2008, there are over 175 million websites on the internet. There is a lot of information on the web!

In 2005, there was an estimated 4.5 million podcast users. By 2010, it is estimated to be 60 million. There is a lot of information being shared on podcasts!

There is an uncountable number of blogs on the internet. They lost count after 100 million. There is a lot of information being shared on blogs!

Yet what do we continue to teach in schools? How to write a paper. Not just any paper though, the perfect five paragraph hamburger paper. Intro, three body paragraphs (weakest argument in the middle), conclusion. Perfect! Except, how many times do you write five paragraph papers in your job? How often do you read five paragraph papers to find information? How often, outside of school, do you write a five page paragraph to convey an idea?

We must move beyond just writing. Students need to know how to present ideas using multimedia. Not only is the majority of Americans using multimedia to gather information, it also stimulates critical thinking skills. The world is changing. Information must be presented to a changing world. It is not presented by five paragraph papers, but by videos, websites, blogs, Power Point presentations, podcasts, etc...

We must teach students how to find information on their own using the internet, how to analyze information, and how to present it using a variety of medias. If we don't teach them, who will?

I will leave you with this video from youtube. It has already been watched over 2 million times. How many times has your five paragraph paper been read?