The US educational system is broken.
The US on average is 24th in the world in science, 40th in the world at math, 24th in the world at reading comprehension.
A students’ happiest day is in kindergarten and happiness at school goes down every year consistently, until they are juniors, and can see light at the end of the tunnel.
In 1970, only 2.7% of students enrolled at private Catholic schools were non-Catholic. During the 2022-2023 school year, 22% of enrolled students at U.S. Catholic elementary and secondary schools were non-Catholic. Parents are desperately looking for alternatives to the broken public school system.
As of the year 2000, more than sixteen states have put forward a referendum to allow for a school choice voucher, including:
Arizona
Florida
Indiana
Louisiana
Oklahoma
Tennessee
North Carolina
Utah
Wisconsin
Ohio
Georgia
Mississippi
Arkansas
Missouri
Massachusetts
Texas
To cap it all, the teacher attrition rate was 7.7% in 2022-23, up from 6.2% in 2021-22 and 5.4% in 2020-21. In Pennsylvania, where the study was conducted, that comes out to nearly 9,600 teacher leaving their job in 2022-23, nearly doubling the number of newly certified teachers.
How Do We Fix it?
Innovative approaches to 21st century education have emerged, many of them leveraging advanced, adaptive learning algorithms designed to tailor the educational experience to each student.
One of the more prominent examples is an institution called “Alpha School”.
Alpha students only spend two hours on core academics, but learn 2x as much as they would in 6 hours in standard school.
How?
Adaptive AI tutors adjust to each student's learning style (auditory, visual, tertiary) and provide personalized instruction in core subjects like reading, math, and writing.
Noise-canceling phone booths allow students to focus on their work and limit distractions.
They utilize a range of educational apps that are designed to be engaging and interactive, and that adapt to the student's progress and level of understanding.
Real-time analytics provide insights into student performance and progress, allowing teachers to adjust their instruction accordingly.
The curriculum is aligned with state and national standards, but also goes beyond traditional standards to foster creativity and critical thinking skills.
This paradigm allows for deep work. We are not designed to focus and learn for six hours a day. We have maybe two hours a day where we can do deep, creative work and learning.
What about socialization?
If you’re stuck on a screen all day, won’t this create a group of awkward screenagers?
Students only spend two hours a day on traditional classroom learning in their booths. The rest of the time, they're engaged in a variety of activities designed to develop their skills and passions.
For example, they might spend time working on passion projects, collaborating on group projects, engaging in hands-on learning activities, or exploring creative pursuits.
The idea is to create a more flexible and personalized approach to education that allows students to follow their interests and develop their unique talents and strengths. The two hours of core instruction provides the foundation of knowledge, while the rest of the day is focused on developing the whole child.
Isn’t this radical? Or at the very least, experimental?
Scandinavian counties like Finland and Sweden have been following this approach since the turn of the century.
In Scandinavia, there's a strong emphasis on outdoor education and learning through play, exploration, and hands-on activities. This approach is known as "friluftsliv" in Norwegian and "friluftsliv" in Swedish. It encourages students to connect with nature, develop their physical and mental well-being, and cultivate a sense of curiosity and independence.
And the proof is in the pudding. According to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development’s (OECD’s) Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), Finland topped the charts in the year 2000 and has consistently remained in the top ten.
But perhaps more impressive, its students displayed remarkably low variability across schools (8 percent versus 30 percent OECD-wide) and within schools. In other words, even Finland’s below-average schools still prepare students to succeed in their personal and professional lives.
American students ranked 31st on the most recent iteration of the exam, which tests 15-year-olds around the world on multiple subjects.
Do They Spend More Money?
In 2016, the Finnish National Education Agency reported that Finland spent the equivalent of about $10,000 per student on basic education—less than the US average and about half of what top-spending states dole out.
What About Cultural Differences?
Finland’s success cannot be attributed solely to societal differences. As Columbia University’s Samuel Abrams has noted, Finland’s scores have surpassed those of other Nordic countries despite similar levels of child welfare, social support, and homogeneity. Improvements within the last few decades are products of sound policy and practices.
Finland has defined education as a way to “support pupils’ growth into humanity and into ethically responsible membership of society and to provide them with knowledge and skills needed in life.”
American education reform, on the other hand, has focused on increasing standards and accountability measures ever since the 1983 Nation at Risk report identified failing schools as a primary threat to American economic dominance.
What are the key facets that Finland has utilized?
Finnish education is based on a clearly stated vision of target abilities, rather than prescriptive, content-based curriculum.
They recruit talented teachers, train them well, then give them autonomy
according to the Finnish National Agency for Education, 90 percent of teachers report being satisfied with their job.
Compare this with the American 7.7% in 2022-23 attrition rate for teachers.
They give students rights and agency over their own learning
In Finland, the 1998 Basic Education Act entitles students to pre-primary education, a safe learning environment, and instruction that includes guidance counseling and learning support.
Teachers and administrators routinely referenced children’s rights to shorter days, healthier lunches, less homework, and 15 minutes of physical activity for every 45 minutes of class.
This is the promise that can be fulfilled by institutions like Alpha. Adaptive, tailored learning that allows students the autonomy to follow their passions and do what feels right to them, all while continuing to learn the core competencies of reading comprehension, math, and writing.
Currently, when a student can’t sit still for longer than an hour, we diagnose them with ADD and put them on medication. We alter their brain chemistry, rather than admit our institutions are medieval and our educational system is Victorian.
The current system doesn’t work. Not for parents, not for teachers, not for students. It’s time to fix it.
Very enlightening view of our educational system in this country. A sad testament to what is happening, & what we could and should be going better. One of among many of our other systems & programs that are broken in this this country! :(