Why Are We Learning Any of This Anyway?
In the past weeks we’ve witnessed an unprecedented nationwide initiative to eliminate gatherings as legislators attempt to slow the spread of COVID-19. While businesses try to weather the storm by forcing vacations or asking employees to work from home, most schools have opted to shut their doors for the foreseeable future. In place of physical classes, many teachers will be offering online lessons so that students can continue to learn. But we all know this is far from ideal. In fact, rather than entertain the illusion that students will maintain a normal pace, Texas Governor Greg Abbott waived this year’s STAAR exams (my state’s annual standardized tests).
As with so many other recent announcements, this set off a flurry of messages among teachers, parents, and students struggling to make sense of a scenario that would have seemed impossible just one week ago. Amid these discussions, one recurring question troubled me:
“So, if STAAR tests are cancelled, why are we doing online education?”
I first became exposed to this line of thinking in the spring of 2012, my first year teaching and the last year of TAKS testing. By May, TAKS tests were over and, for the life of them, my students could not understand why I insisted on teaching throughout that final month of the school year. Without a standardized test, what was the point of learning?
But, such sentiments aren’t reserved to high-school students itching for summer. From the perspective of mainstream culture, we learn as a means to an end. Paternalistic governments set standards and, like good subjects, we maintain the educational ritual. When our children ask “why do I have to learn this?” the answer is obvious - because this is how it has always been - this is the game. We want our children to do well on tests so they can go to a university where we hope they do well on tests so they can get a reliable job. The point of school becomes to help students jump over these hurdles. And if a governor eliminated this year’s hurdles, there would be no point in learning anything. Right?
To clarify, students will still earn credit for this year’s STAAR exams if they pass the associated core classes. That is the short answer for why most Texas schools are doing online classes. But is this really the only reason for keeping classes running?
It is common to fixate on measurements and, in the process, lose the purpose that inspired those metrics in the first place. People obsess on the bathroom scale, rather than focusing on overall health. We chase higher salaries, rather than focusing on a better quality of life. And we pursue standardized test scores, without ever reflecting on why we are educating in the first place.
Long ago a collection of course subjects were determined core and a template was set for educating the masses. Since then we’ve tinkered with some of the methods and added a few neat toys, but education remains handcuffed by its original framework. Most have forgotten that the purpose of school is not to ensure that students can divide square roots or identify labor unions from the progressive era. It isn’t to get high SAT scores or even high graduation rates. These are simply metrics. The point of education is to learn. But learn what and, aside from meeting state standards, why would you want to learn in the first place?
Obesity, depression, anxiety, and suicides are steadily increasing, and the number of annual overdoses has more than tripled over the past 20-years. Our environment floods us with supernormal stimuli as marketers utilize powerful algorithms and the latest neuroscience to manipulate behavior. To ignore these powerful draws would be like super intelligent moths deciding not to educate their children about the best methods of avoiding bright lights.
We are living through the Fourth Industrial Revolution. No one has any idea what specific content will be most important for our children in their futures. A student might spend years learning Mandarin, only to find that twenty years from now a new headset seamlessly translates languages in real time. Amid rapid technological innovation, educational experts have determined that what really matters is building learning skills that set the foundation for better judgment and future learning. In particular, they have highlighted the Four C’s - Creativity, Critical Thinking, Communication, and Collaboration. These meta-skills defy simplistic measurement. Teachers can’t roll out a standardized program to get there. They have to become experts themselves, who can adapt and integrate lessons to the context at hand. Furthermore, these skills aren’t limited to traditional subject categories. Any interest can be a portal.
If anything, COVID-19 is evidence that we need the capacity to adapt - that in this unpredictable world there is nothing you can learn that compares to the immense power of developing a desire to learn. As philosopher, Eric Hoffer, writes, “In a world of change, the learners shall inherit the earth, while the learned shall find themselves perfectly suited for a world that no longer exists.” The reality is that most of the content that would have been learned in these coming weeks would have been forgotten over summer break. The point has never been what is learned so much as the mindsets, values, and learning skills that are supposed to come with those lessons. Unfortunately, these less quantifiable ends are often sacrificed in pursuit of the quick and superficial.
Throughout history, times of trial have always sparked the most innovation. Our moment offers us an opportunity to re-evaluate the purpose behind education. Have we as a society determined that the point of life is simply to optimize comfort and status - that nothing matters unless it is for points? Or, can we heed the wisdom of ages and our abundant psychological literature, which tell us that fulfilling lives are the result of purpose and growth? Can we use this moment as an inflection point to reconnect with the inherent value of learning?