Rex has an uncanny ability to assemble and lead the right people in the right manner and shed light on some of the most important and complicated issues of our time.
To tackle K–12 education, Rex assembled some of the nation's best educators, teachers, government representatives, architects, contractors and furnishing and environmental specialists. The result of two years of work is this wonderful expose of some of the most amazing education success stories you've ever read.
Humanizing the Education Machine is a lively read that immediately grabs our attention and doesn't let go. The stories are fun and the message provides a fresh way of thinking about education. The book gives a road map of the paths to personal learning experiences that engage our students and inspire them to learn.
After decades of propping up an outdated model, isn't it time for our schools to do better? Shouldn't they reflect the human principles we hold most dear – the ability to be an individual in every sense, including the way we learn? Isn't it our real goal to create a student body in this country that consists of self-motivated and enthusiastic lifelong learners who follow a path that is most appropriate and fulfilling for each individual?
This book is amazingly powerful in its ability to help us achieve that goal.
FOREWORD
Like so many others, I grew up struggling in traditional classroom environments. Having been diagnosed with ADD as an adult, I finally understood some of my challenges with traditional education in a small-town public school. Physically, classrooms represented a tense place for students like me. Unfortunately, they continue to be the same for many students today.
Classrooms of multiple rows of desks and chairs all facing a single plain chalkboard give energetic children no physical outlets for their natural energy. That layout increases distractions and disengagement. In that built environment, the students who live and work at the behavioral extremes are often underserved, their talent unrecognized and their possibilities undeveloped. Our genuine efforts to leave no child behind leaves a sad wake of unrealized talent and unfulfilled dreams because we fail to engage our kids.
Fortunately, Lorraine Moore, my mother, passed on her passion for education to me. She always reminded me that we had both an opportunity and a responsibility to make a difference for the children of this country. That idea and her drive gave me the opportunity and confidence to turn my experience into doing that – I have found great satisfaction working to make a difference by giving all students the right spaces, tools, and advocates.
MooreCo was invited to join MindShift so that we could lend our industry experience to this wide-ranging assembly of education (and other) professionals. We have all worked to understand the past, current, and future of education. And I am proud of how our eye-opening experiences are so well reflected in Humanizing the Education Machine. The book gives a compelling contrast to the current and outdated education model. Readers will clearly see a better path to how we train and equip our kids for the future.
FOREWORD
We've all heard the sobering data documenting our schools' failure to meet the needs of today's students and employers. We at Bretford see that the real issue behind that failure is a design problem: Our schools continue to function very much as they did a century ago.
But, of course, the challenge facing educators has changed dramatically over that period. The skills that will define students' future success have changed. And students themselves have changed: They're simply and verifiably wired differently from previous generations.
According to the National Association of Colleges and Employers, working well as a team is what today's companies seek and value most in their workforces. But students won't have a chance to learn to collaborate until we see dramatic changes in the design of our K–12 classrooms and teaching practices.
In leading a company that manufactures furniture to support more active, engaging, and collaborative learning environments, I've seen firsthand how the design of learning spaces transforms the activities and outcomes that occur there. And I'm deeply encouraged that futurist Rex Miller has chosen to explore this topic in his new book.
Humanizing the Education Machine provides stories and strategies that give inspiring alternatives to the status quo. This book reveals the approaches that are working for all students, enabling us to see what's possible if we have the courage to chart a new course for K–12 education.
The changes presented in these changes are desperately needed. I commend Rex for taking on this subject. We at Bretford are committed to supporting K–12 leaders and students in this critical journey.
PREFACE
As you read the pages ahead, you will see that change is the backdrop issue in this book. Of course, change is the real issue in so much of life. That's why wise people learn to relate to change in intelligent and appropriate ways.
My friend Dan Boggio, is the founder and CEO of PBK Architects, Inc., the largest architectural firm for educational facilities in the United States. Dan also served on the MindShift K–12 project that drove this book.
After 40 years of working with various levels of government, school boards, and other bureaucracies, Dan understands the dynamics of change. When he recently told me his view of why school districts continue to build facilities that are a half-century behind the times, he exposed the true face of change.
“Because school districts are bureaucracies, they are always subject to the political pressures that shape any city. Elected officials always strive to make sure that everyone feels treated equally. So to approve a new, progressive, learning-friendly environment is to invite opposition.”
Secondly, Dan told me, “Most senior administrators – the decision makers – are in the final phase of their careers. So they are not inclined to be trailblazers. Retirement is coming up fast. Playing it safe and avoiding controversy are very important in that time of life. They all know that the ‘cutting edge’ is also the ‘bleeding edge.’”
And, third, as Dan said, “Most senior administrators are generally from a generation that was trained in the old ‘factory model’ school environment. They do not understand or trust the new thinking.”
However, the good news is that change is coming faster than some think. Dan reports that, even though most of PBK's work still supports the factory model, “.. about 20 percent of our work is what I consider progressive.” Dan also sees that, as younger people (including digital natives) move into the senior executive roles, they are turning the tide toward learning-friendly design.
We're all joining a battle that has raged a very long time. So it's helpful to hear from a seasoned veteran who has been out on the front lines of change. The past always fights with bloody tenacity to remain. We all have to see it, understand it, and deal with it as we work for change.
But, Dan's view also delivers good news for change agents. New blood has already entered into the cultural veins. For example, digital natives are already bringing renewal, renovation, and a bright future. The past views them as a threat. And rightly so; after all, they are forerunners of a new day.
CHAPTER 1
NUMBERS DON'T LIE
You never change things by fighting the existing reality.
To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete.
Did you know that 70 percent of teachers have mentally checked out of teaching? How is that possible? These are not bad people. They all started out inspired, hopeful, courageous, and even playful. Some of our best novels and films – such as Dangerous Minds, Stand and Deliver, Lean on Me, Up the Down Staircase, and Goodbye, Mr. Chips —have featured these noble, exciting, and often daring figures.
But