Education Innovation in the Slums

I spend a lot of my time reading about educational innovation and researching what is working in states, schools and cities similar to mine. It seems as though if we could just replicate what others are doing that is working we would see a huge change in our schools that are still falling short. Charles Leadbeater, a member of the London think tank Demos, has had the opportunity to travel to some desperate areas in Africa, Asia and India where they are making radical changes to their education systems. He outlines some of these changes in his TED Talk linked below.

Three things from Charles' Talk stuck out to me the most. First, the idea of a McDonalds Model of education. Everyone knows what to expect from a McDonalds chain - all restaurants are similar and reliable whether in Phoenix or Philadelphia. This idea is linked to taking what is working in one school and simply replicating it in another school, in another area and expecting the same results. Charles relates this to the 19th century or factory model of educating.  Instead he poses the idea of a Chinese Restaurant Model of education. There are very few Chinese restaurant chains yet we all know a Chinese restaurant when we see one. This model of education would have schools that operate with the same underlying principle but with varying applications and subtle differences based on the conditions of their setting. In essence, schools that meet the needs of their environment instead of pushing one "chain" model of education that is indifferent to location.

Second is the idea of providing "disruptive innovation" in "informal settings." The large school with classrooms and desks for all students is not a reality in many places. How do you begin to see other settings as opportunities for education and how do we push innovation so that it is not a small change but instead disrupts the current state of education in a positive, productive and supported way?

The third idea that Charles shared that resonated with me is where we look for the answers and ideas. Right now, according to all the test scores, Finland has the answer. They are leading the way in education for the rest of the world. And they are, Finland is doing great things but he would suggest that we also pay attention to areas where education affords individuals the opportunity to earn a living that literally saves their lives. Areas where there is a huge need, an unmet demand and not enough resources. Areas that must figure out how to pull individuals into their system not push their system on the individuals.

http://www.ted.com/talks/charles_leadbeater_on_education.html??utm_medium=social&source=email&utm_source=email&utm_campaign=ios-share