I am a person stuck on a weird divide on the fence of education. My one foot on one side of the fence understands that the college system has not really changed much and my son is approaching an age where he will learn to play the game of school and must learn to learn through antiquated methods to be prepared for the same expectations of college.
My other foot on the other side of the fence as an educator that sees students losing a love of learning and not engaged in classrooms because classroom teaching has not changed in decades. When we don’t engage in inquiry and social aspects of learning we are doing a disservice to our youth.
As a student taking college courses I grow frustrated by the systems. I have teacher friends able to be grandfathered into a CS endorsement because they taught keyboarding or digital skills class and know very little about CS. Yet; they have a piece of paper stating they know what to do and how to teach. Here I sit paying $1200 for a course and learned nothing because I already know a great deal about CS. I gained not one idea to improve my learning, teaching, and leading.
When I work and explore with schools in my state around Competency Based Education, I wonder why I cannot showcase a portfolio of learning to show my skills. I am jumping through hoops, playing the game of education, and this frustrates me. The money and time spent jumping through hoops prevented my learning journey as projects, research, and reading I could have done was not achievable as I played the game of school.
So, if higher education will force people to jump through hoops and hold them accountable to doing the work, at what point can students hold institutions accountable and if they cannot deliver learning, then we should be able to earn a refund?
If nothing else, let me pay the money and earn the credit. I can always earn more money, but I can never get back time and energy defending ideas I already know.
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