In David Brooks’ article “Schools for Wisdom”, he discusses how the current school system we use is based on a 100 year old Prussian idea to cram as much information as possible into a student’s head, information that can be simply looked up by a computer. He tells us that this type of system is outdated and doesn’t meet the criteria of what is needed in the current work force. Frankly I agree with him, the current school system drills fact after fact into people’s head until they memorized them all. |
Now Brooks tells us of a solution, project based learning (PBL). PBL is where a team of students are tasked with finding a solution or explaining a problem based on a driving question. This is said to help students collaborate, communicate and lead more effectively. With my experience dealing with PBL, I will have to agree with these points, I have not only gotten better at collaborating, communicating and leading people, but my self-confidence and social skills have vastly improved.
Brooks says that although PBL is a great idea there can be some problems with it if it isn’t balanced with textbook and lecture learning. If not balanced out PBL can decrease the knowledge and the wisdom of students. Knowledge is the processing of facts and making connections, which computers are not very good at. To obtain this knowledge you must first set up a concrete fundamental base of information. What Brooks doesn’t mention is how too much PBL won’t allow the students to develop good study habits which can be detrimental for them when they go into college.
The current school system these days just isn’t cutting it. Students need to learn 21stcentury skills that are necessary for today’s work force. Schools need to find a happy medium between what we have now and PBL before it’s too late for some students, who never learned the crucial skills PBL teaches us.
-Noah
Brooks, David. "Schools for Wisdom." The New York Times. 12 Oct. 2015. Web. 25 Oct. 2015.
Brooks says that although PBL is a great idea there can be some problems with it if it isn’t balanced with textbook and lecture learning. If not balanced out PBL can decrease the knowledge and the wisdom of students. Knowledge is the processing of facts and making connections, which computers are not very good at. To obtain this knowledge you must first set up a concrete fundamental base of information. What Brooks doesn’t mention is how too much PBL won’t allow the students to develop good study habits which can be detrimental for them when they go into college.
The current school system these days just isn’t cutting it. Students need to learn 21stcentury skills that are necessary for today’s work force. Schools need to find a happy medium between what we have now and PBL before it’s too late for some students, who never learned the crucial skills PBL teaches us.
-Noah
Brooks, David. "Schools for Wisdom." The New York Times. 12 Oct. 2015. Web. 25 Oct. 2015.