Educating the Class of 2034
Return to Proposed Education Manifesto
Change 1 Base Primary Education on Determining a Student's Special Intelligence.
1) Special Intelligence is above average ability a person has in one or more areas of the multiple intelligences which include Mathematical, Spatial, Bodily Movement, Musical, Verbal, Interpersonal,
and Intrapersonal. Curriculum should maximize special intelligence.
2) Core Intelligence centers on mathematical-logical intelligence and verbal intelligence.
Skills related to core intelligence are emphasized by traditional curriculums.              
3) Rewards await people who develop skills associated with their special intelligence provided they have
the minimum core intelligence skills required for their career. In the words of John Dewey..."to prepare
him for the future life means to give him command of himself; it means so to train him that he will have
the full and ready use of all his capacities" My pedagogic creed, Dewey, 1897 Wiki		 Change 3 "Individualize Curriculums" help students discover and enhance their "Special Intelligence."                    
1) Grades one to eight should concentrate on determine and exploring a student's special intelligence while bringing their core intelligence up to an acceptable minimum. Note: This should be a fun time and not the rigor of some Asian countries and tiger mothers of the United States. Such activities caused anxious unhappy students!  If you must test, comparison to those in the student's school and state would limit the negative effects on self-esteem. See No Grades/Homework
2) Career availability information should help students with their curriculum choices.

Since 66% of future jobs require no additional formal education beyond high school, individualized curriculum for many may be more life/career skills oriented. For example, studies show that people with self-control do better in many aspects of life and it can be taught. RSA Animate – Empathic Civilization is just one example of the new areas that limiting concentration to one's special intelligence will allow.
Change 2 A year-round school calendar of four twelve-week terms with 4 plus 2 hour days for Secondary Education will improve learning and decrease cost. The U.S. has the best universities in the world and students only have 15-20 fifty-minute class periods per week. Our most successful students also have structured unstructured time for labs to apply knowledge or get involved with skill improving extracurricular activities. Germany schools produce the world's most productive workers and more than half her students finishes at 1 PM. A 4 plus 2 day has four 50-minutes traditionally structured classes in a row and two hours of structured unstructured time when a student's Individualize Curriculums is determined. Students can work, take more academic classes, volunteer, create a group to compete for academic prizes, attend career-focused academies, play sports or let American ingenuity provide relevant learning experiences.
Change 2 Benefits
1) Studies show students forget more than 10% of their learning during the summer and "lower-class students" lose most. See Summer Setback: Race, Poverty ...Achievement in the First 2 Years
2) A two-tier classroom system has enhanced student work benefits.
3) Financial benefits for teachers result as they can teach overload courses in their off session.
If a system's average teacher earns $50,000/year for sixteen courses or $3,125 per class for a year round morning assignment they could earn say $2000 per course for additional afternoon overload courses. Sixteen overloads cost $32,000 saving $18,000 or 36% of a salary plus fringe benefits and also make for happy teachers. Teachers could also bank the time and take a sabbatical.
4) Economic facilities use would solve housing problems. The potential cost saving for large school systems making maximum use of their facilities are unlimited.
5) Structured Unstructured Time benefits the community. It is spent at school or community facilities to enhance Special Intelligence and also to provide paid/voluntary experiences for students and teachers. John Dewey "...advocated for an educational structure that strikes a balance between delivering knowledge while also taking into account the interests and experiences of the student." Academics will not suffer as trying to enhance intelligence with additional memory training is not money well spent. source 		Change 4 Schools should be academically demanding for those with high math/verbal intelligence and who fill the 22% bachelor's degree or higher jobs.
School curriculums should not so demanding that a substantial number of students drop out or lose confidence. Pre-algebra should only be in the curriculum of student possessing high mathematics intelligence. A nursing student should not have to take statistics (a course I taught for 35 years) because they might someday go on for a master's degree. Nursing isn't about mathematics, little inferential statistics is required.  Nothing is gained from the terror creates in the non-mathematical. See German Educational System
 Change 5 Maslow's hierarchy of needs should be enhanced by education.
1) Esteem is a requirement for self-actualization which is an important goal of human development. Collateral damage from creating low self-esteem is immeasurable. Testing should be career and not performance based. The result should be expressed as being above, at or below their school's performance level.
2 Students, especially in the Primary Grades, should advance at their own pace. 
 Change 6 Tech-based Education  should spread to college education immediately and hopefully to secondary education. This does not mean investing in computers. See Education Week: Software Found to Have Little Effect on Test Scores
Summary We must maximize the minimum for students with average special intelligence while maximizing the maximum for students with really high specially intelligence. We also must minimize the maximum regret that our current system does not do well as demonstrated by many dropouts. Please Share!

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