Fixing What's Broken in Education

Now, more than ever, it’s vital we rethink our approach to education.
Yet in spite of all the challenges we face, a clear pathway to educational transformation does exist. Learn how in this week's video.

Watch the entire 6-part series about engaging students today while building the classroom of tomorrow:

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[AlyssaLCampos]

I have been moving my classroom in this direction this year! And I love it.

[DJ]

I have pretty much created my entire middle schools business And computer technology classes curriculum for the past 8 years. 99% online learning so I was ready for the pandemic. Our district was not. I’m looking forward to joining the fight to get this new strategy of teaching/learning into the classrooms

[sandycolin]

Thank you! I'm looking forward to the series.

[gsmominjapanakasaka]

My mom was a teacher. As was my neighbor who was like a second mom. Looking forward to the rest of the videos.

[bridayware]

Thanks. Sam! I’m ready to hear more about UDL…can’t wait to hear your innovative thoughts and ideas!

[steverogers]

I hate when people say "You didn't get into education for the money", that may be correct but we also didn't get into education to go broke or live paycheck to

[lindasaleski]

It is a game changer. I used UDL with reluctant learners for about 12 years with transformational outcomes!

[HassanAshour]

I will be waiting for more videos to show how you will pave the way for teaching, I'm so curious to see the answers to all the questions raised in your video. yes, you are right these are our concerns in teaching.

[anitaweir]

Greater deficit with students and teachers seen this coming with their own students.. Success in the future to solve problems with creativity and technology, and team building in the future with technology..

[anitaweir]

I think teachers are looking for future leaders in education a few of us need to step up!!

[rafpeeters]

A true edvocate of udl there, Sam! Likeminded here. Just got the self-assesment on the edcomp framework (translated to our g4e tools) out to 700 educators. It's a simple google form but based on the result it gives you next steps ( kahoot, peardeck, ...). Looking forward to giving those next steps pd sessions.

[vironpayne]

I thoroughly enjoy your informative videos on using technology in education. Thank you.

Having said that, please let me share what I have learned from the otherside, the non-educator side. I have a fairly broad background from telecommunications in the military, surgical instrument manufacturing, oilfield construction and maintenance, structural steel fabrication, etc.

I would however speak from the perspective of my two older brothers that are engineers. One is an industrial robotics engineer and the other retired from Lockheed Martin as an electromagnetics engineer. My oldest brother, Will, was on as many as six "Tiger Teams." (top professionals assigned to fix projects having severe problems) Both lamented how hard it is to find good engineers.

In example Will was placed over a team of 300 engineers to salvage a major project. Of over 300 engineers only about 30 could do engineering work. Of the 30, three including himself were carrying the project. Almost every other engineer on the project was a "PowerPoint Status Fairy."

Will spent his career designing and fixing bad designs of military avionics. Some projects he worked on were the F-16 (design), F-22 (fixing), C-130 (upgrading, fixing design), C-5 (upgrading, fixing design).

My middle brother, Barry, bankrupted a government contractor by leaving out the "secret sauce" of a $0.25 leaf spring. He was the engineer help desk for SKA an engineering firm that represented gearbox manufactures in the southeast. SKA and other firm bid on a contract to build pop-up targets for the military. Another firm won at a lower bid. The other firm asked for Barry's assistance in design as they indicated the would be buying from SKA. My brother thought they were trying to get free engineering and were going to use a cheaper drop-in replacement. So his boss told him to leave out the secret sauce. Barry engineered everthing including the holes to mount the leaf spring, but left out the leaf spring. The other firm used another firm's cheaper gearbox and the targets started breaking gearboxes after about 5000 cycles.

The other company couldn't comeback to my brother. They couldn't fix the problem, or figure out what the two extra holes were for. They went bankrupt in about two years over a $0.50 leaf spring that would have dampened the load on the gearbox.

I could tell at least a half dozen other similar stories.

The point is, if I showed the Youtube video and web site of the ladies who push "hyperdocs" to my oldest brother especially. He would rip his hair out, set his head on fire and scream, "This, THIS is what is #%@* wrong with education! Everyone is @$*% PowerPoint status fairy and no one knows how to do real work anymore."

My middle brother did a stint with Seimans during Gulf War 1 designing the robotic line to build the Jdam missles. They fired him he and another engineer would not sign their non-disclosure contract because of its impossible wording. Barry and Brad were fired months later after they completed the project.

They started another company that was doing well until COVID shutdown the automotive industry. ASI had about 500 employees. Now they are backdown to about 40.

Sam, how do we as educators get students from the social virtual world to the real tangible world?

Most 5th graders can't even make a decent paper airplane!

Swiping a screen can be done by a child with an IQ below 50 and severe vision impairment. "How do we as educators connect the real and the virtual in a meaningful way to impact the future?

Or, does everything get designed and built in Asia, while Americans swipe right.

[judihenry]

I've taken two courses of UDL from my district. Would love to have a refresher. Is this upcoming course free?