Guest Columnist – The perfect opportunity for us to dream bigger on education

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IMPULSANDO LA LIBERTAD Y EL PROGRESO

By Angel Merlos

Strategic director of The LIBRE Institute in Colorado.

Haga click aquí para leer la versión en español

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May is start of graduation season—the robes, the ceremony, the music, the celebration. But it is worth pausing to ask, what does a graduation tell us about our children and the education they have received?

Graduation testifies to the tenacity of our kids. Those walking across the stage have persevered to get to this day. And graduation demonstrates the family’s support, too. Few children graduate from high school alone, so graduation is an achievement of the whole family.

But this season invites us to ask deeper questions: What are our children graduating with? Are they prepared for the challenges that lie ahead? Are they prepared to make a difference in the world today—and tomorrow?

Too often, the answer to these questions is no. The LIBRE Institute believes that we can do better.

For many, our education system is focused on tests instead of the children being tested. Teachers spend an average of 45 days preparing for and administering tests. That’s 9 weeks of wasted opportunity. And this focus on tests is part of a larger problem: Our education system essentially treats all students the same way, putting them all in the same environment, teaching them in the same ways, and then assessing them with the same tests.

This is America, however, and just as we have the opportunity here to pursue a better life, we have the opportunity to pursue a better education for our children. 

Education should be about developing the skills and interests of each individual child. Each child is different, and as a result education should be tailored to each child’s unique needs and interests. Children should be empowered to explore and discover where their talents lie, and then be provided opportunities to develop those talents into valuable skills.

The perfect opportunity for us to dream bigger on education

Maybe it would look like more hands-on learning outside of the classroom. Maybe it would be more self-directed. Each child’s education should be as individual as that child, and to do that, families need access to a variety of options.

But education isn’t just about self-discovery. Education is about preparation for the future—preparation for good jobs, and preparation to adapt to our rapidly changing world. And here, too, our children need an education that teaches them to love learning, not to just complete the requirements.

An educational system should equip our children to thrive by developing their curiosity and showing them the joy of learning. Tailoring education to the interests and learning styles of individual students prepares them to learn throughout their lives. And that life of learning—the openness to new ideas, the ability to critically examine new data—will allow them to secure good jobs for decades to come.

Graduation is a major accomplishment, but The LIBRE Institute believes we can dream bigger. Education should be both an achievement and preparation for life ahead. That is a diploma we can all be proud of. 

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