Heterogeneous Education

2010-12-26

Debates about education typically center around which education paradigm is best. The built-in assumption is that that a single "best" education paradigm exists and that subsequently we should reject all other education paradigms. Only the "best" education paradigm should be employed always and everywhere. The push for progress is a push for homogeneity.

Pre-collegiate education in the United States today favors standardized knowledge. Students are expected to experience a standard curricula, often taught using standard materials, in order to prepare them for standard tests. The standard changes a little with various trends, but the idea that there should be a standard remains.

However, when I reflect on my own education, the teachers who challenged me with unfamiliar perspectives, expectations, and ways of learning and working were the most effective. It didn't necessarily matter when or not the books or topics we covered we canonical or way outside of the canon. As long as the experience challenged my understanding of what learning was and how I understood myself and the world, I learned important skills, concepts, and ways of approaching problems. In contrast, I can't recall much growth under teachers who followed the standard.

The real world isn't particularly standard. Standard or canonical materials are but a tiny sliver among the vast variety of excellent and relevant intellectual and creative materials that exist. The current trend or standard in teaching paradigms is only a sliver of the many ways that we can teach, and promotes only one of countless possible ways of thinking about and dealing with problems. And standard curricula and teaching paradigms fail to take advantage of the unique perspectives, knowledge, resources, talents, and approaches to teaching that individual teachers bring.

For the student, standard education means that students have little reason to believe that they can learn anything special from each other or from different teachers. Standard education sets an education culture characterized by limited possibility, non-creativity, and non-ownership of knowledge. In the real world people encounter many different perspectives and situations. What one gets out of these encounters depends on their ability to learn, think, and work in different of ways.

Let's not confuse standard education with quality education. The two are often more opposed than they are aligned.