ABSTRACT

Thoughtful pedagogues have long taken approaches to school reform that foreground an emphasis on learning that will matter in the lives of the students while taking into account the varying special interests and capabilities of learners. Some of these approaches prioritize the social and emotional needs of children, rethinking school discipline and the whole child, while others focus on curriculum units that target global problems and a strengthening of twenty-first-century skills. Allan Collins, in his book What’s Worth Teaching: Rethinking Curriculum in the Age of Technology, speaks to many of the issues that need to be addressed to make education more engaging and focused on what will be important for our youth to thrive as adults. In this Prospectives piece, we take a step towards continuing that conversation. We summarize Collins’ suggestions and reframe them in the context of the inequalities present in our school systems and societies. We propose important aspects of school culture that, we believe, will be essential if we are to support youth in identifying and working with others to create societal change. After an overview of Collins’ organizing framework, we point out what we believe must be addressed to allow successful design of educational systems that will help all youth develop their potential and sense of place and purpose in wider society.

摘要

深思熟虑的教育家长期以来一直采取学校改革的方法，强调学习对学生的生活至关重要，同时考虑到学习者不同的特殊兴趣和能力。其中一些方法优先考虑儿童的社会和情感需求，重新思考学校纪律和整个儿童，而另一些方法则侧重于针对全球问题和加强 21 世纪技能的课程单元。艾伦·柯林斯 (Allan Collins) 在他的著作《什么是值得教学的：重新思考技术时代的课程》中谈到了许多需要解决的问题，以使教育更具吸引力，并专注于对我们的青年成年后茁壮成长至关重要的事情。在这个前景一块，我们朝着继续对话迈出了一步。我们总结了柯林斯的建议，并在我们学校系统和社会中存在的不平等的背景下重新构建它们。我们提出了学校文化的重要方面，我们相信，如果我们要支持青年识别并与他人合作以创造社会变革，这将是必不可少的。在概述了柯林斯的组织框架之后，我们指出了我们认为必须解决的问题，以允许成功设计教育系统，帮助所有青年在更广泛的社会中发展他们的潜力和地方感和目标感。