This is the new school

This is the new school

(Changing the way we think… changing the world)

The world we have created is a product of ourthinking – we cannot change the world without changing how we think. - ALBERT EINSTEIN

Our collective patterns of thinking have created a collective

perception of the world. This collective perception has become

reality…

This ‘reality’ is one of greed, violence, indifference, poverty and environmental destruction.

And it is a reality that has been created by old habits of thinking…

And old ways of thinking come from old ways oflearning…

THE OLD SCHOOL

The old system of teaching and learning stems from the needs of the industrial revolution.

Under this system people were seen as cogs in a machine. Each with their own discrete function.

The purpose of schooling was to produce ‘cogs’ that fit in with the needs of industrial workplace.

THE OLD SCHOOLStudents saw schooling as a process of ‘downloading’ discrete packets of information.

This process created fragmented learning and served to thwart students’ understanding of their own world and prevented understanding across barriers.

They were educated out of their own creativity and individuality so that they could become passiveparticipants in the world instead of driving forces in it.

WHAT IS THINKING?

If thinking only involves you interacting with the world then you are merely a passenger.

If thinking involves you actively engaging with and creating the world you live in, then you have a responsibility to make it better.

Clearly, something needs to change…

Our new reality demands it.

(Did you know?)

Beneath the surface of this daunting new reality is a world of connections.

Connections bring understanding.

Understanding brings about better world.

What an exciting thing to be a part of!

HOW DO WE MAKE SENSE OF THIS NEW REALITY?

We need to learn to adapt to our ever-changing reality.

We need to develop the ability to think critically and creatively.

We need to be able to innovate and provide insight.

AND…

We need to develop the confidence in our own abilities to do all of these things.

THE NEW SCHOOLChange is inevitable. But it’s not really change that scares us, because change brings about challenges and it’s these challenges that we are truly afraid of…

When we are faced with challenges we are forced to step out of our comfort zones and be bold enough to make choices… choices that will not only affect us now but in years to come.

But if we make choices today that we can live with tomorrow, then what is there to be afraid of?

-- Catherine Bester, Grade 11, Crawford College Lonehill (2009)

In short, we need to develop the ability to think differently… not just so that we can cope, but so that we can unlock our creative potentials to help create a better world.

And school needs to form the foundation of our abilities to meet this challenge.

Real thinking is pure fire.

Creativity is as important as literacy.

If we are going to change the world, we need some idea of what we are going to change it into.

THE NEW SCHOOL

THE NEW SCHOOL teaches ‘skills’, not ‘things’.

THE NEW SCHOOL teaches HOW to think, not WHAT to think.

THE NEW SCHOOL doesn’t impose knowledge, it encourages self-realisation and personal growth.

THE NEW SCHOOL focuses on questions and options, not only on fixed answers.

THE NEW SCHOOL replaces ‘buts’ with ‘ands’.

THE NEW SCHOOL is about the bigger picture

THE NEW SCHOOL is about personal growth first, and marks second

THE NEW SCHOOL asks you to make mistakes and to learn from them

THE NEW SCHOOL

THE NEW SCHOOLTHE NEW SCHOOL is about expectations, not

rules.

THE NEW SCHOOL is about high quality education, not high quantity schooling.

THE NEW SCHOOL is about VERBS (SKILLS) and not about NOUNS (CONTENT)

THE NEW SCHOOL is about learning to learn. Every class is a thinking class.

YOUR IDEAS…