Is mass innovation in the education sector slow because of scalability problems
For a very long time people have been repeating the same line: "the education system is outdated and was built on an old Prussian industrial model and change is needed". saying things like school kills creativity etc. Despite this very little has changed for the majority of people (mainly those in the public education system); and there are a handful of school systems/schools that have solved this problem all over the US but it seems to just stop there. I know trying to innovate in the public education sector is slow for obvious reasons but shouldn't the private sector be able to scale easier, or at least at a faster pace than it is now.
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[ 2.3 ms ] story [ 14.3 ms ] threadFew politicians will put their neck on the line to promote a major educational overhaul, besides maybe advocating for the banishment of certain material. And few parents would support an overhaul of our education system for fear that their child would receive a subpar education while we work out the kinks of our new system.
In terms of alternative academies that exist alongside traditional ones, many people will express concern/dissatisfaction with our education system, but when push comes to shove and it's time to go against the status quo and alternatively educate their children, it's suddenly a complicated issue with much nuance.
Many people will tell you that they want their child to be exceptional, but their primary fear is that their child is not normal. And a good way to have your child be perceived as not normal is to alternatively educate them.
If your biggest wish for your child is that they find success and happiness in participating in societies various rituals/institutions, withholding them from one of the most prevailing isn't a great start.
Additionally, the small percentage of the population who are willing to go that route is fractured across what they perceive as being the correct alternative.
First we should stop repeating that the private education system is better than the public education system. This happens only where there is corruption and public education system is deliberately stunted to benefit the private education sector.
For what a good education system looks like, one should look at the Scandinavian countries, more specifically Finland. Few years ago I was watching a video on YouTube on Finland's education system. In that a teenage girl, who was preparing for 'teachers exam', was asked on how the exam is, and she replied that it is the toughest, most competitive and prestigious exam. And this is the difference between good public education system and other failed education systems. If the system does not recruit the best and then not provide them with the prestige in the society then the system erodes over time. There use to be a comedy series on TV in the UK where one of the sections of each episode was dedicated to some profession where a character, shown as representing that profession, use to make some funny comment. You know what they showed for a school teacher? They showed a worn down, energy less unshaven skinny guy who, standing in front of the camera, looking emotionless says "I tried to get job in all the other sectors, but I did not get any. So I became a teacher". And the audience laughed! Imagine this is the situation in a developed country, what will be the situation elsewhere.
I look to the private sector because I wondering if perhaps something could be done easier in it rather than in the public ed sector. Education in the US runs on federalism so every state does things differently trying to innovate is hard because it's a bureaucracy that isn't wholly consistent even within states.
> For what a good education system looks like, one should look at the Scandinavian countries, more specifically Finland
Comparing success in Finland or other Scandinavian countries isn't fair, those countries have populations not even larger than some of the cities here in the U.S. Ranking U.S states by population Finland wouldn't even break top 20. What works for them doesn't directly translate to working for us.
> If the system does not recruit the best and then not provide them with the prestige in the society then the system erodes over time.
But I do strongly agree with getting the best teachers possible by making the pool more competitive and not somewhere those who couldn't do anything more with their life go.
You'd solve this also by just paying teachers more obviously because you'd start competing with professions with people who have a greater potential to be great teachers. Paying teachers more though is obviously really hard in p.ed. because it be Tax payers money and people have drastically different views on where there money should be going and if any should be directed toward teachers.
I'm not trying to say that the big solution is completely move Education into the private sector I'm just saying that possibly the most optimal solution doesn't fully exist in public ed.