CALL TO ACTION
Our Vision
Education has been fundamentally stagnant for the last 200 years. The same formula of desks, chairs, and chalk boards. Teachers standing at the front of class, and students sitting uniformly in rows.
The education system must change if we are to prepare ourselves for the future; catering only to the average student leaves a majority of students either underchallenged or overchallenged. The idea of standardized education is an idea that has to change. We all are individuals, not carbon copies of one another.
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According to the renowned Sir John Jones, Just-in-case education is a large part of classical education; you learn something, cram before a test, receive your grade and move on; where and when has this not been true? Grades, numbers, rankings; why does learning have to be about them? How can they expect all of us to be the best, be the most talented, be the most passionate when all we have to look forward to is either a pass or a fail? As students we are the most affected by these questions. Learning should be driven by passion. No longer will we wait in silence, and let choices about our future be made by people we don’t even know. We must collaborate with these people to determine our learning. In doing so we are the changemakers, the catalysts in a global movement, for without us there is no future.
Recommendations
Regular student voice in the process of change
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Create teams in schools to improve environment, student experience and content.
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Student councils make FOEN an action item and goal of their work
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Adapt an existing class (Wellbeing or Mentor time) to making change happen in school
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Self-directed learning in all or some courses
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Project-based learning in all or some courses
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Exchange programmes with other schools
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Offer dedicated project time (days or weeks, such as Infinity Week or Passion Projects)
Use time in school to achieve these changes
Develop relationships and trust between learners and mentors
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More teachers and teaching assistants to create better connections and understandings between students and teachers
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Be willing to experiment with new approaches - students and teachers together
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Create connection times (lunches, breaks or other) for teachers and students to talk and build personal relationships
Use space intentionally and effectively
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Student involvement in decisions about how space is used
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Student participation in projects to redesign or repurpose space
