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The
Empowerment Academy Manifesto
A
Call for Revolution in Compulsory Education
by
Mitchell Howe (last revised 3/5/02)
Charter
Principles
I. Compulsory education has
many noble goals besides imparting factual knowledge.
When you listen to any student speech
at a high school graduation, you get the impression that
imparting factual knowledge is a relatively minor role of
compulsory education. Teamwork, values, pride, and goals
all figure prominently in their eloquent eulogies of the previous
twelve years.1 That
these valedictorians understand school to be about more than
learning equations and reading Shakespeare is actually quite
remarkable, seeing as they would never be in the position to give
these speeches without spending an inordinate amount of time
focusing on just these things. But straight 'A' students
are the success stories, those young people bright enough to read
their teachers' minds. What about all the other students
who don't have access to the dusty corners of their instructors'
heads where transcripts of workshops on "character
education" sit collecting dust? Can we blame dropouts
for failing to see how geometry was supposed to help them pay the
rent and find true love? Can we condemn someone for not
voting when their only exposure to civics consisted of an essay
quiz on the Federalist Papers? Should we be surprised that
people prefer sitcoms to books after being presented with
centuries-old portrayals of royal intrigue as though they were
the pinnacle of literary excitement?
A number of school shootings have only
brought more attention to the weakness in our educational system,
yet these tragedies have merely allowed much of the blame so
richly deserved by the antiquated establishment to be held up as
symptomatic of eroded "family values." It is true
that education is most successful when there is family
involvement, but it is grossly unfair to expect that the family
should be responsible for teaching everything that school
currently doesn't when compulsory education laws take children
out of the home for the better part of the day. Parents are
right to demand that their tax dollars, meager though they often
are, do more to enrich the character of their children.2
It must be said that some have
construed a need for character education as a license for
sectarian indoctrination. The typical superficiality of
these peoples' solutions only highlights the arrogance of this
approach. A minute of morning silence or a copy of the Ten
Commandments framed in the school cafeteria have never done much
more than unleash torrents of inexorable litigation.3
Nevertheless, while it is unreasonable for any parent to expect
that their local school system should indoctrinate their children
with the very same values and beliefs they might have learned at
home, it is tragic for society to make no effort to compensate
for the demographic changes that have gutted the nuclear family.
The challenge is considerable. Lasting ethical values cannot be
force-fed to anyone; they are only forged deep within individuals
trying to reach their own conclusions about how a person should
live. But school can and should provide dedicated settings
in which constructive introspection can flourish.
II. When we legally require
people to attend school, we have a responsibility to not waste
their time.
Some things we teach because they are
great, others merely because they are tradition. Traditions
have a way of taking on a life of their own, becoming important
for their own sake rather than for whatever purpose they may have
once served. While traditions can contribute somewhat to
cultural identity, the crime of many traditional study areas
(like Shakespeare or 19th century European history) is their
theft of time that might otherwise be spent on more useful
topics.4
Personal finance, public speaking, and crisis management are but
a few skills most young adults currently lack, having never
learned them in school. Bankruptcy courts are seldom amused
by iambic pentameter.5
"Practical knowledge" should
not be construed to mean "vocational skills" (although
vocational programs do provide a valuable service to some mature
students). Some have worked very hard to turn public
schools into training facilities for the careers they consider
most important. The current overemphasis of advanced math
and science in high school, for example, is a relic of Cold War
thinking that benefits only the minority of students who will
make direct use of such specialized knowledge.6
The only math most people need is that required for a functional
understanding of the world they interact with; few can make use
of more than basic Algebra. Some find it enriching to know
more, but the time of those who don't should not be wasted.
In any event, colleges already do a good job of teaching those
who really want to know math, and can cover all the material high
schools do in a much shorter period of time.
Many political pundits love to point to
tests that show American teenagers lagging behind other nations
in math and science.7
Their rhetoric should not move us. We are not in a race
with the rest of the world to the create the greatest number of
geometric proofs per teen capita.
III. The pace of change is
accelerating; today's students need skills and knowledge
applicable in any setting.
The future is accelerating.
Scientific developments are driving technological progress in a
frantic, self-reinforcing cycle with unforeseeable consequences
to civilization as a whole. Thirty years from now will be
at least as different from today as today is from the 19th
century.8 How useful
would a 19th century education be to someone living today?
The truth of the matter is that a 19th century education, rare as
it was, really isn’t all that different from a 2002 education,
and if the age of our educational system is showing now, we can
imagine how decrepit the institution will look by 2030 without
revolutionary reform. Fortunately, there is a timeless
kernel in our education system that has proved useful to past and
present generations alike. It has kept our schools afloat,
and we would do well to trust that these gems of learning will
still be valuable to the next generation. But apart from
these essentials our curriculum is glutted with increasingly
useless filler. It is a backpack loaded with a hundred
pounds of slate tablets and slide rules. We must replace
these with abstract tools resistant to obsolescence: critical
thinking, philosophy, scenario planning, conflict resolution,
teamwork and more. We could try to guess what specific
vocational skills will be most useful 10 or 20 years down the
road, but if we commit ourselves and our students to such
predictions, we will only be proven laughably wrong, to the
needless detriment of our students.9
IV. The above principles
demand massive curricular restructuring in compulsory education.
In the midst of an information economy
so infatuated with implementing new and better paradigms, it is
actually quite astonishing that our school system has held on for
so long with so little serious change. No corporation could
survive with such rigid job descriptions and product lineups.
Our educational system is long overdue for a total reorganization
that would make the most jaded corporate executive weep.
The timid, haphazard approaches to reform that have embodied the
character education movement have failed, largely because they
have not directly addressed those issues that are supposed to
matter most when the bell rings.10
The entire curriculum must be reworked
in order to make priorities priorities. Some subjects can
be kept largely as they are. Most must be gutted and
reconstructed with parts of others. Some subjects must be
entirely new. Few subjects must be eliminated, but some
must be relegated to purely elective domains where they are more
appropriate. It goes without saying that teachers and
teacher education programs must adjust accordingly. What
corporation could prosper with workers who were unwilling to
participate in continued employee education?
The needed restructuring is massive,
but there is no cause for panic. Some grade levels need far
more restructuring than others; K-3 content would not see
very drastic change, since many topics useful to young adults
cannot easily be taught to the youngest students. Most of
what junior high and high school teachers know can still be
useful, albeit in a different or modified course.
And beyond the curriculum there is
little need for revolution. The best teachers will still be
the best teachers; education at the classroom level has,
fortunately, not suffered from the same stagnation as the overall
curriculum, and most instructors are free to make changes to
their teaching style as better ideas come along.11
School buildings themselves are adequate for the mission at hand,
provided they continue to modernize by incorporating new
information technologies. Budget requirements after
restructuring is completed need not be any higher than they are
currently (though current budgets could themselves use
considerable boosting). Colleges and universities can
expect their students to be at least as prepared for higher
education as they have always been, though perhaps in more
abstract, adaptive ways.
Empowerment
Academy: A Curricular Executive Summary
The following is an outline for a new
curriculum called Empowerment Academy that prioritizes subject
material according to the needs of today's and tomorrow's
students.12 Those
topics most fundamental to establishing a foundation of
self-motivation and lifelong learning are found closest to the
center; many traditional subjects that are not as broadly
applicable are nudged outwards, where they are introduced
survey-style and offered fully to students on an elective
basis.
 One
should be careful not to read too much into this diagram (click
to enlarge in separate window) before reading the rest of this
document. The subject names shown do not necessarily
represent the curriculum one would currently expect to find
attached to them. Some of the names are of culminating
subjects that follow many levels of prerequisite material.
Other names are deliberately vague and include many related
topics. The content within subject areas, as well as the
interconnectivity between them, is best highlighted by discussing
each subject individually.
The
Center
It would not be completely inaccurate
to say that the Empowerment diagram is arranged by levels of
importance, but it should be understood that everything contained
within the three concentric rings is considered essential;
Only the subject areas that branch off as rays from these circles
are meant to be fully elective. A subject's proximity to
the center is largely a reminder of the consistency with which
students should be exploring it. In other words, an
Empowerment Academy student is enrolled in courses that fall
within the center circle throughout most, if not all, grades and
terms, K-12. The diagram suggests, then, that Philosophy
and Creative Expression are ubiquitous components of the
Empowerment Academy curriculum. This is indeed the case.
Philosophy
The discipline of philosophy has many
branches, but at its core is especially concerned with finding
and using logic and conceptual models to explain reality itself.
What is reality? How can one determine truth? Answers
vary. But a student who reaches personal conclusions
regarding these questions can begin to tackle what Socrates
wisely felt was the greatest question of all: How should a man
(or woman) live? Philosophy is about the development of
ideals and morals; the setting of personal standards by which to
measure one’s self. Every student has the potential for
reaching unique conclusions, and students are encouraged to
change or evolve their views over time as they obtain new
information and think about the fundamental questions in new
ways.
There are no right answers in
philosophy, but this does not mean that some answers are not
better than others. A critical aspect of philosophy in
Empowerment Academy is logic and argumentative structure. A
student of philosophy learns to be able to weigh words according
to their own consistency. A student of philosophy learns
how to tell a good argument from a bad one and produce either
type at will.13
Philosophy is the pursuit of both rational thinking and personal
conviction. It is a lifelong quest, and one that can be
failed only by not actively pursuing it. Philosophy finds
itself at the center of the Empowerment diagram for this
reason.14
Creative
Expression
This is the blanket term for any number
of courses that give students the freedom to express themselves.
Art, creative writing, drama and music are all possibilities, but
are by no means a complete list. Students are encouraged to
try a variety of outlets, but allowed to choose the tools with
which they feel most uninhibited. Creative Expression has
central importance in the Empowerment Academy program for a
number of reasons, not the least of which is the therapeutic
nature of free expression. Ideas and tensions are best
released, lest they be bottled up to decay or explode.
Students who experience the joy of original creation are also
more likely to pursue their unique ideas to their logical
conclusions, and such pursuits create the desire to live and
learn those things that will empower them to realize these
visions.15
Creativity mobilizes vast mental resources that otherwise atrophy
from neglect. Creative Expression maintains, expands, and
inspires the mind, facilitating learning in all other areas.
As with philosophy, students of all
ages benefit from regular time dedicated to Creative Expression.
While the types of classes offered may vary from K-12, there is
always to be time set aside for them.
The
Second Circle
Although not necessarily lending
themselves to daily attention at every grade level, the subjects
in the second circle are still near the center because they all
have foundation elements that benefit students of all ages.
The courses in the Second Circle build on the self-awareness and
motivation developed in the Center, and empower students to begin
reaching genuine understanding with others. The Second
Circle contains some of the most unorthodox Empowerment Academy
curricula, and care should be taken to understand precisely what
is meant by each of these subjects.
Health
The mind and body cannot be separated;
if either is neglected, both will suffer. Empowerment
Academy strives to inspire habits for healthy living with an
appreciation of this link. Health is more than traditional
physical education in that the emphasis is not just on getting
exercise, but on each student discovering what it takes to feel
his or her best -- and having the opportunity to act on it.
Health therefore includes the study of diet, disease, sex, drugs,
and other factors that influence physical well-being.
Health may also incorporate eastern-style attention to posture
and form, inasmuch as these are found to assist students in
achieving clarity, tranquility, or other desired mental
states.16
Appropriate health courses naturally
vary according to the ability and maturity of students; while
recess or sports may be wholly adequate for early grades, mature
students warrant more adult-style workouts and discussions.
Evolutionary
Psychology
Evolutionary Psychology is an approach
to psychology that explores the nature and origins of the most
“human” emotions. Empowerment Academy includes courses
that culminate with this discipline in recognition of the fact
that humans are biological organisms with their own peculiar
evolutionary history.17
The 5,000 or so years of human civilization for which we have
some written record are only the last few pages of history for a
species dating back at least 125,000 years -- probably far
longer. The first 96+% of humanity’s existence played a
huge role in determining the nature of the species.
Understanding the types of hunter-gatherer societies in which the
bulk of human history was played out helps provide very
compelling reasons why the most advanced brains in the known
universe (for now) harbor so many powerful and conflicting
desires.
Evolutionary Psychology is a subject
with a learning curve that can extend to early grades, but does
not require attention every day or even every month, especially
for younger students. The youngest students lack the
maturity to comprehend and appreciate the forces of natural
selection. Even so, young people are perhaps more aware
than anyone of the tumultuous emotions that drive behavior.
Early grades might benefit from spending time discussing the
things that make them happy, the things they look for in friends,
pet peeves, etc. They would likely find common ground with
peers that may have very different backgrounds. Later
grades can study basic genetics and observe how how natural
selection drives physical and behavioral traits in general.
Mature students can eventually discuss how humanity’s nature as
a social creature has likely nourished many complex behavioral
patterns unique to the species.18
By the teenage years there is a
dramatic increase in both the ability and necessity of students
to understand the drives pushing themselves in directions that
often clash. Being able to identify and understand their
powerful emotions and conflicting desires will not always be
sufficient to take charge of them, however, which is why
Evolutionary Psychology is always taught in close tandem with
Choice Theory and Conflict Resolution, described next.
Choice
Theory and Conflict Resolution
Evolutionary Psychology taught by
itself might give students the idea that they have no control
over their own behavior. This is, of course, false, since
one of humanity's most distinguishing characteristics is its
ability to rise above its primal instincts. It is important
that students appreciate that we are more than the puppets of our
genes. The Choice Theory and Conflict Resolution subject
area stems from this principle.
Choice Theory refers specifically to
the behavioral approach to psychology postulated by Dr. William
Glasser.19 It is a
theory both simple enough and broad enough that Empowerment
Academy would have a difficult time meeting its goals without
incorporating it in some way.20
Choice theory states that we are what we do, and that nearly all
of our behavior results from choices that we make. This is
not at all at odds with Evolutionary Psychology, because Choice
Theory begins with the idea that we are driven by our genes to
satisfy basic needs. Five of these needs are singled out as
being fundamental to all others: survival, love and
belonging, power, freedom, and fun. Of these, love and
belonging are considered necessary to maintaining all others, and
Choice Theory states that most long lasting psychological
problems are therefore symptomatic of unsatisfying
relationships. (A clear distinction is made between mental
illness and psychological issues, with the former being
restricted to conditions caused by brain trauma or congenital
defects and requiring medical care.)
Reality Therapy, the counseling side of
Choice Theory, has had its share of critics who feel the approach
is simplistic or insensitive. Many feel neglected by
therapists who fail to make a big deal about their past
experiences or current symptoms and boil ever issue down to,
"What will you do today to establish or improve the
relationships you need?" Many prefer the reassurance
of a professional that will tell them that their dissatisfaction
is someone else's fault. Others would rather attribute
every unsatisfying feeling as a chemical imbalance and get the
quick fix of a pill. Empowerment Academy does not wish to
suggest that any approaches to psychology are invalid, but
submits that Choice Theory is an excellent first line of defense
against problems that may otherwise escalate to the point where
they require clinical intervention.
Choice Theory provides an excellent
foundation for conflict resolution as well, since Reality Therapy
refuses takes sides or lay blame when mediating a conflict.
Nothing can change the past. People can only make choices
about how to treat each other in the present. Reality
Therapy says that people who want their present friendships or
relationships to work can choose to make them work; people who
don't should probably look for new relationships -- because in
the end, everyone needs meaningful relationships.
Reality Therapy attempts to help individuals discover ways to
break out of painful and destructive cycles of behavior through
the time honored idea that it is silly to keep doing things that
obviously aren't working. Ultimately, all solutions must
begin with one's own behavior, since this is the only thing that
anyone has direct control over.
Students should be able to grasp Choice
Theory from an early age. The Choice Theory and Conflict
Resolution course is one that should keep cropping up in
students' schedules from time to time in tandem with Evolutionary
Psychology. The simple principles can be refreshed, and
discussion and role-playing activities can be geared to the ages
and concerns of different students. Individuals who
understand Choice Theory become their own lifelong therapists.
They are slow to lay blame on anyone for unsatisfying situations,
and quick to find ways to improve them. Empowerment Academy
students can decide how to react to the people around them with
the responsibility that comes from recognizing the unique power
of their own behavior, and with the sensitivity that comes from
understanding human emotion through Evolutionary Psychology.
Communications
The bulk of what goes into
Communications comes from the better portions of what is
misleadingly called "English" in the traditional
curriculum. Basic literacy remains the preoccupation of the
early grades, but Empowerment Academy believes that far more
diverse subjects should be included as students mature.
Today's information economy thrives on a myriad of different
communications mediums while increasing the challenge of
remaining skilled in more traditional types of exchanges.
In addition to building vocabulary and
grammatical sense through the reading of interesting -- even
popular -- books appropriate to age levels, attention is given to
the skills of textual correspondence. E-mail, instant
messaging, bulletin board systems, and the computer literacy
needed in order to use each of these are all given serious
attention. Persuasive writing and public speaking skills
are cultivated. In an increasingly detached digital age,
time spent working on face to face conversation can even prove
surprisingly useful. Mingling is an art in and of itself,
and classes spent learning how to recognize and make use of body
language can benefit students in ways traditional schools have
never considered.
Communications is such a huge subject
that students of every age can always expect to be enrolled in
one component course at any given time, and may frequently be
enrolled in two or more.
The
Third Circle
The courses in the third circle differ
from those in the second mainly in that they are somewhat less
introspective and somewhat more orthodox. The third circle
deals almost exclusively with a students' relationship with
society at large. Understanding the underpinnings of
civilization are essential if one wishes to change or contribute
to society in any meaningful way, but the key issues involved are
very complex and could each be the study of a lifetime;
Empowerment Academy can only provide introductory treatments and
elective courses.
It is easy to feel small while
exploring these subjects, and it helps to know how to work with
others to make great things possible. Descriptions of the
Third Circle subjects will thus begin with Strategy and Teamwork
Strategy
and Teamwork
Every teacher wants to make their class
fun. Strategy and Teamwork teachers just have an easier
time of it than most.
The most important scientific and
economic achievements of our day are seldom the result of
individual action, but are instead the products of coordinated
teams of talented persons. Knowing how to lead and be a
part of a team are increasingly cited by employers as the skills
they look for most in job applicants. Fortunately, humans
are social creatures with a certain instinct for group
interaction already in place. But people tend to fall into
roles as sheep or shepherds and never consciously develop their
talents in either role. The Strategy and Teamwork subject
seeks to give opportunities for every student to learn how to be
both an effective leader and a helpful subordinate, and to
otherwise be able to work effectively in groups without any
formal command structure.
Competitive games and projects are a
natural and engaging way to develop these skills for students of
all grade levels. Maintaining variety in the games, the
teams, and the team leaders is the most essential duty of a
Strategy and Teamwork instructor.21
Some games emphasize long-term strategic planning. Others
(sometimes these same games) emphasize contingency handling: the
quick thinking needed when carefully laid plans have to be tossed
out the window. Post-game debriefings and discussions bring
to light the choices that did or did not contribute to a
successful team or team strategy.
Civics
and Future Studies
The traditional subject of "History"
is a textbook example of curriculum taking on a life of its own.
History should never be considered important for its own sake,
yet this seems to be the attitude with which history programs are
preserved at many current schools. Empowerment Academy
asserts that the greatest value of learning history has always
been to create a resource of case studies that can be used to
make intelligent decisions regarding the future. The lesser
value of history as a cultural enrichment tool falls under the
Humanities subject, described next.
Civics and Future Studies takes a
thematic approach approach to human civilization.22
Recurring themes (i.e. 'revolution', 'imperialism', 'religion',
etc.) are each explored by looking at moments in history that
most clearly elucidate the mechanics of these complex topics.
Each theme is also discussed in the context of current events
and, more importantly, possible futures. Students learn to
create and evaluate different scenarios for where current trends
and expected developments might take our society. In the
process, they can begin to draw their own conclusions (perhaps
based on personal convictions developed in Philosophy) about
which futures they would most like to see happen.
The importance of Civics becomes
obvious to students once they begin to start thinking about ways
to realize their desired futures. Political systems and
public relations methods are examined through experiential
projects that sometimes include encounters with local
organizations. A potentially dry and aloof subject becomes
an eagerly sought and familiar tool.
The more advanced political theory and
scenario planning portions of Civics and Future Studies are not
for younger students. But studies of cause-and-effect
relationships in current and historical events can help earlier
grades prepare for the rewarding courses that ultimately await
them.
Humanities
Empowerment Academy uses the Humanities
subject to present a broad survey of culturally enriching
subjects. Humanities seeks to instill an introductory
appreciation of the people, places, and creative works that
contribute to a shared community -- and human -- experience.
State history classes typically required by law are found here,
as are brief explorations of art, music, and literature cherished
across generations and cultures.
Humanities is another one of those
subjects that pops up occasionally in the schedules of students
across many grade levels, but does not occupy a great deal of
learning time. Humanities gives students a taste of many
different studies that can each be explored more thoroughly, if
they desire, through elective courses in the Advanced Humanities
and Drama domain. Introductions to foreign languages may
also be included in Humanities classes as samplers of what can be
learned in the Advanced Communications electives.
Economics
and Personal Finance
Economics and Personal Finance
describes the culminating point of required mathematics in the
Empowerment Academy curriculum. The arithmetical
progression of courses traditionally taught to the younger
students provides an adequate foundation for the more advanced
real-world applications taught in later grades. No student
should graduate without knowing how pay bills, file a tax return,
manage a checking account, make educated investment decisions,
and handle other common economic interactions. No student
is ever required to learn more than the math necessary for these
activities, although they are free to pursue elective courses in
the Advanced Math and Science domain.
Physical
Science
Physical Science includes subject
matter not typically lumped under this category. But since
the science that most people interact with on a daily basis is,
in fact, physical, this is the term used by Empowerment Academy
to describe the required core of science courses. Basic,
Newtonian physics are emphasized, along with basic cellular
biology and chemistry. The broader dynamics of the earth
and its biosphere are also explored. Physical Science seeks
to give students a minimal, functional understanding of physical
reality -- the medium upon which we live our lives. Like
Humanities, Physical Science serves largely as an introductory
survey of various disciplines that can be explored more
thoroughly through elective courses.
The
Elective Rays
Empowerment Academy, while accepting
that some subject matters are clearly more useful to the majority
of students than others, respects the idea that even the most
obscure information can prove useful in surprising ways.
While clogging up student schedules with specialized subjects
that they are unlikely to need is detrimental, offering these
same courses as electives can be very helpful. Empowerment
Academy seeks to increase educational opportunity by letting
students choose which subjects they will learn the most about.
The elective domains are depicted as rays in the Empowerment
diagram, since these represent different ways in which students
can branch out from the fundamental circles of required
coursework.
Elective courses have different
prerequisites, just as they do in traditional high schools and
universities. As such, elective offerings are the most
accessible to 11th and 12th grade students, who are likely to
have completed nearly all of their required subjects. Some
students may feel pressured by family or prospective colleges to
use elective offerings to closely emulate the content they might
have had in a traditional school setting. Hopefully, there
will always be at least as many students who will use electives
to further their own interests and ambitions -- perhaps even to
advance pet projects started in a Creative Expression class years
earlier.
Advanced
Math and Science
Advanced Algebra, Trigonometry,
Calculus, and Formal Logic are examples of offerings on the math
side of this elective domain. The science side contains
more in depth studies of chemistry, physics, biology and
environmental science. The nature of courses in Advanced
Math and Science demand more stringent prerequisites than
most other electives, meaning they are frequented mostly by the
oldest students.
Sports,
Clubs, and Academic Teams
The offerings in this area are almost
exactly like the extra-curricular programs of traditional high
schools, the chief difference being that Empowerment Academy
tries to provide more opportunities for younger students.
Advanced
Communications
Despite the heavy Communications
emphasis found in the required core of Empowerment Academy
coursework, plenty of communication subjects remain for elective
study. Foreign languages are perhaps the most notable
offerings. Classes in computer applications and programming
are made available, along with in depth courses in professional
writing and journalism.
Advanced
Humanities and Drama
Students seeking elective classes on
regional or world history can often find them in the Advanced
Humanities and Drama domain, along with courses in literature or
art history. Performance level band and drama also fit into
this category, with practices both during and after school.
Crafts
and Vocational Skills
Classes in this category may include
introductions to any of the following: cooking, wood and
metal shop, driver education, child care, drafting, welding, auto
mechanics, electronics, computer networking, and more. As
skills useful in the short-term are likely to change increasingly
rapidly with time, vocational programs must be very flexible.
Unlike the attitude in some current high schools, Empowerment
Academy vocational programs are never considered "alternative"
in any sense, since the most useful vocational skills students
can have are the adaptive intellectual abilities provided by the
core curriculum.
Navigating
the Transition
The 'Charter Principles' portion of
this document has already explained that the costs of the
Empowerment Academy approach to education would be comparable to
those of traditional programs, once the transition is completed.
The transition period itself is a bit trickier, and it will be
useful to conclude by very briefly discussing some of the costs
and issues involved.23
Where
to Start?
Most realistically, Empowerment Academy
would be implemented incrementally, probably beginning with a
full transition for students in the earliest grades that
continues by modifying the curriculum just ahead of these
students as they move through each grade. This would serve
to amortize the total cost of transition over several years and
give more time for teachers to train or retrain for new subject
areas.
As a proof-of-concept demonstration,
Empowerment Academy might debut in a K-12 private school, or even
a private junior high. The K-12 approach would allow for
the full breadth of the Empowerment Academy curriculum to be
expressed, but grades 7-10 see more of the curriculum changes
than any others; a junior high would probably be the only place
one could hope to implement a self-contained, condensed version
of Empowerment Academy.
The
Cost of Change
The chief monetary cost to implementing
Empowerment Academy on a large scale is likely to be teacher
training. While some teachers will require relatively minor
adjustments, many will need a great deal of training to adjust to
new or heavily modified subjects. This will take time and
money. Purchases of new textbooks and other materials will
also be helpful in some courses, though they may not be needed or
available right away.
There are also less quantifiable costs
to teachers and students during the transition period, with a
general atmosphere of confusion likely experienced by both.
Some teachers will probably resent being reduced to first-year
status so far as accumulated lesson plans and activities go.
Some students may resent being on either side of a curricular
cut-off.
The
Rewards of Success
Everyone stands to gain if the
Empowerment Academy approach becomes the standard for compulsory
education in the United States and elsewhere. Teachers
would actually reap some of the most immediate benefits, since
after their initial readjustment they would no longer be expected
to educate their students in matters far beyond their own subject
areas. Character education would be directly handled by
dedicated teachers of Philosophy, Teamwork, Choice Theory, etc.,
and cease to be something that every math and reading teacher is
somehow supposed to make happen between lessons on fractions and
phonics.
Students, of course, stand the most to
gain. A graduate of an Empowerment Academy would have a
more developed and coherent sense of self, a greater respect and
aptitude for working with others, and a clearer sense of what the
future can bring. The Empowered graduate would be more
likely to make fulfilling life decisions, land better and more
rewarding jobs, make significant discoveries and societal
contributions, and yes, even find true love.
But revolutionary education reform
affects more than just students, parents, and teachers. The
long-term potential benefits of Empowerment Academy to the
economy at large are mind-boggling. The indirect payoffs
could come from lower crime rates, reduced consumer debt,
increased investment, improved mental and physical health,
clearer communication and teamwork within organizations, more
groundbreaking scientific breakthroughs, and greater cultural
achievements. In short, the temporary costs of implementing
the Empowerment Academy program are dwarfed by the lasting
rewards it offers to every segment of society.
The sooner we get started, the better.
Footnotes
Unorthodox proposals seldom come from
expected places. I've spent the last ten years accumulating
knowledge and understanding that my traditional schooling
couldn't give me, so it should hardly be surprising that
some of my muses would look out of place at a character education
workshop.
(Clicking on a footnote number will
return your browser to the corresponding textual location.)
1:
School
districts are known to have long lists of character attributes
that are somehow supposed to be instilled in students by the time
they graduate. Haslett Public Schools, in Michigan, claims
on its website
to
be "working to weave some 40 identified
developmental/character assets into school programs."
I'd like to know how that is working out.
2:
“Compulsory
education laws are enacted to enforce the natural obligation of
parents to provide an education for their young.”--Illinois
Supreme Court case People vs. Levison.(1950)
This case was in reference to a parent's right to home school,
which the court supported. We can infer, then, that home
schooling is actually the "default" condition assumed
by compulsory education laws, and that public schools are merely
pragmatic acceptance of the fact that most parents are unable,
unwilling, or unqualified to stay home and assume full
responsibility for educating their children. This is all
the more reason to make sure that public schools to do a
complete job; we understand that parents are usually ill-suited
to the task.
3:
Okay,
maybe "inexorable" was too strong a word. In
January '01, the ACLU of North Carolina settled a suit against
Wilkes County for hanging a Decalogue in the school cafeteria, on
the grounds that its location alongside other "historical"
documents did not give it a primarily religious context.
Its worth noting that Wilkes County still had to pay its own
legal expenses, to the tune of about $10,000.
http://www.therecordofwilkes.com/rec20010117/
4:
I
must point out that at least one organization has reached the
opposite conclusion on the value of traditional curricula.
The Foundation for Academic Standards and Tradition (FAST) would
actually like to turn back the clock on our traditional
curriculum to an earlier time when the "Western Tradition"
was everything. FAST
rather
laughably argues that "Allowing English majors to skip
Shakespeare is the equivalent of saying that physics majors no
longer have to study Newton's laws, or that medical students no
longer have to study anatomy." As remarkable as
Shakespeare's contribution was, his works hardly constitute
fundamental "laws" necessary to understanding the
English language used today. How did this Cult of
Shakespeare get started, anyway?
5:
I
won't guarantee that this is true in Pennsylvania -- not after
State Superior Court justice J. Michael Eakin issued a rhyming
opinion in July '00 to a case of a car-struck puppy. A
segment from the judgment: "Fifteen miles an hour he
claims as his maximum rate of speed/quite a cautious, prudent
rate, not very fast indeed/Not fast enough to trouble him or
force quick decision/it shows, had he been paying heed, there'd
have been no collision..."
http://www.post-gazette.com/columnists/20000717brian.asp
6:
A
good reflection on some of the images and rhetoric of the 50's
and 60's that led to this mentality is found in this article
by
Gerald W. Bracey. His article also helps debunk some of the
popular rhetoric I briefly attack in the next paragraph, though I
think that perpetuating this debate misses the point
entirely.
8:
I
actually feel this may be an understatement. I am one of a
growing number of forward-looking individuals who see an
impending technological "Singularity" within the first
half of this century. This term was coined by science
fiction author Vernor Vinge to describe a point at which human
intelligence is expanded or exceeded to such a degree that
traditional models for examining civilization and the future
completely break down. Artificial Intelligence,
nanotechnology, and biotechnology are a few different roads that
could each take us to this singular point in history. I
consider myself a "Singularitarian": someone who
believes that humanity's natural progression towards the
Singularity is not only impending, but desireable, and something
that should be pursued with all prudence and diligence.
This conviction, more than any other, is what has caused me to
thoroughly reexamine the usefulness of the traditional
curriculum. If you are interested in a comprehensive,
introductory look at some of these provocative futurist topics,
check out KurzweilAI.net.
If you think you are ready for the pure, eye-popping meat, try
the works of Eliezer Yudkowsky at the Low
Beyond.
See some of my own writings on the subject here.
9:
Raymond
Kurzweil's The Age of Spiritual Machines (1999,
Penguin Putnam Inc, New York) sees the workers of the future
continuing the trend of spending more and more time training and
learning specialized knowledge that rapidly becomes obsolete.
This is not as counter-productive as it sounds, since it means
that new jobs will be mostly in high-paying specialties rather
than low-paying drudgeries. It will just take a lot
of effort for humans to keep up with the learning curve that
machine intelligence may soon begin setting. Developing the
capacity for rapid assimilation of new knowledge, then, is
probably the single most valuable vocational skill there can be.
10:
FAST
disagrees
with me on this point as well, since they see the Character
Education movement as having at least succeeded in "dumbing
down" the national curriculum.
11:
I
consider current emphasis on "active learning" methods
in teacher education as an example of the good things that have
come from the fertile disciplines of cognitive science.
Active learning is an outgrowth of Howard Gardner's theory of
"multiple
intelligences",
which has been mainstream among educators for some time now.
I take heart that Daniel Goleman's exploration of "emotional
intelligence"
has also received considerable attention, and I believe that
Martin Kokol's theory of "spiritual intelligence", the
next logical step in this cycle, may prove influential in future
classrooms.
12:
I
should briefly explain the proper grammatical usage of
"Empowerment Academy" I do not call it "The
Empowerment Academy" because EA is a concept -- not a
physical location. Any school that uses the EA curriculum
is an Empowerment Academy, although there is no reason to call
the school by this name. When many schools use EA
curriculum it would be very confusing to have them all named the
same thing. Early EA schools may include a descriptor in
their name (i.e "Franklin Elementary: An Empowerment
Academy") to proudly tell the public what curriculum they
use.
13:
Strange
as it may sound, there is actually a time and a place for a bad
argument. For instance, ineptly supported arguments are an
ancient source of humor. It's true; I read it in the
checkout aisle.
14:
My
own independent research concludes that many people could
effectively unlock an inner genius by learning to think through
large problems using rational methodologies. The paper is
called The Edison Hypothesis; it will be in my works
archive
when I am finished.
15:
My
motivation for composing this manifesto resulted from part of a
long chain of independent learning that started when I first set
out to write a science fiction novel a couple of years ago.
Admittedly, I still haven't made much progress on the novel.
But the intellectual journey has been splendid.
16:
I
first gained an appreciation for the potential utility of
understanding the relationship between posture and the mind
through Walter Jon Williams' science fiction novel Aristoi
(1993, TOR). Williams portrays a society whose
curriculum includes ultra-developed training in the use of
gestures and postures; they are tools for influencing the
emotional patterns of others (often unawares) as well as the
self. Body language is indeed a powerful, instinctive
communications medium, and such training may well prove possible
as the human mind becomes more thoroughly mapped. In the
meantime, posture-attentive meditative disciplines may prove
empowering to some students.
17:
At
this point a brief response should be made regarding sectarian
opposition to evolution that persists in some communities.
Empowerment Academy certainly respects every individual’s right
to believe what he wishes, even when these beliefs include
denying one of the most compelling and supported scientific
theories ever created. But to refrain from teaching a
subject so useful to understanding ourselves and others would be
unfair to students who may not share the peculiar beliefs of said
individuals. A strong argument could be made that even a parent
should not have the right to deny her own child such widely
accepted knowledge, though an instructed child is, of course,
free to disbelieve the theory.
18:
I
first encountered the idea of including Evolutionary Psychology
in the standard curriculum through Greg Egan's science fiction
novel, Distress (1995, Harper Millennium, London).
This story includes an artificial island populated by peaceful
anarchists, who credit their remarkable stability in part to the
fact that their students are taught Evolutionary Psychology from
an early age; they are keenly aware of the instinctive greed and
jealousy that could tear their society down.
19:
The
website of the William
Glasser Institute explains
his ideas in more detail, and includes descriptions of the books
that introduced them.
20:
I
am planning to find out what kinds of resources the William
Glasser Institute has available for potential Empowerment Academy
schools. If an EA/WGI relationship is impractical, it
may be necessary to find some similar program to escape legal
complications. I don't think this would be too hard.
To be honest, I think that Choice Theory is commonsensical enough
that I might have come up with it myself -- it reflects the kind
of frank advice I've been giving friends for years.
21:
At
some point, it could be interesting to see some sort of "Great
Game" that students are required to participate in
throughout their school careers -- probably a massively
multiplayer online computer game engaging enough that students of
all ages and genders are drawn to it even after school hours.
Military themes naturally lend themselves to strategic and team
development, but it ought to be possible to create a fantasy
world bound by similar constraints in a non-violent context.
A gaming environment requiring highly varied skills and ways of
thinking could greatly enhance the benefits of solid teamwork,
especially if there is serious competition with other players.
Students, made largely anonymous through the computerized nature
of the game, would have opportunities to lead and work with
students from other schools, or even other countries. For
some, the Great Game could be an important source of prestige and
belonging that they might have difficulty finding through sports
or other extracurricular activities.
22:
In
college I devised a curricular executive summary for a thematic
approach to history that I hope to extensively revise and post as
a part of a Future Studies Course Outline.
23:
I
plan to research and post an "Empowerment Academy
Transition Guide" that explores what it would take to make
Empowerment Academy the standard for compulsory education in the
United States. I will present what I believe to be the
greatest obstacles, the most likely sources of support, and
several scenarios on multi-phased paths to national
implementation.
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