How We Should Reform Education? - Paper Example

Introduction

Reforming our education systems is very important and has the potential to change how our kids learn and respond to the real-life situation. Education reform consists of transformations in the way an institution systems functions, from their teaching strategies to administrative undertakings. Both Carlo Dweck and Alfie Kohn talk of the significance of education reform in regard to the traditional education system that conditions students on a particular mindset. Education reform is considered to be very vital as the current education systems do not encourage all students to reach their full potential (Wohlfarth, Ted).

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Education Systems That Do Not Assist Students Unleash Their Full Potential

There are various education systems having teaching methodologies that do not encourage students to fully unleash their full potential. Instead these systems fix them into a specific mindset making them feel less important and as a result, they cannot handle diverse challenges that they may come across (Kohn, Alfie). Carlo Dweck supports the idea that there is a need for education reformation to enable students to have a growth mindset instead of a fixed mindset about their talents and intellectual abilities. Such an education system encourages the development of a fixed mindset where children believe that their talents and intellectual abilities cannot be developed over time. As a result, they become scared of trying more challenging tasks other than what they know and have learned in class as they fear being seen as unable. Therefore, education reform from systems that do not assist students to unleash their full potential is very critical (Wohlfarth, Ted).

Carlo Dweck on Students and Attitude

Carol Dweck argued that there should be education reforms where the system encourages a growth mindset instead of a fixed mindset. Some of the students believe that their intellectual abilities can always be enhanced by developing good strategies, hard work and from their mentors. This enables them to handle any challenging task they may be given in any environment without difficulty. They do not fear to make mistake but they believe in trying and finding solutions to their problems. They put all their effort learning and finding solutions to challenges without fearing being seen as intellectually deficient. This makes them achieve more than those having a fixed mindset (Dweck, Carol).

Students who have a fixed mindset believe that their intellectual abilities and talents are fixed to a certain amount. Therefore, they do not put more effort into ensuring that they solve more challenging task they face (Dweck, Carol). They tend to look smart and avoid challenges that may reveal their intellectual deficiency. They run from setbacks and find safe conditions and create cover-ups of their mistakes. These mindsets are developed through intellectual praises rather than effort or process praises that children are exposed to while they are young (Dweck, Carol). When they are exposed to intellectual praises, children feel that their intelligence are more valued than the effort they apply in completing a certain task or finding a solution to a certain problem. And therefore, they absolutely turn off from learning new ways of doing things and finding more challenging tasks. Thus they become more comfortable with all they know and always feel like they are in jeopardy and lose interest when given more challenging tasks (Dweck, Carol).

Dweck, Carol argue that when a teacher emphases or praises the process taken by students in handling a given task, it builds the student's confidence and ability to try to do other harder tasks. They can handle any challenge even without in the favor of what they had initially leaned. They are always ready to face a new challenge and struggle for while to find solutions to such tasks. They become more confident and enjoy solving even harder problems, therefore, having no limits (Dweck, Carol).

According to Dweck, Carol, attaining growth mindset is always hampered by a fixed mindset triggers in our life that makes it difficult to handle more challenging tasks with confidence and ease. These triggers bar us from having the confidence that we can do it even better, instead, they make us hide from our mistake and have low self-esteem. Challenges, criticism, and being compared to other individuals make us insecure and more defensive which are some of the most reactions that hinder growth (Dweck, Carol).

Instead of jeopardizing students based on their result, teachers and parents can employ the use of techniques such complementing and encouraging them in regard to their effort they put on completing a given task (Dweck, Carol). For instance NYET (not yet), when an individual has completed a task and has been told "not yet" the individual is certain that however, he or she has put his or her energy and effort in performing a given task, more energy and effort it still needed to reach the required level (Dweck, Carol).

Alfie Kohn on Institution's Structure

Kohn is totally against the idea that Kids tend to fare better when they regard intelligence and other abilities not as fixed traits that they either have or lack, but as attributes that can be improved through effort (Kohn, Alfie). School environment has got traditions that do not enable students to be happy and feel comfortable with what they learn, which is a major drive force of working hard. Kohn, Alfie argued that current education systems are not at opposition to make students feel as proficient learners, instead, the institution creates higher standards.

Traditional education system still employs the idea of cramming and learning of skills that make students not comfortable (Kohn, Alfie). The education system is very test-oriented this makes students lose interest in learning. There are many challenges with the current education system that is worth reformation. Praising students of their effort may sometimes communicate the idea that they are not all that capable and are most likely to fail in future that's why they need to work harder. This system discourages students and they may think that they viewed as losers since teacher are so much focused on complimenting just their effort (Kohn, Alfie).

Providing intellectual praise is giving a student a verbal reward that is often regarded as extrinsic induction (Kohn, Alfie). This extrinsic inducement is used to manipulate students making them less interested in whatever they are doing because they are fully aware that the ultimate goal at the end of the game is to get a reward in one form or the other (Kohn, Alfie). This is very different from the proposed education system that encourages intrinsic motivation. Intrinsic motivation is a kind of motivation that occurs when a student does something because he loves it, enjoys it and finds it more interesting. A motivation that comes from within an individual, unlike extrinsic motivation a student gets a reward or to simply stay away from pessimistic consequences. The current education system, therefore, does not encourage critical thinking among learners as they will just look for our approval since they feel like it's the only thing to be earned (Dweck, Carol).

Teachers, therefore, should suspend praising and congratulating learners on their effort and instead they should consider providing room for intrinsic motivation. With the current education system, the so-called positive judgment is a judgment that is much about supervising that encouraging student to do good whatever they like (Wohlfarth, Ted). Intellectual and effort praises to learners' conveys a message that their acceptance in the society or any given setting is directly tied to only when they are impressive and well behaved by doing the right thing. Therefore, the education system should give unconditional support and enable children to do what they love without putting very many lousy tests that makes students feel unworthy and less capable (Kohn, Alfie).

Problem With the Current Education System

Education systems are usually meant to prepare the students to be more valuable individuals in society in the future. However, the current education system has experienced diverse challenges creating barriers for effective learning and for learners to fully unleash their full potential. Current education is tailored to the test that most of the time are intended to show an individual's intellectual deficiency (Dweck, Carol). Tests are mostly used for grading students which is a very degrading act for young students. Being graded every time cripples students and discourages them from being the best version they could be. Students learn from making mistakes, however, in the current education system, mistakes are the worst commitment one can do. Additionally, current education systems tailored to the test requires students to do things exactly in the way they were taught (Kohn, Alfie).

In the current education system, for one to succeed someone has to fail. Our system encourages unhealthy competition among students and denying other students opportunities of proving themselves in areas where they are interested in (Wohlfarth, Ted). Current education systems tend to value knowledge higher than other skills, personality, progress, and creativity. It encourages standardization of students such that for one to succeed through the various test, there are those who must fail (Kohn, Alfie). This type of education encourages short-term memory discouraging creativity and ability to apply whatever someone has learned in the future. This is because they cannot remember everything that they had already leaned. Additionally, this system encourages prioritized memorization and the students are judged by their ability to recall information (Kohn, Alfie).

In addition, the current education system encourages a fixed mindset where the individual believes that their talents and intellectual abilities are innate gifts (Dweck, Carol). They believe in staying smart at all cost and not to be and put little effort into their activities and learning. Such students always feel uncomfortable when they are faced with more challenging tasks since they failed to put more effort and getting used to more problematic tasks. They, therefore, avoid challenges that may reveal their intellectual deficiency. They run from setbacks and find safe conditions and create cover-ups of their mistakes (Kohn, Alfie).

Since this type of education encourages intellectual praises while students are they are young, they will, in turn, feel that their intelligence are more valued than the effort they are supposed to apply in finding a solution to the certain problem (Wohlfarth, Ted). And therefore, they absolutely turn off from learning new ways of doing things and finding more challenging tasks. Thus they become more comfortable with all they know and always feel like they are in jeopardy and lose interest when given more challenging tasks (Dweck, Carol).

Conclusion

Education reform is very much important since it will improve the quality of students we produce from different institutions. According to Wohlfarth, Ted, individuals who can tackle societal problems and those who can do things that they really enjoy and are interested with. This will ensure maximum production of different individual's effort in our daily activities creating a better future where everyone can express fully their potential without criticism to positively impact humanity (Wohlfarth, Ted). Unlike the education system that only focuses on success and failure among every individual.

Works Cited

Wohlfarth, Ted. "Classroom Reform, School Reform, Education Reform". Psyccritiques, vol 52, no. 47, 2007. Portico, doi: 10.1037/a0009775.

Dweck, Carol. "Growth Mindset". Education Reform, 2015, Accessed 11 Nov 2018.

Kohn, Alfie. "The "Mindset" Mindset What We M...