Overall, I think Creating Innovators: The Making of Young People Who Will Change the World is a great book for all educators to read, especially those educators who are looking for a way to break out of a more conventional style of teaching. To be honest, Wagner was already preaching to the choir when I read his book. I have observed project-based learning in action, with its real world connections and authentic audience, and I am already a believer in these and other related concepts. I agree with many of Wagner’s assertions—including the importance of putting the students at the center of the learning, and I happily welcome his perspective when it comes to changing many instructional practices.
However, one question that has come to my mind many times while reading this book is how we, as educators, will define the role of an innovator. As one of Wagner’s interviewees states, “There isn’t anyone that doesn’t need to be a creative problem-solver” (Wagner, 2012, Chapter 6, "Purpose," para. 9). Being a creative problem-solver is one thing. However, the term innovator is often used to describe individuals like Steve Jobs, the co-founder of Apple. One thing that made Jobs so admirable—and popular—is the idea that Jobs was one of a kind. It may sound cynical to think that not every student is destined to be an innovator in the same way that Jobs was, especially in an era of education when so much emphasis is being put on nurturing the student as an individual. But I am not sure if society—and the world in general—can handle an entire population of Steve Jobs-esque innovators. And I’m not sure if we would even want that. This leads me to wonder how differently students will respond to this approach. What kind of innovators will we be creating? How will they be different from each other? What parts of this approach will different students struggle with?
I think that the idea that everyone should be an innovator is still somewhat vague, and this is one of the issues that makes changing education so difficult: one has to balance between being too general and being too specific. One wants to include enough detail so that any teacher can start implementing these new practices; if you don’t, the goal will seem too difficult to reach, and not enough teachers will adopt and embrace these new concepts. However, if one is too specific, some teachers might be turned off by the lack of freedom. In the end, though, I think that Wagner’s suggestions, especially keeping the focus on students, are great for any teacher. Sadly, there is still so much more to the concepts covered in this book than I can address in these blog posts, and I’m not sure if these brief posts are doing Wagner’s book any justice. Luckily, the book is available for anyone to pick up and read, and I highly recommend it!
Wagner, Tony (2012). Creating Innovators (Enhanced eBook): The Making of Young People Who Will Change the World. Scribner. Kindle Edition.
However, one question that has come to my mind many times while reading this book is how we, as educators, will define the role of an innovator. As one of Wagner’s interviewees states, “There isn’t anyone that doesn’t need to be a creative problem-solver” (Wagner, 2012, Chapter 6, "Purpose," para. 9). Being a creative problem-solver is one thing. However, the term innovator is often used to describe individuals like Steve Jobs, the co-founder of Apple. One thing that made Jobs so admirable—and popular—is the idea that Jobs was one of a kind. It may sound cynical to think that not every student is destined to be an innovator in the same way that Jobs was, especially in an era of education when so much emphasis is being put on nurturing the student as an individual. But I am not sure if society—and the world in general—can handle an entire population of Steve Jobs-esque innovators. And I’m not sure if we would even want that. This leads me to wonder how differently students will respond to this approach. What kind of innovators will we be creating? How will they be different from each other? What parts of this approach will different students struggle with?
I think that the idea that everyone should be an innovator is still somewhat vague, and this is one of the issues that makes changing education so difficult: one has to balance between being too general and being too specific. One wants to include enough detail so that any teacher can start implementing these new practices; if you don’t, the goal will seem too difficult to reach, and not enough teachers will adopt and embrace these new concepts. However, if one is too specific, some teachers might be turned off by the lack of freedom. In the end, though, I think that Wagner’s suggestions, especially keeping the focus on students, are great for any teacher. Sadly, there is still so much more to the concepts covered in this book than I can address in these blog posts, and I’m not sure if these brief posts are doing Wagner’s book any justice. Luckily, the book is available for anyone to pick up and read, and I highly recommend it!
Wagner, Tony (2012). Creating Innovators (Enhanced eBook): The Making of Young People Who Will Change the World. Scribner. Kindle Edition.