Recently, I read a book by author Tony Wagner titled Creating Innovators: The Making of Young People Who Will Change the World. The book covers a variety of topics within the scope of what it takes to create students who are innovators, including a look at who our students are today, the teaching practices that we use to teach them, and how our teaching practices are influenced by the college system. For this first post, I wanted to reflect on the first topic mentioned: who our students are today.
According to Wagner, the students of today are more focused on social issues than on money, fame, or other similar factors that drove previous generations. Today’s students are “[h]ighly conscious of and concerned about a wide range of social problems and proficient in the use of technologies that enable them to learn, to express themselves, and to network, many of the Innovation Generation long to put their mark on the world” (“How Is the ‘Innovation Generation’ Different?”, para. 5). Wagner states that “[t]hey have no patience with worksheets or busywork. They have dreams and ambitions that demand time and space—and active nurturing” (“How Is the ‘Innovation Generation’ Different?”, para. 6). Wagner also mentions that “intrinsic motivations are what drive them to achieve and to persevere—and what gives their life texture and meaning. In the many conversations I’ve had with young people for this book, not once did any of them mention goals related to making money or finding fame” (“A Few Final Observations,” para. 1). Essentially, when teaching the students of today, the teacher will need to be much more deliberate in connecting the classroom activities and the intended learning to issues that students actually care about and in utilizing the student’s own interests to drive learning and performance.
Looking back to when I was in high school (1999-2003), I do not recall there being much of a focus in any of my classes on what I wanted to do in my life. I’m sure the topic came up, but I do not remember one clear instance where a teacher made this topic a priority. In those days, the mantra was, “Get good grades so you can go to a good college so that you can get a good job.” We were definitely encouraged to follow our dreams and do what we loved, but I’m not sure that the teaching methods of the time really reflected that. Instead, students were typically taught content, and we were graded on how well we remembered content. I particularly remember US history as being one of my favorite classes, not because of the subject matter but because of the teacher and her interest in her students. When it came to remembering names and dates in that class, however, I never scored very highly.
I would like to think that I was rather worldly during my time in high school, but compared to today’s students—where so many of them have smartphones, and knowledge is available at the touch of a button—my worldview was actually extremely limited. In a sense, students these days have both the luxury and the burden of being well-informed. We have technology that allows them to access information from around the globe, but they are still learning how to process and interpret that knowledge, and they are being exposed to it now with the metaphorical intensity of a firehose. This technology allows them to connect to a global society, increasing the potential of what they can learn, but the ubiquity of this technology also means that it is harder and harder for students to disconnect; there’s a good chance that many of them may not even know what it means to live in a world where one is disconnected.
There is great potential with today’s internet and personal device technology to create assignments and curriculum that allow students to really tap into the subjects and topics that drive them. The hope is that, through the activities they participate in during class, students will be able to find their intrinsic motivation—to find that passion that propels them—and to use education to make a more meaningful existence for themselves. And as educators, it is important for us to help our students find this motivation, especially because it is this motivation that will carry them to achieve their goals. As one of Wagner’s interviewees states, “Someone who has a purpose or a reason can endure a lot. This is where our education system is utterly lacking. Who wants to go through the crap of all that rote work and memorization for no reason?” (“Scott Rosenberg,” para. 10).
Wagner, Tony (2012). Creating Innovators (Enhanced eBook): The Making of Young People Who Will Change the World. Scribner. Kindle Edition.
According to Wagner, the students of today are more focused on social issues than on money, fame, or other similar factors that drove previous generations. Today’s students are “[h]ighly conscious of and concerned about a wide range of social problems and proficient in the use of technologies that enable them to learn, to express themselves, and to network, many of the Innovation Generation long to put their mark on the world” (“How Is the ‘Innovation Generation’ Different?”, para. 5). Wagner states that “[t]hey have no patience with worksheets or busywork. They have dreams and ambitions that demand time and space—and active nurturing” (“How Is the ‘Innovation Generation’ Different?”, para. 6). Wagner also mentions that “intrinsic motivations are what drive them to achieve and to persevere—and what gives their life texture and meaning. In the many conversations I’ve had with young people for this book, not once did any of them mention goals related to making money or finding fame” (“A Few Final Observations,” para. 1). Essentially, when teaching the students of today, the teacher will need to be much more deliberate in connecting the classroom activities and the intended learning to issues that students actually care about and in utilizing the student’s own interests to drive learning and performance.
Looking back to when I was in high school (1999-2003), I do not recall there being much of a focus in any of my classes on what I wanted to do in my life. I’m sure the topic came up, but I do not remember one clear instance where a teacher made this topic a priority. In those days, the mantra was, “Get good grades so you can go to a good college so that you can get a good job.” We were definitely encouraged to follow our dreams and do what we loved, but I’m not sure that the teaching methods of the time really reflected that. Instead, students were typically taught content, and we were graded on how well we remembered content. I particularly remember US history as being one of my favorite classes, not because of the subject matter but because of the teacher and her interest in her students. When it came to remembering names and dates in that class, however, I never scored very highly.
I would like to think that I was rather worldly during my time in high school, but compared to today’s students—where so many of them have smartphones, and knowledge is available at the touch of a button—my worldview was actually extremely limited. In a sense, students these days have both the luxury and the burden of being well-informed. We have technology that allows them to access information from around the globe, but they are still learning how to process and interpret that knowledge, and they are being exposed to it now with the metaphorical intensity of a firehose. This technology allows them to connect to a global society, increasing the potential of what they can learn, but the ubiquity of this technology also means that it is harder and harder for students to disconnect; there’s a good chance that many of them may not even know what it means to live in a world where one is disconnected.
There is great potential with today’s internet and personal device technology to create assignments and curriculum that allow students to really tap into the subjects and topics that drive them. The hope is that, through the activities they participate in during class, students will be able to find their intrinsic motivation—to find that passion that propels them—and to use education to make a more meaningful existence for themselves. And as educators, it is important for us to help our students find this motivation, especially because it is this motivation that will carry them to achieve their goals. As one of Wagner’s interviewees states, “Someone who has a purpose or a reason can endure a lot. This is where our education system is utterly lacking. Who wants to go through the crap of all that rote work and memorization for no reason?” (“Scott Rosenberg,” para. 10).
Wagner, Tony (2012). Creating Innovators (Enhanced eBook): The Making of Young People Who Will Change the World. Scribner. Kindle Edition.