Talking Point: Redefining success for our children

Dr Sarah Aiono says we need an education policy that acknowledges the diversity of learning that is now needed to address our modern way of living. Photo / NZME

Do you have a household with children in it who are dreading the start of the new term?

Do you already know that you’ll be dealing with daily reluctance to get to school or, even worse, a child who skips school and becomes a part of this country’s appalling truancy statistics?

There’s a reason our children feel that way, and quite frankly I don’t blame them.

If you look back on your school days with joy in your heart and a sense of satisfaction, you’re one of a small minority. So many adults have grim stories about their school experience. Only a few would say that school truly prepared them for their adult lives.

Instead, many people spend years after secondary school searching for what it is they want to do in life, trying to figure out what they believe they can do and what they think they’re not good at.

Many feel they were “dumb” or failed at school or aren’t good at learning and those beliefs limit their engagement with learning in general for the rest of their lives.

Why is this the case? It’s because education is not the same as learning and modern education systems need to reflect that.

At present, the experience of school provides a narrow version of what “success” is. Too often, it’s a place where only a limited range of knowledge or skills is valued.

It’s time to change this and help our young people to leave school confident in what their strengths and talents are so they can springboard from these talents into areas of society in which they feel valued and ready to contribute.

Dr Sarah Aiono. Photo / Supplied

There is an abundance of research pointing to how we can achieve this, and other countries are already doing it. So how do we make it happen here in New Zealand?

A good place to start is during this year’s election when we have an opportunity to support parties with policies that have an understanding of what empowering education really looks like.

We need education policy that acknowledges the diversity of learning that is now needed to address our modern way of living. The education system is modelled from the industrial age.

However, we are now in an age of technological innovation, social reform, and environmental challenges. Learning systems must reflect experiences that assist children to learn how to navigate the world they will grow up to live in.

Some adults say to me, “I hated school but I did just fine in life. Why should kids today be mollycoddled?” My response to that is, “Just because you broke your leg and it healed, do you think everyone else should break their legs too?”

Our children don’t need to overcome a damaging experience in our education system to prove their strength of character. There are plenty of other aspects of life that can and will provide that test.

Often, adults continue to advocate for learning approaches that are familiar to them from their own childhood rather than seeing the need for developmentally appropriate approaches that are fit for purpose for today’s challenges and demands.

There is considerable emphasis put on the way in which children are supported to learn reading, writing, and mathematics at school. These are seen as the benchmark for quality learning, and learner success.

However, while these skills are important, they do not define a child’s learning success and are not the only skills needed for the modern workforce and for adult life.

A person’s disposition and social competencies, such as critical thinking, problem solving, and creativity are now valued as key skills needed by those who will grow to tackle some of the problems facing society.

The ability to be resilient in the face of challenges, to negotiate and co-operate, and to innovate are all valuable dispositions that children need to be supported to develop throughout their time at school.

If we focus too much on the finite skills of literacy and numeracy, to the detriment of wider dispositional and executive functioning skills, children leave school ill-prepared for adult life.

There are schools in New Zealand that are doing a great job and educators who know that our children can and should have a school experience that is positive and empowering. We need to support them as parents and communities and elect politicians who will work constructively to help provide the learning experiences our children need and deserve.

– Dr Sarah Aiono is a Doctor of Education (EdD) with specialist postgraduate qualifications in Māori Learner Achievement and Special Needs Resource Teaching.