Education and Learning - Aligned or Conflicted?

I came across an interesting post on the "Official Google Blog" titled, "Our Googley Advice to Students: Major in Learning", and it got me thinking about the extent to which we really are preparing students today, for their tomorrow.

The writer notes, at Google, "At the highest level, we are looking for non-routine problem-solving skills. We expect applicants to be able to solve routine problems as a matter of course."

I love this comment, because so often today it seems that if someone is merely competent - met the base requirements - they feel a reward or excellent mark should be had. It is where grade inflation has come in to play. If a child meets all the requirements, in my book that is a "C". It is what is expected. To get an "A" or "B" one needs to do more than what is expected.

The point is then made that non-routine solutions create competitive advantage, a business necessity. And finally, that there are five skill sets that are sought to identify those non-routine problem solvers:

1. analytical reasoning - it is not about what you think, but about what you know. For schools the emphasis should be math, math, and more math. Fundamental skills must be mastered early and built upon year after year. Block scheduling at our HS is detrimental to teaching math. I also think we need a more disciplined and traditional approach in elementary. I have never understood the 'point' concept or learning addition, subtraction, multiplication and division tables out of order. May not be the most fun in the world, but these are fundamental skills and they simply need to be drilled in.
   
2. communication skills - point 1 is only useful if you can articulate your conclusions. For schools this not only speaks to grammar and spelling, but also teaching how to pick the right words (involves expanding vocabulary), organize thoughts, and express yourself. I'd begin by dumping inventive spelling. The simple act of correcting a mistake will eventually result in the mistake not happening again. While no one is perfect, proofreading is critical, multiple drafts are essential. Mistakes are a part of writing and so too is correcting them. Story and essay structure is important. I'm surprised by how few essays my daughter has written for school (she finished 4th grade in June). Even book reports are mostly done based on filling in blocks on a handout sheet.
   
3. willingness to experiment - not everything will work, not everything will work the way you expect, and some will the way you didn't - be willing to accept evidence even if you don't like it. From math, to English, and now science. Hands-on science is a great way to engage kids, but I think in trying to engage kids we've gotten a bit away from the 'work' aspect, which is the planning, research, and construction of the experiment itself. There is a balance between lecture and hands on application that we don't seem to meet at least on the elementary level. This also speaks to accepting failure. Not everything will work as you want or expect. I'm afraid too many kids are raised to believe it does and too many parents try to ensure it for them. Feel-goodism coupled with a fear of competition has led to the development of kids who don't know how to accept failure. Kids need to learn to accept and learn from failure. They need to recognize that sometimes you can do your best in a losing effort, while conversely you can sometimes under-perform and still win. Self-assessment is another critical skill that will lead to self-improvement.
   
4. team players - projects are completed by teams, individuals on teams must work together and perform up to expectation. In school students do a lot of group work, but I don't think this helps them become good team players. The concept of students working together to learn doesn't resonate with me. By the time kids get through school and into the workplace, I've found many feel a need to continue to work in groups on tasks that really don't require it. Wrestling provided me with the model I like to apply for project teams. It is an individual 'sport' with a team component. The group and the individual will both be evaluated. When the individual is 'safe' within the team, in that only the group is evaluated, performance will suffer and it seems this is the way it most often works with group work in school.
   
5. passion and leadership - you must be motivated by the importance of what you do. Whether or not it is the role of the school, I don't know. Probably is what the guidance offices should be working to accomplish - and that is opening students' eyes to the myriad of industries and jobs within them that are available. Too often it seems kids leave school not knowing what they want to do or seeking to do what they know and have been exposed to. Finding one's passion is essential to enjoying life itself. We need to expose students to as many fields, industries, and jobs as possible to help them find what they are passionate about.
   

The near conclusion is, "The challenge for the up-and-coming generation is how to acquire them. It's easy to educate for the routine, and hard to educate for the novel. Keep in mind that many required skills will change...The need for reasoning, though, remains constant, so we believe in taking the most challenging courses in core disciplines: math, sciences, humanities."

What do you think?