This is Me

Last week when I dropped my kids off at theater camp another parent and I struck up a conversation. I quickly learned that she was a former special education teacher. Then, as educators do, we began a passionate discussion about education right there in the lobby of the studio. We mainly focused on the need for education to become more personalized. It is a shame that, despite all of the resources available today, too many schools and teachers are still devoted to the archaic "drill and kill" model of education despite the myriad of learning styles and interests of our learners. Personalization is the key to successfully educating all learners. Bruce Springsteen hit it on the head when he said that our educational system "only recognizes a certain type of intelligence."

As our conversation continued in the studio lobby a teenage girl approached and stood patiently beside us awaiting a break in the discussion. When one finally came the girl very simply stated that "everything you are talking about is my experience." She went on to explain that she is dyslexic and she never felt that she was understood or fit in at school. Our exchange with her nearly brought tears to my eyes. It can become very easy to bog ourselves down in educational theory, but seeing the face and hearing the testimony of a learner who is a victim of a one dimensional approach to learning made it all too real. A more personalized approach to learning is the solution for reaching students who do not fit the typical mold, such as the young girl we met in the theater lobby.  

Personalized learning is not a fad. Research touting its benefits predates most of us in the education field today. But that is just the tip of the iceberg. Tutoring businesses, can be found nearly as abundantly as Starbucks in our shopping centers. According to IBISWorld the tutoring industry, which personalizes instruction, is a $1 billion a year business and growing.

Admittedly it might never be possible to fully personalize for every learner in a conventional classroom. However, schools must move toward a more personalized approach if they are to reach even the majority of learners. The technology exists for such personalization. Regrettably what is still lacking is the necessary training for teachers to implement such a critical change...