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[…] The Engagement Cliff — Gallup surveyed nearly 500,000 students in grades five through 12 from more than 1,700 public schools in 37 states in 2012 and found that by the time students get to high school only about 4 in 10 qualify as engaged. […]
Reply[…] U.S. survey about student engagement also generated a few blog responses. Jeff Cobb, for one, discussed the findings and questions about the survey and also made reference to parent […]
ReplyI think this poll is sadly reflective of the experience of too many of our nations students. Schools are still primarily focused on “teaching” – as in content delivery, and skill development- rather than, or with too little emphasis on “connecting”
Research in the fields of neuroscience and developmental psychology have underscored the importance of feeling valued, seen and cared about- to developing human potential-
According to Dr. Ned Hallowel, expert in ADHD- schools would be well served to focus more on raising connection scores rather than test scores.
Angela Maiers calls for a campaign that lets kids know unequivocally that they matter- that they have unique gifts and talents that the world needs.
There is a crisis in our education system- it is not fundamentally a systems or technical crisis- not one that can be solved by elevating test scores- it is a crisis of connection, of caring, of seeing and appreciating what is remarkable about each unique child, of cultivating strengths, passions and creativity…
Finland seems to have figured this out.
We can too.
We need to see and cultivate and acknowledge the value of each child- beyond their performance on this or that task, and in this or that subject. In this way, we will be best able to help them learn in a way that is effective, meaningful and engaging for them.
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