K-12 Public education in the United States is lacking. Its curriculum is antiquated and schools are underfunded. In turn, students are ill-equipped for the modern workforce. The U.S. Department of Education faced a budgeting cut between 2018 and 2019. A decline in global education rankings soon followed. Compared to other developing countries, the United States consistently falls short in areas of reading and math, science and literature. The global marketplace demands a new kind of education for our students to be successful. While current K-12 education adheres to learning styles that demand memorization and regurgitation from their students, modern workplaces both within the United States and in the global economy now search for soft skills such as effective collaboration, innovative problem solving, critical thinking skills, and cultural competency among their new hires. The inability of public school classrooms to transition and meet these demands projects a troubling future for America’s students. How will they compete in the global economy? What becomes of American innovation?
Experiential learning styles provide a new way for American classrooms to educate the next generation and better prepare them for the global economy. Experiential learning looks to combine hard skills such as math and science classes with soft skills. Through experiential learning, students will be challenged to engage with their community and collaborate with their peers to understand core subjects. These learning experiences may take place through partnerships with community organizations, field trips, and increased community engagement, all of which will serve to help students to master the real-world application of classroom content, better preparing them to excel in a global economy.
Employers are increasingly finding that college graduates lack the fundamental skills of critical thinking, innovative problem solving, effective communication, and the ability to adapt to changing priorities in the work environment. This is a direct result of a stagnant curriculum that is not reflective of the skills needed in the workplace. Starting an educational curriculum that focuses on real-world application and competitiveness in the economy earlier in students’ educational careers can mitigate this issue. In doing so, these values will not be novel or rushed in the context of a four year higher education experience, but instead will become second-nature skills practiced with confidence upon entering the workforce.
Public schools like the International School of the Americas (ISA) in San Antonio, Texas prepare students for the global economy by employing a curriculum that cultivates character development, global competency, critical thinking skills, empathy, and active citizenship. Each of these skills can be applied to the broad spectrum of student interests at ISA, whether that be a future liberal arts degree or the desire to pursue a career in the STEM field. At ISA, community service and internship requirements challenge students to understand their roles as community members and global citizens. Part of the active learning experience at ISA teaches students how to become active community members and utilize community resources to further their own interests. Learning at ISA flows smoothly between the classroom and the community. Students partake in local and out of state class trips, extending their learning from inside the classroom to real-world scenarios. Graduation at ISA marks the mastery of these essential skills and the adoption of a mindset the perpetually seeks to identify and improve community issues. Higher test scores, graduation rates, and national & state school rankings all testify to the effectiveness of ISA’s curriculum and values.
Apprenticeships have attempted to remedy the disconnect between educational and workforce experience. Extending these community partnerships to high school students in public schools gives students the opportunity to engage with and master the skills they’ll need to be competitive and productive in the modern workforce. Partnering public high schools with local business leaders, NGOs, and community organizations can connect students with the resources they need to evaluate modern issues, collaborate with experts in the field, and pursue their individual interests and passions. Younger students, K-8, can partake in experiential learning through increased engagement in field trips, invited class speakers from the community, and an emphasis on group work in their core subjects.
The Department of Education has argued that too much money has been lost to feeding the bureaucracy of public education. This does not justify funding cuts from public education. It instead demonstrates a clear need to reevaluate how money is currently spent and ultimately how that spending impacts the effectiveness of curriculum in serving U.S. students. Looking forward, a reallocation of the $5 billion dedicated to Education Freedom Scholarships to K-12 public schools could make experiential learning a reality to all American classrooms. Students could pursue their unique educational interests and have to tool kit to actively contribute and problem solve in their communities. With this transition in curriculum, public schools would work as essential facilitators in connecting students’ passions to their real-world applications. Through experiential learning, classrooms will cultivate students that are more engaged and more aware, making them both leaders and innovators in the global marketplace.