While our world has rapidly changed with the rise of technology and globalization, our educational institutions have largely remained stagnant and rooted in a time that no longer exists.
Question: In light of evidence-based knowledge and understanding of how people learn, and the skills needed for informed citizenry and problem-solvers for the future, what kinds of education innovations and supports would you advocate for such that all the students in Worcester thrive?
2 out of 8 candidates responded
Sue Mailman
“We should be emphasizing critical thinking skills, which are more important than ever in today’s misinformation-saturated world, and increasing access to vocational education, which creates pathways to good-paying union jobs without the student loan debt or four years of unpaid internships. I also believe a family of three headed by a single mom should not have fewer votes than a married couple’s household of two. That means we need to push for an expansion of voting rights for young people under 18, and our schools must lay the foundation for their lifelong civic engagement.”
Tracy O'Connell Novick
“The first sentence of this question is an old canard that has been untrue for as long as it has been said: schools are neither “stagnant” nor are they “rooted in a time that no longer exists.” There are few places that are as constant in change as schools, in fact, simply by virtue of the role they serve in society. I am troubled that this incorrect notion forms the basis for a question here; I’d suggest further research into both where this idea comes from and why it continues to be pushed.
The foundational reason for public education in Massachusetts and in much of the United States, per our state constitution is to create those who will continue our state democracy; I have often thought that what we do in schools would be very different if it were this idea being at the forefront. How would our elementary classrooms run? What would the work in high schools look like?
Every child in our system is a possible future voter, future local, state, or federal elected official. The expectation in the state constitution is that every child will be ready to participate in that very New England form of governance, the town meeting, in which the expectation is that every participant can read and decipher the town budget, deliberate and consider town regulation, and make decisions that will govern the local town for the next year.
Having a school system based on that model would mean, for example, that our school system is much less about controlling bodies, and much more about encouraging minds. It would mean that we would be creating, encouraging, and even mandating—for the adults—active student agency in how schools run.
It would be, in short, a revolution.”
Shanel Soucy
Waiting for response from the candidate.
