There Is Hope For Education

Today I was having lunch at my favorite lunchtime spot here in my Castro neighborhood in San Francisco. At a nearby table I overheard a conversation that brightened my spirits considerably and gave me hope that our educational system is not a lost cause.

I was so taken with the conversation that I took out my pad and began to jot down the conversation as best I could because I already knew it was prompting me to write this post. (Yes, I eavesdrop sometimes. I learn a lot that way.)

My awareness of the conversation started when I overheard a man saying “So that’s why I chose the academy for my schooling. I have some learning disabilities and at my community college I was on my own. I got no real help from anyone there. It just didn’t work for me. Now I’m on my own, but in a different way and I get lots of help and support in my self-education along with the classes. This works for me in ways regular college classes didn’t.”

As the conversation progressed it became clear that the woman sitting with the man was some type of educational counselor who was likely associated with the academy to which the man referred. She was listening intently as the man explained his situation.

The man continued. “I know there’s no one around this month for me to work with. So my plan is to do a lot of work on my own and then utilize the support and coaching services afterward to help me with any questions that come up from the school work.

The counselor agreed that this was a good approach and gave him strong encouragement and support for the approach he came up with for his own educational goals. Then she began to discuss the associated internship and career development that evidently the man was part of that paralleled his official class work. The man sounded truly excited, motivated and energized about it. He kept explaining how this more self-defined approach to his education, with a real-life internship component, within a formal program that gave him support and guidance, was a much better fit for him and how he liked to learn. He was very excited about it all. How cool.

Then the man talked about looking forward to the three classes he was taking: graphic design, web tools, and American history. Interestingly, he was especially excited about American history because when he took such a class at his previous school he felt he got little out of it and it was actually a subject he was extremely interested in. If you could have heard this guy’s voice, you would have sensed the excitement he had for learning and exploring subjects he was interested in using a learning approach that stylistically really worked for him as someone with learning disabilities and as someone who didn’t feel he fit into the usual classroom-based approach to education.

Then he began to talk about the development of his portfolio and he got really excited. He mentioned how he had previously sought a job in his target field of interest (not sure what field exactly) and that he never got a serious offer from his interviews. He mentioned that the interviewers were mostly interested in his portfolio of work, not his formal education, and he was clearly ecstatic he had found a program that allowed him to pursue his education while building his portfolio at the same time.

The counselor spoke up. “A few things. First, I’m always available to you. Call me. Email me. Text me. Whatever. Reach out to me when you need me. That’s what I’m here for. That goes for your instructors as well. Never hesitate to reach out to your instructors, and to your fellow students, using the various social media and other contact mechanisms we’ve provided to get answers and collaborate with others. Second, I’m glad you’re excited about building your portfolio. It is going to be your calling card to a great job and career eventually. We’ve learned this as we’ve worked with other students.”

Then the man discussed one of his past college instructors saying that she wasn’t a tough grader. Sure, he got an A- in the class, but he knew the whole time he wasn’t getting much out of the class and she was just going through the motions and being overly generous with grades. She was basically a lazy teacher and it bothered him. He wanted someone who challenged him, engaged him, worked with him to achieve rather than just go through the motions. This guy was obviously self-motivated and it was heartening to hear it.

When I finished my lunch I got up and had to say something. I turned to the man and said “I apologize for eavesdropping. All I want to say to you is that you’re going to be incredibly successful in life with your attitude. Keep it up.” I turned to the woman and said “Keep doing what you’re doing. You’re helping people in ways that will impact them positively for the rest of their lives. What a wonderful gift you’re giving your students.” They were a bit stunned, but clearly pleased, and they thanked me as I quickly departed.

This all left me with some hope for the future of education. If it could happen for this guy, it could happen for any student. If this educational program existed for him and in my city of San Francisco, it could exist anywhere for anyone. Creative approaches to education are the only solution to improve what has often become a terribly broken system. Honoring self-education and self-motivation while simultaneously providing instruction, guidance and coaching when needed is a far better way to educate than to simply dole out facts and ideas and ask the student to regurgitate them back through testing. I left that restaurant with hope. It was a great feeling.