What if we eliminated the idea that universities can select students? Because this selection sustains a system of inequality (where you have higher ranked exclusive universities that attract "top" students, and inclusive universities for the rest... oh, wait, why are we rating the not-inclusive universities as the best?) and this inequality will always drive competition for whatever criterion is used for selection (whether it is grades or portfolios doesn't really matter)
Of course, there's a lot to unpack here - universities cannot physically accommodate everyone who applies, but there is no real barrier to providing online access to every lecture, and indeed students could access online content from multiple universities - then we don't actually need the same basic lectures delivered in multiple universities. This leads to a question of what is the value proposition of physical presence in a university if it is not for signalling admission to the university...
I'm not opposed to fair competition; I feel it establishes a standard of effort and expectation that is important in higher learning. I also find that in-person experiences are far richer than online learning, which should place responsibility on universities to provide transformative experiences, rather than rote knowledge transfer.
My focus in this post is about how to unlock learning potential in high schools, more than universities; but I agree that, by changing selection criteria, we could unlock potential in university learning as well.
Student portfolios make so much more sense to judge admissions by than standardized test scores and grades that, as you say, can never be truly standardized anyway. I wonder how much more deeply and, in the end, rigorously students might learn if they had the space to dive into fewer topics more thoroughly.
As a parent with deep concerns about our education system it’s always so good to read your work! Your thoughts and ideas resonate well.
Thank you for sharing your thoughts, they warm my heart.
I love the idea of 'more space', but I find myself resisting the idea of 'fewer topics'. The reason why is that everyone is different and we live in a world of hyper-specialisation.
For some students, giving them the space to drill deeply is a great feeling because they have clear ideas about their interests. For others, the freedom to graze and taste the grass of many pastures is more rewarding (I am one such student). Space is required for both, but I would contend that there are fewer students who have clear ideas about their interests than those who need time to roam. The flexibility to respond to individuals as biodiverse is largely missing.
I often contemplate that hyper-specialisation is a greater systemic problem in education, and in life, than we might think; it's great for productivity but we are human beings, not human doings.
There are so many amazing nuggets packed into this article. I saved several quotes, thinking about the education perspective (I’m homeschooling my kids next year because I want to give them a better experience, for many reasons you’ve outlined). I also work with health behavior and these words are 🎯 “Each human is unique in design and potential, where to standardise humans is to work against the grain of life.” You’re exactly right! Just as education isn’t one size fits all, nor is healthcare! We have largely accepted that they are, but big shifts are happening in both areas 🙌
Thank you for sharing your kind words. I wish you and your kids my very best as you head into this new adventure. I spent many years home-schooled.
I agree, there are some some great shifts in perspective happening in the theory of healthcare, recognising the distinctiveness of each person's physiology and the power of 'the mind' to impact health. I really like Prof. Ellen Langer's work regarding the mind-body.
Agree with you that the early years are leading the change in education.. I’m an early childhood practitioner and doing a masters in early childhood education, and I see so much hope in ECE pedagogies and research. I really hope the early years efforts will somehow permeate the rest of the school system, although the opposite seems to be increasingly true. Great post!
I have seen so many students who have come up through wonderful pedagogies only to arrive at high school and feel lost in the grind of the machinery and the callousness of those around them. We need more sensitive systems to empower the innate potential of human sensitivity.
Fantastic writing, thank you so much. I think it's a bit different in the UK, but definitely going in the same direction. I enjoyed reading Julie Lythcott Haines' book 'How to Raise an Adult', based on her admissions as dean of Stanford. Really eye opening. Thanks for explaining it in such an accessible format.
Thanks Guen, my experience is as a teacher in the British school system (GCSE/A Levels) in Poland, where most of my students went to Oxbridge or similar universities. I graduated high school in Canada but completed my uni. studies in London and Oxford.
I'm now teaching in a school where there's much less pressure for students to be admitted to top ranked universities (which is why I teach there), but most of the curricular structure is still determined by standardised requirements.
To be complimented on writing is the highest praise one can receive on Substack! More so, because I love the way you write. Thank you. I'll check out Haines' book, it sounds like a good one.
Thank you so much for writing this. The standardization of high school is absolutely being dictated by the pressure of university admissions, which seems much more competitive than when I went through the process 30 years ago.
Many high school student are stressed by homework not because of the homework itself but because they don’t have time with all of the extracurriculars they are committed to also for the purpose of university admissions.
And, I see our neurodivergent kids needing tutoring in high school not to learn but to check the box to make the grade to get to graduation.
We’ve recently decided to give our kid a less stressful senior year (12th) and go the community college route for the next two years following graduation. It feels liberating to all of us.
Thank you, Emily. I'm glad that this resonated with where your family is at.
It's so empowering when the weight of expectations, perceived or otherwise, is lifted and our kids feel permission to enjoy learning, rather than feeling pressured to strive. Having gone through this process with my own child (where both of us are neurodivergent), the bachelors degree was built up through his school to be such a pinnacle event that there was disappointment to discover that uni. was really just more school.
What if we eliminated the idea that universities can select students? Because this selection sustains a system of inequality (where you have higher ranked exclusive universities that attract "top" students, and inclusive universities for the rest... oh, wait, why are we rating the not-inclusive universities as the best?) and this inequality will always drive competition for whatever criterion is used for selection (whether it is grades or portfolios doesn't really matter)
Of course, there's a lot to unpack here - universities cannot physically accommodate everyone who applies, but there is no real barrier to providing online access to every lecture, and indeed students could access online content from multiple universities - then we don't actually need the same basic lectures delivered in multiple universities. This leads to a question of what is the value proposition of physical presence in a university if it is not for signalling admission to the university...
Thank you, Sifaan, for your comment.
I'm not opposed to fair competition; I feel it establishes a standard of effort and expectation that is important in higher learning. I also find that in-person experiences are far richer than online learning, which should place responsibility on universities to provide transformative experiences, rather than rote knowledge transfer.
My focus in this post is about how to unlock learning potential in high schools, more than universities; but I agree that, by changing selection criteria, we could unlock potential in university learning as well.
Student portfolios make so much more sense to judge admissions by than standardized test scores and grades that, as you say, can never be truly standardized anyway. I wonder how much more deeply and, in the end, rigorously students might learn if they had the space to dive into fewer topics more thoroughly.
As a parent with deep concerns about our education system it’s always so good to read your work! Your thoughts and ideas resonate well.
Thank you for sharing your thoughts, they warm my heart.
I love the idea of 'more space', but I find myself resisting the idea of 'fewer topics'. The reason why is that everyone is different and we live in a world of hyper-specialisation.
For some students, giving them the space to drill deeply is a great feeling because they have clear ideas about their interests. For others, the freedom to graze and taste the grass of many pastures is more rewarding (I am one such student). Space is required for both, but I would contend that there are fewer students who have clear ideas about their interests than those who need time to roam. The flexibility to respond to individuals as biodiverse is largely missing.
I often contemplate that hyper-specialisation is a greater systemic problem in education, and in life, than we might think; it's great for productivity but we are human beings, not human doings.
There are so many amazing nuggets packed into this article. I saved several quotes, thinking about the education perspective (I’m homeschooling my kids next year because I want to give them a better experience, for many reasons you’ve outlined). I also work with health behavior and these words are 🎯 “Each human is unique in design and potential, where to standardise humans is to work against the grain of life.” You’re exactly right! Just as education isn’t one size fits all, nor is healthcare! We have largely accepted that they are, but big shifts are happening in both areas 🙌
Thank you for sharing your kind words. I wish you and your kids my very best as you head into this new adventure. I spent many years home-schooled.
I agree, there are some some great shifts in perspective happening in the theory of healthcare, recognising the distinctiveness of each person's physiology and the power of 'the mind' to impact health. I really like Prof. Ellen Langer's work regarding the mind-body.
Hubberman with Langer
(https://open.spotify.com/episode/5WEdr92LxkFUk82mS3pmWv?si=161752315c7a4d46)
Thanks I’ll check it out! Love Huberman Lab podcast.
Agree with you that the early years are leading the change in education.. I’m an early childhood practitioner and doing a masters in early childhood education, and I see so much hope in ECE pedagogies and research. I really hope the early years efforts will somehow permeate the rest of the school system, although the opposite seems to be increasingly true. Great post!
Thank you. This is my deep hope as well.
I have seen so many students who have come up through wonderful pedagogies only to arrive at high school and feel lost in the grind of the machinery and the callousness of those around them. We need more sensitive systems to empower the innate potential of human sensitivity.
Fantastic writing, thank you so much. I think it's a bit different in the UK, but definitely going in the same direction. I enjoyed reading Julie Lythcott Haines' book 'How to Raise an Adult', based on her admissions as dean of Stanford. Really eye opening. Thanks for explaining it in such an accessible format.
Thanks Guen, my experience is as a teacher in the British school system (GCSE/A Levels) in Poland, where most of my students went to Oxbridge or similar universities. I graduated high school in Canada but completed my uni. studies in London and Oxford.
I'm now teaching in a school where there's much less pressure for students to be admitted to top ranked universities (which is why I teach there), but most of the curricular structure is still determined by standardised requirements.
To be complimented on writing is the highest praise one can receive on Substack! More so, because I love the way you write. Thank you. I'll check out Haines' book, it sounds like a good one.
Thank you so much for writing this. The standardization of high school is absolutely being dictated by the pressure of university admissions, which seems much more competitive than when I went through the process 30 years ago.
Many high school student are stressed by homework not because of the homework itself but because they don’t have time with all of the extracurriculars they are committed to also for the purpose of university admissions.
And, I see our neurodivergent kids needing tutoring in high school not to learn but to check the box to make the grade to get to graduation.
We’ve recently decided to give our kid a less stressful senior year (12th) and go the community college route for the next two years following graduation. It feels liberating to all of us.
Thank you, Emily. I'm glad that this resonated with where your family is at.
It's so empowering when the weight of expectations, perceived or otherwise, is lifted and our kids feel permission to enjoy learning, rather than feeling pressured to strive. Having gone through this process with my own child (where both of us are neurodivergent), the bachelors degree was built up through his school to be such a pinnacle event that there was disappointment to discover that uni. was really just more school.