Must-See TV: A Clarion Call for U.S. Education

It’s become a bit of a tradition that in December, I share here my favorite books or other resources from the year (see 2023, 2022, 2021, and 2020 posts). When I reflect on the resources I’ve consumed this past year, there’s one that stands out above all others as a must-share—and not just for educators, but for anyone who believes in the benefits of having an educated society.

My top resource recommendation this year is the documentary film, Most Likely to Succeed, which highlights how our educational system—indeed, the entire culture around education—is broken and needs to be entirely re-imagined. The film focuses specifically on education in the U.S., but I believe the picture it paints of where we need to go will resonate more broadly.

Most Likely to Succeed explains that the current U.S. educational model—with its focus on discipline-specific knowledge acquisition and standardized tests—was built to meet the needs of the Industrial Age. Although the highly tech-driven world we’re living in today looks drastically different, education has changed very little since then.

One thing the film underscores is that our educational system has long been measuring all the wrong things, shaping a culture that values grades and test scores instead of learning, development, and preparation for life. We aren’t creating good citizens, just good test-takers! Babies are sponges for learning when they are born, but sometime around middle school, students become more focused on grades, test scores, and outcomes—as opposed to learning—and this continues through high school and into college. While I have the privilege of working with many innovative and experiential educators, it’s very apparent to me that there’s still a huge focus on content in higher education. I oftentimes hear comments such as: “I really want to integrate intercultural learning into my courses, but there’s no room in the curriculum. There’s just too much content I need to get through.”

However, as the film explores, students do not typically retain what they learn when they’re focused on knowledge acquisition and studying for the test. In real life, we have access to information, but we need to be able to work with other people and use that information ethically and effectively to solve problems.

Rather than focusing primarily on what content needs to be covered, we can backward design education to help young people develop the skills needed to thrive in work and in life—focusing on skills least likely to be replaced by machines. In addition, students need to develop a learning and growth mindset, because that’s one of the biggest things people will need, more so than content knowledge.

In their book by a similar name, Most Likely to Succeed: Preparing Our Kids for the Innovation Era (which I also highly recommend), Tony Wagner and Ted Dintersmith—both involved in the making of the documentary—explain:

We live in an innovation economy. In this new world, the skills necessary to do well professionally have converged with the skills needed to be an effective citizen. (...) In today's world, there is no longer a competitive advantage in knowing more than the person next to you because knowledge has become a commodity available to all with the swipe of a finger. Now, adults need to be able to ask great questions, critically analyze information, form independent opinions, collaborate, and communicate effectively. These are the skills essential for both career and citizenship. Yet developing these is precisely where our schools fall so short. (pp. 20-21)

Wagner and Dintersmith argue it’s essential we help students develop these four Cs—critical analysis, communication, collaboration, and creative problem-solving—to create a citizenry that can hold together our democracy. However, they contend, “few of our graduates are receiving an education equipping them with the skills needed for effective citizenship” (p. 68). While both the book and film came out a decade ago, their message is just as relevant and perhaps more urgent today.

Even in 2015, Wagner and Dintersmith asserted we’re at an inflection point. “Historians will go on to write that the single most important issue that determined the future of the United States wasn't foreign policy, tax policy, healthcare, or terrorism. It was education” (p. 59).

One thing that struck me from the film is that the responsibility of shifting the culture around education lies not just with educators, administrators, or even political leaders, but with all of us. Interviews with students and parents in the film illustrate how we’ve all been socialized to hold certain ideas about the purpose of education and what “good” education—and even “success”—look like. These beliefs run deep, yet must be examined.

Most Likely to Succeed is currently available to view for free online (the website says “for a limited time,” but doesn’t specify until when). I encourage you to invite friends and family to watch and discuss it with you. I watched with my spouse (not an educator), who later later recommended it to our teenage son. After all, everyone has a stake in having an educated society with the skills needed in our world.

The following questions, which Wagner and Dintersmith say “must be the starting point for reimagining education,” are ones I suggest as a starting point for your own personal reflection or discussion with others after viewing the film:

What does it mean to be an educated adult in the twenty-first century? What are the core competencies that matter most for work, learning, and citizenship today? And how are these skills different from what students needed a century ago? (p. 223)

If you’re wondering what this has to do with intercultural learning (the focus of this blog), I encourage you to read last month’s blog post here.

Photo credit: GR Stocks, Unsplash