Creativity, Public Schools and Social Labs

Ken Robertson believes that creativity comes from not being afraid to be wrong. And perhaps he is right. Our schools system, a very hierarchical system don't offer much opportunity for students, teachers, families, and the administration to work together as a community to create policies and changes which we would like to see in our education system.

In the following TED Talk, Robertson argues that our current school system is forcing us to lose our creativity ... which in the long run will affect us by keeping us from attempting to make change in the future or even in the now. Robertson mentions that we are teaching students as if we know the future - when in reality we do not know what the world will be like in 10 years, 20 years, 30 years. We teach with a model that assumes we have the answers, when we really have none.

This video ties in very well with Hassan's concepts of a social lab: the idea of bringing together numerous stake holders in public education and sit down to come up with prototypes, I would say that Ken Robertson would be someone I would want to have in the room. Robertson's ideas of changing public education may be radical to some, but how would be know unless we took the community at large and discussed changes we want to see?

Although not a social lab, a twist on education is a small private school in Kennebunk, Maine. The New School was founded in the year 2000 and it's mission is to "provide a challenging learning environment that balances the roots of community and the wings of self-discovery, with courage, curiosity, caring and the commitment to make a difference in the world." They describe themselves as "a small,state approved, democratic, community based high school in Kennebunk, ME. Our classes are small, many are hands-on, and teachers work closely with students on independent projects, apprenticeships and intensive travel studies. We're all about creativity in the classroom."

The part of The New School that is most interesting is that it is a democratic system. Students and faculty vote on the curriculum, the syllabus, class trips, class projects, funding, fundraising, and any new construction or contracts that are made available to the school. The vote does not have to be unanimous, it is a majority vote. This school is excellent for students that struggle with traditional public schools due to behavioral problems or even learning disabilities. Students can choose their own curriculum and develop their own education while giving to their community 

Facebook: the new School

Like I said before,this is not a social lab. However, it is a group of people - all stake holders in the school and community, who come together to create ideas and see if they work. I believe that because it is on such a small scale it has been incredibly successful over a 14 year period.

The problem with conducting a social lab, in my opinion, is the attaining of various stake holders and holding on to them. Because progress is slow and often hard to define, I feel that members could get easily discouraged and lose interest in the social lab. If social labs are long processes, finding a way to motivate people to participate in the lab would be a challenge.

In the case of the sustainable food lab, people wanted to be there and money was not an issue. But in the case of the Bhavisha Lab, employees were forced to participate by their supervisors in a number of cases. How can a lab be successful if it is not voluntary participation? The students of the New School all want to see the school succeed and even if there is not immediate success, they can see the process and see the results over time. It is the level of commitment as a stake holder that can make a break a social lab. 

References

Hassan, Z. (2014). The social labs revolution: A new approach for solving our most complex challenges. San Francisco, CA: Berrett-Koehler Publishers.