Education is not a finite process. It is not initiated at the morning bell and terminated at dismissal. Most definitely it does not start on the first day of Kindergarten and end on graduation day.
Unfortunately, our current education system focuses on a goal being achieved, a test being passed and getting the "right" answer.
Learning must be relevant
If we learn skills because we NEED them to do something that matters to us, then we remember them.
Extrinsic rewards that are offered for activities that people enjoy doing tend to decrease motivation
In other words, if children love to read and we start giving them stickers or stars or "A's" for reading 30 minutes each day, they will be likely to eventually read less often and derive less pleasure from reading. Rewards should be reserved for use when they are needed - to motivate people to do things they don't enjoy. In addition, learning associated with grades becomes learning for the grade, not for the knowledge. There are MANY students who graduate college with honors but cannot remember the content they learned once the test is completed or access their learning in practical applications on the job.
We are more brilliant and can achieve greater success when we learn to work together with others
Collaborative learning environments encourage students to listen to others, to think for themselves and to explain their thinking processes. Once they leave school, it will be much more important that students can work collaboratively and yet our education system insists upon testing them individually and encourages them to compete rather than collaborate.
Incorporating movement and thinking makes learning easier and more permanent
Concepts as simple as "long" and "short" can be shown on paper - but holding an object that is longer than a child's arms can reach and comparing it to a similar object that the child can hold between finger and thumb allows them to experience long and short. Allowing students to experience higher level concepts such as quantities in the billions, squaring a binomial, or the length of a light year will provide a deeper level of understanding and a lasting impression.
Students will thrive when they have some choices about their work and when they feel some control over their learning
In a system as huge as our public schools, there is need for a curriculum. Allowing students some choice and control in deciding how to demonstrate their learning while encouraging an awareness of their own thinking processes will develop self-discipline and motivation.
Students who feel connected to classmates and teachers are much more likely to persevere
If there is one quality that is most associated with student success, it would have to be perseverance. Teachers who take the time to get to know students can communicate with them even in times of distress and end up teaching valuable lessons in self-respect and persistence. The lack of this necessary connection is painfully evident in the fact that schools across the country have resorted to paying students for good attendance and good grades.
If we believe they can or we believe they can't we are probably right
If teachers know that their students are capable of achieving far above and beyond the state learning objectives, their students will learn the skills, but will also develop motivation to learn and will begin to expect more from themselves.