The World Needs All Kinds of Minds

"The first question, and the most important - does every American boy and girl have an opportunity to develop whatever talents they have? All of us do not have equal talent, but all of us should have an equal opportunity to develop those talents." 

~ President John F. Kennedy Commencement Address at San Diego State College. June 6, 1963

Many students struggle with a diversity of learning difficulties and differences including Autism, Executive function, ADHD, and Dyslexia. Regardless of ability/disability every child deserves the opportunity, along with appropriate learning supports, to achieve his or her potential. Learning is about discovering your purpose and passion in life so that each person can contribute to society in a meaningful way, or as Temple Grandin famously said; "The world needs all kinds of minds."

Schools should provide diverse pathways for students to explore interests and to unleash their specialized skills and abilities, rather than continually prepping and testing students just to measure and compare performance according to a common set of standardized skills. Neurodivergent learners must be respected, valued, and celebrated in our schools and communities so they fully appreciate and understand that they are "different, not less."

The focus of "college and career ready" education programs should be to encourage self-discovery and cultivate mastery of self in order to prepare diverse learners for the uncommon challenges of adulthood, employment, and lifelong learning.

It is well documented that human beings possess distinct and diverse cognitive abilities and skills. Teachers honor and respect the cognitive, social, and emotional differences in their students by differentiating instruction and that same approach should be applied to the process of assessing student learning.

A standardized test does not measure the diverse talents and specialized cognitive abilities of our students in an accurate, reliable, or respectful way.

"Growing up with dyslexia is no walk in the park, and it's an open secret that schools are built to cater to one specific type of student. For the rest of the world--the creative thinkers, the talented artists, the energetic athletes--sitting at a desk for hours on end, memorizing lists and analyzing information in a test-taking format, doesn't necessarily compute with our skill set...

To those out there who think success in school is a measure of future accomplishment, I am here to say, it is NOT. Don't look at your grades, your test scores, or your teachers' opinions. Don't focus on your learning disabilities or your inability to remember immaterial dates and numbers. Not everyone is cut out for success in school and that's okay: it's not a true measure of what you can achieve.

If you've got drive, creativity, motivation, passion and the ability to push up your sleeves and get to work, then come join the Entrepreneur's Club. We'll be happy to have you and we don't need your SAT scores to let you in; we know you can succeed no matter what number the College Board gave you.

I certainly did."

Donny Zanger, "Why I failed As a Student and Succeeded As an Entrepreneur", Inc. 8/17/15

Success in life is much less about getting the highest grade in math class or how your test scores compare to others, than it is about harnessing the power of your unique talents and becoming your best self.

While academic competition and compliance are emphasized in many classrooms today, success outside of school and later in life is more often dependent on our social skills and learning how to build positive relationships, collaborating with others, and finding ways to meaningfully contribute to a group effort.

Teachers should strive to meet the individual needs of their students, not the “needs” of the learning standards or tests. There should be high academic expectations for all students, but to expect every student, regardless of learning difficulty, disability, or neurodevelopmental differences, to meet those standards in a synchronized and identical way, is silly and inherently unfair.

“I couldn’t read. I just scraped by. My solution back then was to read classic comic books because I could figure them out from the context of the pictures. Now I listen to books on tape…Many times I can see a solution to something differently and quicker than other people. I see the end zone and say ‘This is where I want to go.’…Passion is the great slayer of adversity. Focus on strengths and what you enjoy.”

~ Charles Schwab

“You don’t have to be the fastest runner in the relay team or the best speaker on the debate panel, as long as you surround yourself with great people and contribute in your own way.

It’s no secret that I wasn’t the most academic student. Dyslexia held me back from focusing on school work and achieving good grades. However, I learned that if I flanked myself with people that complemented my weaknesses and shared my passions, I could work with them towards greater achievement…

Finding the spotlight isn’t about standing in it. There’s so much to be gained from working with a collective of people who support each other to achieve great things…

It’s therefore incredibly important to surround yourself with people who complement you, aid your self-development, and most importantly allow you to shine – even if it’s in their shadow.”

~ Richard Branson

Numeracy and literacy skills are essential for lifelong learning but the assertion that all students must acquire identical skills and the same level of proficiency in order to be "ready" for college and careers is both foolish and unfounded.

"The advantage is that my brain sees and puts information in my head differently, more interestingly than if I saw like everyone else"

~ Whoopi Goldberg in her interview with Quinn Bradlee of Friends of Quinn

While students in Common Core classrooms across this country are trained to cite evidence that supports their claims, education reformers continue to ignore or deny the decades of evidence that emotional intelligence “levels the playing field”, and these essential life skills enable countless adult learners to lead very productive and rewarding lives despite weaker reading or writing skills…

“…But what has become obvious—as evidenced by the sheer number of dyslexic World Economic Forum attendees in Davos and by plenty of research—is not only that dyslexics can be, and often are, brilliant, but that many develop far superior abilities in some areas than their so-called normal counterparts…What those highly accomplished people wanted to discuss, albeit discreetly, was their reading ability, or, more accurately, the difficulty they have reading—one of the telltale symptoms of the disorder…”

Coudl This Be teh Sercet to Sussecc? American Way, July, 2008

The current emphasis on academic competition in the classroom and obsession with comparing student performance is counterproductive and harmful. Education programs should be much less concerned with determining who's "leading the pack" and much more focused on cultivating future pack leaders.

"Imagine two wolf packs, or two human tribes,' Mr. McIntyre said. 'Which is more likely to survive and reproduce? The one whose members are more cooperative, more sharing, less violent with one another; or the group whose members are beating each other up and competing with one another?'… Strength impresses us. But kindness is what we remember best…"

“Tapping Your Inner Wolf”, Carl Safina 6/5/15 

Ironically, too much emphasis on competition and preparing students for the rigors of college can result in a distorted and "hollowed out" view of leadership that can diminish and undermine our students' social/emotional growth and development.

Schools should provide less data-driven test prep and more emotion-filled community and character building experiences if we are to properly prepare our children to be self-directed lifelong learners, independent thinkers, and empathetic leaders.

K-12 education programs should focus much more instructional time on helping students acquire and practice soft skills, if they expect them to master and apply hard skills in appropriate, effective, and skillful ways.

"If college admissions offices show us whom and what we value, then we seem to think that the ideal society is composed of Type A’s.

Yet a well-functioning student body — not to mention polity — also needs followers. It needs team players. And it needs those who go their own way.

…We also rely as a society, much more deeply than we realize, on the soloists who forge their own paths. We see those figures in all kinds of pursuits: in the sciences; in sports like tennis, track and figure skating; and in the arts….

Perhaps the biggest disservice done by the outsize glorification of “leadership skills” is to the practice of leadership itself — it hollows it out, it empties it of meaning. It attracts those who are motivated by the spotlight rather than by the ideas and people they serve. It teaches students to be a leader for the sake of being in charge, rather than in the name of a cause or idea they care about deeply.

The difference between the two states of mind is profound. The latter belongs to transformative leaders like the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Gandhi; the former to — well, we’ve all seen examples of this kind of leadership lately."

"Not Leadership Material? Good. The World Needs Followers." Susan Cain 3/24/17

Not surprisingly, recent research suggests that emphasize on GPA and class rank is misguided and students who excel in the artificial environment of the classroom do not shine and experience the same level of "success" when it comes to real life endeavors and impact outside the classroom.

"Karen Arnold, a researcher at Boston College, followed 81 high school valedictorians and salutatorians from graduation onward to see what becomes of those who lead the academic pack. Of the 95 percent who went on to graduate college, their average GPA was 3.6, and by 1994, 60 percent had received a graduate degree...

But how many of these number-one high school performers go on to change the world, run the world, or impress the world? The answer seems to be clear: zero...

Was it just that these 81 didn’t happen to reach the stratosphere? No. Research shows that what makes students likely to be impressive in the classroom is the same thing that makes them less likely to be home-run hitters outside the classroom...

Ironically, Arnold found that intellectual students who enjoy learning struggle in high school. They have passions they want to focus on, are more interested in achieving mastery, and find the structure of school stifling. Meanwhile, the valedictorians are intensely pragmatic. They follow the rules and prize A’s over skills and deep understanding.

School has clear rules. Life often doesn’t. When there’s no clear path to follow, academic high achievers break down. Shawn Achor’s research at Harvard shows that college grades aren’t any more predictive of subsequent life success than rolling dice. A study of over seven hundred American millionaires showed their average college GPA was 2.9."

"Wondering What Happened to Your Class Valedictorian? Not Much, Research Shows" Eric Barker, 5/18/17

Rather than rating and sorting compliant students according to a standardized and narrow set of testable academic skills, we should be celebrating and cultivating uncommon talents and creative thinking in our classrooms.

As Arnold Dodge explains, schools should be honoring and uplifting the creative “characters” in their classrooms…

With the battle cry “College and Career Ready,” the champions of standardization are determined to drum out every last bit of creativity, unpredictability, humor, improvisation and genuine emotion from the education process in the name of useful “outcomes.”..

But there is another way. If we believe that children are imaginative creatures by nature with vast amounts of talent waiting to be mined, and if we believe that opening children’s minds and hearts to the thrill of learning — without competition and ranking — is a healthy approach to child development, then we are off to a good start…

William Glasser, M.D., studied schools for over 30 years and in his seminal work, The Quality School, he outlines five basic needs that all human beings are born with: survival, love, power, fun and freedom.

How many policymakers today would subscribe to having fun or experiencing freedom as a goal of our educational system? Just think of the possibilities if they did. Kids actually laughing in school and not being punished for it. Students feeling strong enough to talk truth to power and not being silenced. Youngsters feeling free to write with creativity and originality without being ridiculed for deviating from state test guidelines.

And that’s before we even get to love.

Think of the characters that would emerge from such an environment. Comedians, orators, raconteurs, revolutionaries, magicians, clowns, young people with agency and drive, having fun, not afraid to take risks or make mistakes. Not afraid to be children…

The BLOG: Needed in School: 140 Characters ~ Arnold Dodge

Data-driven school programs that repeatedly test students in a standardized way so teachers can compare, rate, sort, and label children will often dishearten and discourage students with learning differences and disabilities.

This one size fits all approach can lower self-esteem and self-confidence while decreasing student engagement and suppressing their interest and enthusiasm for learning.

“Here's to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers. The round pegs in the square holes. The ones who see things differently. They're not fond of rules. And they have no respect for the status quo. You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them. About the only thing you can't do is ignore them. Because they change things. They push the human race forward. And while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius. Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do.”

Our schools and teachers have a responsibility to create a safe, supportive, and dynamic learning environment where each child is free to learn and has the opportunity to pursue their interests and develop their talents as they learn that it is not how smart you are that really matters in life, but discovering how you are smart?

“Kids make their mark in life by doing what they can do, not what they can’t… School is important, but life is more important. Being happy is using your skills productively, no matter what they are.”

~ Howard Gardner

The recent tragic death of musician, singer, and songwriter Chris Cornell reminds us all of the private and personal battles that many people face and that our schools also have a responsibility to provide a safe learning environment that respects all learners and does not add to these struggles.

Every child should be accepted and valued for the person they are, and the unique combination of talents, skills, and abilities they possess.

No student should ever be devalued or labeled "less than" just because a standardized test score supposedly indicates they are not "on track" for college and career.

School leaders have the responsibility to provide a caring and nurturing environment where each student can flourish and no child ever has to struggle just to "Be Yourself."

“American culture is identified as very individualistic, and yet there’s a tremendous social pressure to conform and to be like everybody else, and to marginalize and pathologize people who function differently in all different kinds of ways,” says Tom Ehrenberg, a therapist. “I will get parents who will say to me, ‘I just want my kid to be normal,’ and sometimes I have to say to them: ‘It’s not his job to be normal. It’s his job to be who he is.’ ”

“Learning From What Lincoln Had to Say”, Neil Genzlinger, NY Times April 14, 2014

"As human beings, our job in life is to help people realize how rare and valuable each one of us really is, that each of us has something that no one else has–or ever will have–something inside that is unique to all time. It’s our job to encourage each other to discover that uniqueness and to provide ways of developing its expression."

~ Fred Rogers

One size fits all education programs and standardized testing restricts creativity and fosters convergent thinking in the quest for higher test scores. Authentic assessments like student portfolios, performances, and projects enable neurodivergent learners to utilize their special skills, talents, and abilities as they complete structured but open tasks allowing for a variety of routes to completion.

In rigorous and rules-based standardized classrooms of today, our creative and divergent thinkers may be devalued and expendable, while the vigorous history of America clearly demonstrates that independent learners, original thinkers, and creative problem solvers have been essential and exceptional.

In the real world of learning and working outside of school, plausible solutions to novel problems are absolutely worth consideration and further study, but according to standardized testing "rules of assessment", there is only one correct answer to every problem, and partially correct answers are completely wrong.

Test questions are carefully reviewed “to ensure that it is fair and has a single correct answer...students will need to make a thoughtful distinction between the fully‐correct option and the plausible but incorrect options.”

General Resources: Frequently Asked Questions: 3-8 Testing Program (pg 9, #21)

In follow the leader education programs, compliant students are rewarded for following directions as they are trained to employ specific procedures and steps to complete a task.

This is particularly true in math classes. Students will get the answer correct but lose points because they did not use the state approved method and show all the required steps for solving a problem.

While there may be important formulas and equations that students must learn and use correctly in math and science class, it is also important to reward divergent and creative thinking as shortcuts and alternate strategies may lead to the development and discovery of new formulas, equations, and methods for solving problems.

Experienced classroom teachers understand that the most effective way to engage and inspire all learners is to provide diverse opportunities for students to create, play, experiment, and explore. Students learn by testing their limits, not taking tests.

Some of the greatest discoveries and innovations in medicine, science, and technology have been achieved by self-directed learners applying their distinct skills and uncommon abilities without the limitations and constraints of having to follow rules for learning…

"I approached him in a humble spirit: “Mr. Edison, please tell me what laboratory rules you want me to observe.”

 And right then and there I got my first surprise. He spat in the middle of the floor and yelled out,

 “Hell! ain’t no rules around here! We are tryin’ to accomplish somep’n!”

 September, 1932 Harper’s Magazine “Edison in His Laboratory” by Martin André 

"Creativity is putting your imagination to work, and it's produced the most extraordinary results in human culture."

~ Sir Ken Robinson