The Pendulum Swings

For as long as I have been involved in education I have listened to the people say there is a need for educational reform. In my opinion it is not about reform, it is about transformation and the perpetual swing of a pendulum. For example:

Sustainability. In 1970 we celebrated the first Earth Day. Schools, colleges and communities demonstrated in favor of environmental reform. An executive order signed by then President Nixon was the start of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), an agency whose purpose it was to protect human health and the environment. Twenty years later the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) was founded to promote sustainability in how buildings are designed, constructed and operated, and the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) rating system was developed. Students across the country were once again front and center in support of sustainability. Fast forward to today’s news stories, and questions are being raised as to the “real” costs:benefit analysis of going green.

Science and Technology. In 1957 Sputnik was launched by Russia. Shortly thereafter, lawmakers began calling for a greater emphasis on science and math. In 1958 Washington passed the National Defense Education Act and more than $1 billion was infused into this “new” science curriculum. As important as this was at the time, the buzz soon died down. Fast-forward to the 2000s when global rankings, the economy and workforce development took center stage, and there was a renewed emphasis on what we now called S.T.E.M. While jobs are the desired outcome, our ability to fill those jobs is tied to education. Today we are hearing S.T.E.A.M., not S.T.E.M., as the value of the arts is seen in enhancing creativity and innovation. Unfortunately, while we believe that students need the ability to think critically, problem solve and collaborate to succeed, the focus on S.T.E.M./S.T.E.A.M. appears to be driven by outside factors — jobs, and the idea that the U.S. has fallen “behind” — factors that are likely to change and once again diminish the importance of S.T.E.M. education.

A Perfect World. Things will continue to change and the pendulum will continue to swing. In my version of a perfect world, transformation would include social norms that focused on civility, personal responsibility, productivity and a return to the work ethic that built this great country. When coupled with a good education, no matter the current focus, we would have the potential to be unstoppable!

This article originally appeared in the issue of .

Featured

  • Key Considerations for Office-to-Higher-Education Facility Conversions

    Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, office-to-alternative-use conversions have become a recurring subject of urban development discourse. Office utilization rates across major U.S. cities remain below 50%, with vacancy rates exceeding 27% in San Francisco and 16% in New York. Higher education facilities present programmatic and spatial use cases that align readily with the typical characteristics of commercial office buildings.

  • College of the Mainland Starts Construction on New Library & Learning Center

    College of the Mainland in Texas City, Texas, recently held a groundbreaking ceremony for its new Library & Learning Center, according to a news release. The new facility is part of a larger, $250-million campus expansion project funded by a 2023 bond program.

  • ClassVR Wins Tech & Learning Best of Show at ISTELive 25

    Avantis Education recently announced that its flagship product, ClassVR, won the Tech & Learning Best of Show Award at ISTELive 25 in San Antonio, Texas, according to a news release. The program is designed to celebrate products that are “transforming education in schools around the world and that show the greatest promise for the industry,” and this is the fourth consecutive year that Avantis has claimed the award.

  • Thomas F. Frist, Jr. College of Medicine

    Established in 1999, the Education Design Showcase is a vehicle for showing off innovative — yet practical — solutions in planning, design, architecture, and construction. Thomas F. Frist, Jr. College of Medicine has been recognized with an EDS 2025 Project of Distinction award in the category of New Construction.

Digital Edition