In the last decade we have spent great amounts of energy and resources redesigning, reengineering, revising, reforming, recycling, and reordering a system that no longer works. We have been busy trying to make a coal-burning locomotive our major mode of transportation when across the tarmac there are options such as the Concorde and the space shuttle. Thus we need to replace the current educational system with a system designed for the kind of society in which we live today, designed for the kinds of students who attend school today, and designed to take advantage of what we know about learning and what we know about technology today. The emerging transformation in education places learning first, before teaching. Students want to learn.
Students learn differently.
They learn from each other. Postsecondary students need schools that allow them to exit and reenter. All students need a K-90 system, for learning is lifelong and continuous. The system must provide road maps, itineraries, optional routes, tours, rest stops for feedback, opportunities to make new connections, and access to major databases and expert systems throughout the world. They must be allowed to change directions, to move back and forth, to make U-turns for remediation, and to call for assistance when they hit roadblocks.