Cheery Friday Greetings from Barb Oakley! (Special K-12 focus this week)
Throughout my career as an engineering professor, I’ve witnessed countless initiatives aimed at high schools and universities to boost diversity and inclusion in STEM fields. These efforts are commendable, but they often overlook a crucial truth: if we truly want to make a lasting difference, we should be looking much earlier. Why do we keep trying to “fix” disadvantaged students when they get to college, rather than fixing the underlying pipeline? I feel the real key to unlocking potential and fostering a love for learning lies not in universities, high schools, or even middle schools, but in our elementary schools. As this recent breakthrough paper in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences asks and then begins to answer: “How can a complex neural circuit, with trillions of individual connections, arise from a comparatively simple genome? What makes this problem challenging is the largely overlooked fact that these circuits, at or soon after birth and with minimal learning, are able to specify a tremendously rich repertoire of innate behaviors.”
A well-grounded elementary school education takes advantage of early pattern- and sense-making abilities, and can make an enormous difference in children’s abilities and attitudes towards learning throughout their lives. More than that, elementary schools are where that automatic, basal ganglia system is still strong—this is the same system that allows you to learn patterns easily, with little conscious struggle. Elementary schools that provide a firm grounding in the basics (along with a diffuse mode appreciation for nature and play!) are the essential bulwark of a good education system.
Lake Superior Academy: Blending Tradition and Neuroscience in Education
It was with all this in mind that I visited Lake Superior Academy in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan earlier this month. This remarkable K-5 school is redefining elementary education by blending traditional Montessori methods with cutting-edge neuroscience-based approaches. Most importantly, children are taught how their brain learns, and the most effective ways to learn! (Isn’t it amazing that children worldwide can have eight to eighteen years of education–and never have a single course on how to learn effectively?!)
Lake Superior Academy is rooted in Montessori philosophy, which, as founder Susie Schlehuber points out, draws from educational pioneers like Pestalozzi, Seguin, and Froebel. As a parent whose daughters attended Montessori schools, I’ve seen firsthand the benefits of this approach.
A Fresh Take on Math Education
While I’m a fan of many Montessori methods, I’ve always felt their approach to math could be improved. Lake Superior Academy addresses this by incorporating insights from neuroscience, particularly the power of the basal ganglia in learning.
Research indicates that children of Chinese immigrants often excel in math. Why? Their parents, contrary to common advice from US school teachers, emphasize memorization and fluency with multiplication tables. While manipulatives are useful to start with, math ultimately is a mental sport.
Teaching methods that don’t leverage youngsters’ remarkably strong automatic, basal ganglia-based learning system—the same system that allows them to acquire their native language—are missing a critical window of opportunity. Consider these examples:
- Part of Marie Curie’s brilliance stemmed from the mental math her father taught her as a child.
- The Polgar sisters’ chess superstardom was built on early exposure and practice.
- Early exposure to language allows children to internalize linguistic patterns with natural ease.
So why do our elementary schools so often overlook this critical period of development?
Practice through systematic approaches, such as Kumon or Smartick, can help children internalize mathematical patterns. This develops an intuitive understanding of numerical relationships that will benefit them throughout their lives.
Importantly, short bits of gamified drill can lead to extraordinary skill! By making practice engaging and fun, we can help children develop early mathematical fluency without it feeling like a chore. This approach takes advantage of the brain’s reward systems, making learning both effective and enjoyable.
By harnessing the power of the basal ganglia, emphasizing practice and pattern recognition, and incorporating gamified elements, we can revolutionize math education. It’s time for our elementary schools to embrace these methods and give our children the strong mathematical foundation they deserve.
Implementing “Uncommon Sense Teaching”
Lake Superior Academy bases its approach not only on traditional methods but also on principles from my and my co-author’s book Uncommon Sense Teaching. They recognize the power of young minds’ automatic, basal ganglia-based learning system and leverage it effectively.
Holistic Education and a Model for the Future
Despite its focus on academic rigor, Lake Superior Academy doesn’t neglect the importance of nature and physical activity. Students also spend ample time outdoors, even in harsh northern Michigan winters, learning about the beauty and harmony of nature, and simply learning to play together.
If you’re looking for a visionary school that combines the best of traditional methods with modern neuroscience, look no further than Lake Superior Academy. Founder Susie Schlehuber and her team are pioneering an approach that could shape the future of elementary education.
Interested in learning more or visiting the school? Lake Superior Academy’s Facebook page gives an authentic day-to-day look at the school, while their website provides a much more thorough description of the overall program. Feel free to reach out with questions or to arrange a visit!
Books of the Month
The Trouble with Ed Schools, by David Labaree
This month, we dug into David Labaree’s The Trouble with Ed Schools. If you are a parent or teacher of K-12 children, you will find Labaree’s book to be invaluable in helping you understand why the modern US K-12 system is the way it is. Labaree makes a clear case that American education schools are fundamentally outdated due to their lack of integration of modern scientific insights..
Dr. Labaree argues that these institutions have been overly focused on certifying teachers rather than pushing the envelope with teaching methods that are informed by current research. Labaree’s book is a clarion call for education schools to revamp their approaches and curriculum to not only keep pace with, but also lead in, the application of new scientific insights that could revolutionize teaching and learning–as with the visionary approaches of Lake Superior Academy.
The Trouble with Ed Schools encourages us to rethink how teachers are trained and challenges us to envision a future where education is as dynamic and evidence-based as the best scientific fields.
The Beautiful Tree: A Personal Journey into How the World’s Poorest People Are Educating Themselves, by James Tooley.
James Tooley’s eye-opening The Beautiful Tree challenges conventional wisdom about education in the developing world. Tooley, a professor of education policy, uncovers a hidden revolution: low-cost private schools serving some of the world’s poorest communities.
Through extensive on-the-ground research in countries like India, China, and Africa, Tooley reveals vibrant educational ecosystems that government officials and international aid organizations often overlook or deny exist. He finds dedicated teachers and entrepreneurs running small schools that outperform government alternatives, all without outside funding.
Tooley’s engaging prose brings to life the people he meets, from ambitious students to innovative school operators. He thoughtfully explores why families living on a few dollars a day choose to pay for education when free government schools are available. The answers provide insight into both human nature and effective education policy.
While celebrating these grassroots successes, Tooley also highlights the obstacles private schools for the poor face, including hostile bureaucracies and well-meaning but misguided international aid efforts. The book makes a compelling case for empowering local communities rather than imposing top-down solutions.
The Beautiful Tree offers an uplifting perspective on addressing global poverty through education. It’s a must-read for anyone interested in international development, education policy, or inspiring stories of human resilience and ingenuity in the face of adversity.
Barb Back in New Delhi and Bengaluru
I’ll be back in New Delhi, India, speaking about “Liberating Minds: Neuroscience, GenAI, and the Future of Free Market Education” on September 23rd at the Mont Pelerin Society Conference in New Delhi. If you’re near New Delhi, I’d love to meet you!
And I’ll be giving a full day workshop, “The Art & Science of Learning in the Era of Generative AI” at PES University in Bengaluru, India’s Silicon Valley, on September 28. To check about the possibility of attending, contact Professor Deepa S.
That’s all for now. Have a happy week in learning!
Barb Oakley
