Editorial by Peter Christopher, October 2008

One common observation I make in schools around the world is the attention devoted to a detailed, preset curriculum. The end result is seen to be graduation, or in the short-term, mastering certain specific skills and knowledge. While I'm not against mastering skills and knowledge, I ask, "To What End?"

What is the value of a person who has learned to spell but who does not communicate his original ideas in any form? What is the value of a person who has learned the names of the state capitals but does not know how to present a request for funding to a funder?

It is hip to consider whether evaluation should be done with multiple-choice tests, essays, or portfolios. But I encourage educators who have the freedom to do so, to not focus on evaluation in any form. What is more important is everyday use of the skills and knowledge. Be open to the emergence of initiative in your students. When that does emerge - desire to discuss certain topics, desire to travel to a specific place - allow for the possibility that the skills and knowledge can be mastered in the context of those projects.

One example that comes to mind is the Moscow Film School. In this arts-focused alternative high school in Moscow, Russia, students and teachers pursue small and large projects mutually designed by students and teachers. Students and teachers design plans to make a particular movie, spend time planning for the movie, contacting funders, managing the budget, writing the movie, rehearsing, planning travel to a shooting location, going to the onsite location, shooting the movie, performing on site to raise money for the trip, editing the resulting footage, and ultimately ending up with a finished project together.

This type of project doesn't have to be mutually exclusive from drill-practice learning: part of the day can also be devoted to math practice and drills, spelling, memorization, etc. But keep in mind the ultimate goal of the learning activities: is it passing examinations, or using the knowledge? Then, encourage and nourish those project activities that naturally emerge from life, in which skills and knowledge are used for a broader purpose than examinations or portfolios. Relegate the portfolio or the exam to a secondary activity done from time to time, and don't make it a focus of school.

The focus of school can be not only to master skills and knowledge, but to develop the habit of their application in a meaningful context.