wife I just want to first briefly
mention that i got married exactly a
week ago yeah yeah i say that because
she’s beautiful but also because i was
pretty sure it would get easy applause
and i’m a sucker for applause my mom
says that’s because i was born to be on
stage I think she only thinks that
because I used to strut around the house
like this I just picture of me because
it shows me being goofy but it also
shows me in my school uniform and today
I want to talk about students and
schools and I think it’s a great picture
to start and I want to talk about the
way we think about those two things and
when it comes to thinking I like the way
dr. Seuss said it said think left and
think right think low and think hi oh
the thinks you can think up if you only
try and since dr. Seuss is a favorite
thinker of mine I’d like to honor him
for the rest of our time by speaking to
you only in rhyme let’s try see I’m
happy to be with you starting this first
session and since I was a teacher I’d
like to start with a lesson don’t worry
it’s not a tested subject it won’t be on
the examination but I do want to talk
about this thing we call education
October first 1908 it’s a date in
American history Ford Motor Company
presents the Model T the first car cheap
enough that every American can test
students sit in classrooms with pencils
at desks july twenty first 1969 256 am
universal time Neil Armstrong steps foot
upon the moon American technology and
ingenuity are at the world’s best
students it in classrooms with pencils
at desks December twenty-fifth nineteen
ninety christmas and the Internet’s
first build is a success the future is
upon us let’s lay old habits to read
students sit in classrooms with pencils
at desks we’ve had more than just change
in the last 100 years hopes and fears
realized in technological innovation
from war spot in trenches towards with
unmanned aviation but frozen in time
seemed the halls of education I can put
you in a classroom send you back in the
day in a time machine a hundred years
ago or in the modern age you could step
into that classroom and see not much has
changed same pencils still desks still
an inflexible school day now don’t get
it twisted yah and hatin on pencils when
I put mine to page I unleash the inner
temple and don’t get it twisted i’m not
hating on desks but are these the two
best tools we should be using to assess
typewriters change the way we write
computers change the way we type phones
change the way we talk but few changes
take place in the place where things are
taught society can’t understand a
teacher’s frustration you see we’ve
treated schools like gun legislation
made tiny changes and prayed for major
results and then pointed our fingers at
the victims and told them it was their
fault and there’s no sense in blamin
we’re all reaping what we’ve sown we’ve
got graduation rates through the roof
and college readiness barely grown I’ve
taught at schools with crumbling walls
and I’ve taught in schools just a few
years old they’ve all been held in on
just sticking the kids in rows we got
generations of kids staring at the back
of each other’s heads and we wonder why
it’s hard for them to look you in the
eye and shake your hand instead I’ve
taught in schools that locked all their
books away and I’ve taught in schools
that thought ipads were some sort of
educational miracle gateway and tried to
solve every problem by just throwing
technology their way but still teaching
in old ways and allowing behavior in
curriculum to stay so what if we design
a new educational reality what if we
turn classrooms into modern sanctuary
grace I hear people say we can’t change
school it’s just no good but I don’t
believe that I say what if we could what
if we instead of building buildings
built ships friendships relationships
help a real wooden ship put the kids in
the boat and had an adventure you all
you can’t learn everything about life
while sitting inside four walls because
if you want to change education you
gotta go somewhere you gotta get on a
plane get on a train get in your brain
use your imagination and go somewhere
it’s not a lesson it’s an adventure what
if instead of sitting at the desk we
danced on top of it what if we build
kids up with courage so that they could
hop off of it what do we threw out the
desk and talk class on the floor what if
trips and experiences matter more than
scores what if teachers felt safe to
fail when they try something unique what
if learning didn’t have to stop so we
can test for a whole week what if
because if you want to change education
let me tell you you got to treat
teachers like rock stars like rock stars
I’m not talking higher paychecks and
premium parking spots I mean I am
talking those things but I’m also
talking like like like front page of the
newspaper like open bar at the Christmas
so what if we changed schools and what
they look like what if we change how
they feel because we got to take this
tired and turn it inspired and see what
it yields what if we design creativity
because our kids deserve more than us
sitting around in designing test scores
what if we gave students real work not
just worksheets and I’m not talking
about making them calculate vertical
leaps because you know those kids their
big basketball fans I’m talking send the
kids out into the field to collect
economic data and have them overlay it
with water quality maps from across the
city and start asking big questions like
why are some neighborhoods more toxic
than others I’m talking about making
kids write screenplays and then run
their own Film Festival I’m talking
about giving kids a shot at curing
cancer because who knows what problem we
can’t solve that is just waiting to be
graced by the genius that is a child’s
mind I’m talking give kids a position in
the company store the company it’s not a
you see the world is moving faster
change it every day but our schools
how can transportation go from cars to
planes to spaceships in less than 60
years but we still got kids sitting in a
desk eighty percent of the year I think
it says something about our nation when
we’ve made a thousand times more
advancements in war than we have an
education the factories have closed
we’re still teaching in old ways
assembly line days and it’s not just on
teachers let me leave the script behind
for a minute and you know what I’ll try
to keep it in rhyme we’ll see if you
guys can get it this is not just
educators this is our entire situation
if your company is not worried about the
state of education then I guess you’re
not hoping to be around to hire the next
generation it’s not just Texas it’s not
just California this is every American
state I’ve met CEOs who are scared to
death about the quality of their
candidates but we can do this people we
can do it faster than we are we can make
education and Industry that’s racing for
the stars we can use the natural
creativity that’s in a child’s mind to
make the world a better place there’s no
limit to what a child can do to help
this human race because every the answer
to every problem that we have ever ever
been in will be sitting in a classroom
monday morning at 8am so let’s help
these kids shape the future not make
them sit and watch it progress you can’t
change the world if you’re only sitting
in a desk thank you guys you