Written by 
Are you a gamer? You probably are whether you know it or like it. In the open, games are competitions between people, groups, organizations or countries. Doesn’t really matter, as long as it is a competition. In schools, we compete based on grades. It’s a measuring stick and the carrot at the end of the stick is the belief that higher grades equals future success.
This of course, is totally wrong.
Competition should be based on ideas, not grades. In the real world it’s your idea that wins over another division, group or company, how much you remember about the process of the idea. Students should be assessed based on their grit, ingenuity and ability to communicate. In the end ideas win the day and being able to teach students how to grow them from conception to reality is the best way we can help.
Thanks for this post. I’ve read a few times and find it very provocative. I’d like to push back on your idea that competition should be about ideas. While I agree that competition does not suite the discussion about grades, nor does suite the discussion about ideas.
I believe that classrooms, particularly discussion-based, Harkness classrooms, and even Cohort 21 (via blogs and hangouts) are a place where ideas can converse with one another. Sometimes, students feel that if they are the loudest and most frequently heard voice, that they will ‘win’ or that their ideas will be taken forward at the expense of others.
I believe that ideas are best curated and cultivated when they collide and get tested by other ideas. Here is a great TED talk about “Where Good Ideas Come From”. We’ve used it in Cohort 21 before, and I think it has a lot to say.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NugRZGDbPFU
I’d love to hear your thoughts on it after you’ve seen it.
Thanks for this,
garth.
Love it! First of all, what a cool job to spend your day figuring out where good ideas come from.
I complete agree with you. Having forums that foster, nurture and even massage ideas are essential for bringing hunches into action. Cohort 21 is a perfect example.
Having a dose of healthy competition can also bring hunches forward just as fast (although maybe not as polished) as an open forum discussion. When speaking of competition, I don’t mean zero sum win/lose games. What happens when we apply a bit of pressure to bring out ideas especially when it requires action?
What if Einstein sat on the theory of relativity until the technology caught up?
I really like the beginnings of the conversation in the comments section and it’s something to wrestle with. Pressure, like owning the last minute is something but I believe the push in our education system needs to focus more on the collaborative approach. I like the video that @gnichols shared and for me what it highlights is that our ideas are shaped by what’s around us and as important it is to be with like-minded individuals – it’s also important to seek out divergent viewpoints so that it pushes us to consider our ideas and reflect, and shift.
We’re all here to grow, and I like this conversation. You mention the unwritten curriculum – grit, etc… all skills we value.
Have you read Good to Great? Here’s a blog run down of differences btw Level 4 and 5 leaders – but essentially L5 leaders always have a great team around them and collaborate toward a common goal. https://younglifeperception.wordpress.com/2012/10/22/are-you-a-level-5-leader/
Looking forward to connecting on Saturday!