Across the nation educators are rethinking how they deliver high school education. They are seeing that for a growing number of students the old way of doing things is not working. It is also now clear that the demands on young people in the workforce are higher than ever before. Even the most basic manufacturing jobs require a great knowledge of math, science, reading and technology. They also require workers to be able to apply these skills in a variety of ways and with a team of co-workers.

In many ways, the students who are impacted by these changing expectations are very different from past generations. This is not due to having a lower desire to learn than in past. Instead it has to do with the changes that have occurred in our culture over recent decades. Today’s students are born and raised on technology. They are accustomed to quick-paced hands-on entertainment and information access.

They also are coming from family lives that are fractured in many ways. As moms and dads both are working two jobs and numerous hours, there often are fewer interactions between parents and children. This leaves many students unsupervised for longer periods of time than in the past. This stretching of the family impacts student learning as fewer and fewer students can count on help at home or a stable home environment to support their learning.

To help students succeed in our fast-paced world, reformers believe we need to change our schools to better meet the needs of a changing student body. As they talk about reform, they talk about the new 3 Rs: Relevance, Relationships and Rigor. This is not to say that the old 3 Rs (reading, writing and arithmetic) are no longer important. In fact, these core subjects are more important than ever before. It is only to say that before students will be able to increase their learning of the core subjects, they need to have the right culture in place at school. This new culture is characterized by the new 3 Rs.

Relevance means making sure what is taught and how students learn are tied to the outside world in which they live – especially the world of work. Increasing relevance means applying learning concepts to real-life applications. This helps young people utilize what they learn. It also helps them to gain a deeper understanding of what they learn. Finally, it makes learning more interesting and engaging.

Relationships are critical today as many students come to school without the support of a significant adult. Thus, it is essential that schools today set up systems to help disenfranchised young people become connected to their school peers and good adult role models. Without strong relationships in schools, it is unlikely students will invest themselves in learning. One Harvard professor summarized this very succinctly when he said, “There can be no significant learning without significant relationships.”

Finally rigor needs to be present for all students. Schools cannot “dumb-down” curriculum because they serve students from disadvantaged backgrounds. Rather, all students deserve and need a challenging curriculum that is taught through hands-on experiences and real-life applications. Without this rigor, students will not succeed in the high-tech workplace.

As you can see, high school reform today is a tall order as it is forcing schools to literally rethink and change their fundamental systems of operation. As world competition continues to increase, schools have no choice but to adapt to these changes. This may be challenging for U.S. educational institutions, but it is also exciting. What a great opportunity for our schools to respond to contemporary needs and help students develop to their fullest potential.

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