Counting What Counts: Reframing Education Outcomes by Yong Zhao & Friends

This chapter expands on the idea that we should stop trying to create a “standard student” and strive to expand on the individual strengths of every student. Skills associated with critical thinking and problem solving, collaboration, adaptability, initiative, communication skills, analyzing information, and curiosity should be featured. Other skills that need focus are design, story telling, empathy, and play. Due to the rise in media options and a global customer base, traditionally undervalued talents have become more important. Personalized consumption has created a long tail of viable products. We need to actively change the education paradigm into one that cultivates all talents and supports the development of greatness and creativity in all children.

There is much research to support that personality skills such as persistence are more important than cognitive ability when it comes to success. The focus here is on the personality traits that educators should try to build up in their students. They are: 1. Grit: the ability to persevere and have passion for long-term goals. 2. Self-Control: the ability to suppress proponent responses in the service of a higher goal. 3. Self-Confidence: one’s opinion of one’s skills, abilities, and achievement and one’s opinion of how he or she is viewed by others. 4. Empathy: The affective capacity to share another’s feelings. 5: A Service Mindset: The ability to serve and be appreciated by others that fills a fundamental need and improves cognitive engagement. Just how to promote these traits is a matter for further research.