Kaleb Rashad is the executive director of High Tech High, a network of 16 public schools and institutes that work on scientific and artistic projects in San Diego (USA). He landed in Catalonia to close the Àgora Education 2022 conference, organized by UManresa and the University of Vic.


Why was High Tech High founded?


— All young people are bright. They are intelligent, creative and see things very differently to how adults see them. When you give them the right conditions, they surprise you with what they can do when they are passionate. I don't know if there is a clear path that works everywhere, but what we did can serve as inspiration. Now we are 16 centers, but we started from a school allied with the San Diego Chamber of Commerce, asking ourselves how we could develop the talent of a group of students to create things: in that first school there was no textbooks or subjects, but the expectation was that children would know what they like and work to learn how the world works. 


How have the 16 schools changed?


— The traditional experience in ESO is that we have 5 or 6 classes a day, of about 50 minutes, every day and every week and every year. And most of the learning in those classrooms was because the teacher dictated to the students and they memorized it and took an exam. We have tried to create a space where we start first with what interests young people. What fascinates you? what worries you And then we help them explore these areas and make sure they understand and achieve learning objectives. It's like a cart of horses: the horses are the students' interests and the cart is the key knowledge, whether we're talking about physics, chemistry or language, because everything is connected to everything else. 


Do they have concrete results of the change?


— Studies show that students do better on standardized tests, have more college acceptance, feel more connected to school, and feel like they're doing work that matters. But because we know there's a lot of inequality in the world, part of what we do is make sure that every student who wants to can go to college and stay there. Between 96 and 98% of our students go on to university and the persistence rate is 56%, which is quite high.


Many studies also indicate that the role of the teacher is a decisive factor in school success. How can you convince teachers to work on projects?


— It will not be through logic, nor by entangling them or persuading them. What really changes behavior is being curious and having a good experience with project-based learning. We support people who ask themselves questions, so that they observe, make sense of what they have observed and reflect on it. For more than twenty years we have faced two challenges: the first is to retrain teachers, inviting them to unlearn what they had learned at university, and the second is to define what a teacher is, because we have seen that the definition could be much wider.



How should a good teacher be? 


— The first thing he must do is love the students and care about them, both for their growth and for their context.


What would you say to teachers who want to innovate, but find themselves alone?


— That innovation requires teamwork and that they look for at least one colleague in the cloister. And then ask the students what topics interest them. Children have many ideas about things, but they do not have the opportunity to express them. Let the kids search for information and investigate things that interest them, even if it's just 30 minutes. Creativity requires taking risks.



There are those who think that these methodologies reduce the academic level. What do you think?


— Even before Socrates people learned through questions. We have to question which models we use to ensure that learning lasts. What we have done in the last 100 years cannot be said to be a deep form of learning, because most things we have learned superficially and have forgotten.


You cannot say that what we have done in the last 100 years is a deep form of learning because most things have been forgotten by us”


Catalonia is the second country in Europe with the highest number of early school leavers. Why do you think these methodologies could help curb this problem?


— I will give an example. In a school in Minneapolis there was a group of young people expelled from class who were rapping, until they were told to do the same, but inside the center. They ended up creating a hip-hop school. Learning comes when students engage with experiences that matter to them. But the systems we have now have been designed to get the most information the best, not to reach the deepest forms of learning. The good news is that there are school models around the world that demonstrate that deep learning can be done. The question is whether there is enough will to design learning that is important for young people, because then the education system needs to be transformed.



If a Minister of Education hired him as an adviser, what would he recommend? 


— Work more with companies and the territory. Education politicians need to know it and work together with industry, because they are the pioneers of innovation, and the two worlds can be associated to transform education, seek creativity and innovate in terms of equity. And then, go find the people who have already done it and ask them the right questions. 


What will happen if the education system remains the same?


— It makes me very sad to think that we will continue to do what we are doing now. I honestly think that what we are experiencing around the world, with the rise of autocracies and the demise of democracies, is very frightening. And educating in freedom and democracy goes hand in hand. Second, if we think that education is a force for transformation, we have to think that we have talent sitting in our classrooms that could contribute to changing what is happening, also in terms of the climate emergency. 



Listening to him, it seems that transforming education is very easy.


— It's not, but it's easier if you're clear about what matters to you. This is the first thing we need to be clear about. The second thing is to clear the way and create permissions for teachers to try new things. Then we need to ensure continuous improvement and ask ourselves which systems and methodologies allow us to improve the learning of our students. Some centers will invest three years, others five, others seven, but surely all change processes are born from rigorous conversations and serious questions.