Author: Kevin Dickinson / Source: Big Think
- Contemporary schools are reconsidering their subjects and teaching methods in order to offer the best education for children.
- Vicky Chan launched an architecture program designed to teach students STEM, creativity, sustainability,and problem-solving.
- Chan is hardly alone; others have integrated new subjects and methods into curriculum, hoping to instill in students the skills necessary to be engaged, thoughtful citizens.
It’s a well-worn joke that many of the subjects we learned in school aren’t terribly useful as adults. High school calculus forces us to memorize L’Hôpital’s rule but glosses over the practical math of budgeting. P.E. fills our days with dodgeball and the box step, not knowledge of how to maintain an active body and mind while working 40-plus hours a week. And then there’s cursive. You know what we mean.
The state of contemporary education has led many experts to argue a changeup is in order. Are there subjects that would enrich the average student’s life and impart a more versatile skill set than, say, calculus? Vicky Chan, founder of the design firm Avoid Obvious Architects and the voluntary organization Architecture for Children, believes one candidate is architecture.
Designing buildings and minds
Photo: Kevin Gaddie/U.S. Air Force
Grade-schoolers learn design by building a bridge out of LEGOs during a STEM event.
Most students won’t grow up to be architects. That’s probably for the best since the career’s projected growth rate is slower than average. But that’s not Chan’s goal. In a recent CityLab interview, he tells why he began instructing grade-schoolers in architecture. At its heart, architecture is about problem-solving.
In an example relayed to CityLab writer Mary Hui, Chan discusses a class tasked with designing an eco-hotel on a former quarry site. The students chose to place the hotel on a hill’s crest for the luxurious views and wanted to include a tram for easy travel accommodations. As they began to plan, they ran into problems with…
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