How can frustration with the education system be channeled?

What I write here has burned inside me for a long time. Having served in various positions within the Israeli Ministry of Education for over 20 years and now working within the Ed Tech ecosystem, I am well aware of the many frustrations paired with the many nice things about the education system as well as its many positive aspects. The most significant to me is the fundamental ability of everyone active in this ecosystem to make a change.

Why am I writing this right now? Among my other occupations, I am part of the leading team of the group “Tech4Ed.” This morning there was a discussion that brought out frustrations about the state of teaching, education, obsolescence, teachers’ behavior, and everything that exists in small or large dimensions. During the discussion, there was a turn from letting off steam (which is very critical) to pointing out solutions that already exist and are being implemented (not just technological ones) and suggestions for new options and connections to new people.

This is the solution! You shouldn’t be frustrated, but rather move on to doing (as much as I love doing, but that’s another post). The action I’m referring to is called impact investing. These are investments with a double bottom line: financial and social returns. Companies achieve a higher financial return thanks to their impact. It is worth mentioning that this is not just about technology companies. Naturally, technology companies and Ed Tech companies often lead the trend because they are fundamentally innovative. The others will join later as well.

To understand the ability to change through impact, I want to tell you about a constructive conversation I had a few months after I started working at the Ministry of Education. I came to the office with start-up experience and mentality. I was used to closing things with the CEO within a few minutes. Suddenly there is a hierarchy and a body that takes time to make decisions and implement them. At this point, I told myself that if I didn’t move things along soon, I would return to work for a small company. I shared my frustrations with Ranit Zexer (today, the legendary CTO of Matrix), and the metaphor she used helped me change my approach. She said that I arrived at an aircraft carrier and tried to turn her like aspeed boat. Simple. When I tried to understand how to apply the metaphor in practice, I realized that if I stick to the example, you can’t tell people to let’s turn north 30 degrees, but mark the turn north 30 degrees as the target and reach the target through gentle steering of one or two degrees consistently. It works. I made the method my trademark.

Now let’s go back to Impact and Ed Tech. Many Ed Tech companies offer solutions for education. These solutions don’t have to be radical; if they are innovative, they don’t have to be implemented simultaneously across the entire system.

Start small, show that it works, make adjustments as you proceed, listen to what the people who have been there for many years say (don’t dismiss them as old-fashioned!), and continue with determination. Imagine many teachers and companies that work this way (not just technologies), and you will see that change is possible. And if I enhance the metaphor of the aircraft carrier and the speed boat, I will add a sailing ship between them. This ship knows how to change direction with the wind and not only with a powerful engine. There will be significant changes as each solution moves the system in the right direction. Many solutions require our assistance to reach the right places.

So what do we do tomorrow morning (better now)?

• If you are high-tech and/or education and/or ed-tech people or simply see the importance of education and impact, join an impact group (In Israel, we have a very active Tech4Ed group where we make great connections to realize ideas, and the impact takes place, but the discussion is in Hebrew).
• If you are a teacher or parent trying to figure out how to change, start researching educational apps and software. Thinkabout what incorporated solutions in the coming year will fit the schools you belong to. There are many small solutions that will bring about significant change.

I would appreciate comments on the post, my email, WhatsApp, and other media. What brilliantly complements impact is crowd wisdom.