My thoughts on the school of tinkering and our educational system

Gever Tulley’s approach to education and learning seems to be “just do it”. He gives children the tools to make something, anything really, and allows them to use their own minds rather than having someone there telling them exactly what to do. The children can make a mistake then solve the problem on their own. This approach to teaching and learning keeps kids interested in what they are doing because they are DOING, not just sitting in a classroom, being told information. This approach also instills confidence in the children because the instructors are putting trust in them by allowing them to use the tools that the general populace would deem “unsafe”. I think this is a great approach to education, especially for the younger generations, because they tend to have a higher level of physical energy as well as a more active and creative imagination.
In regards to our current education system, (not that I am an expert), I believe we have already started to incorporate the fundamental ideas of Tinkering School. I was told that Montessori Schools focus a bit more on the active learning versus the public schools. There are also more and more higher education schools that offer “hands on learning”. I think we need to have both styles of learning at every level of education for the simple reason that everyone is different, and there for learns differently.
I myself learn better when I can DO what I am learning, but not everything can be taught that way. I am imagining 8th grade Geography. Short of dressing up as the states, I am thinking the only way to learn the states and their capitals is to read, listen and write them down.
No matter what style of learning or teaching there is, all styles have a certain amount of failure. It is what we do with the failure that is important. Most people have come to realize that failure is nothing more than a sign. Failing a test would tell us to slow down, study more, or take better notes. A failed experiment would tell us to try a different approach, or new materials. Seeing a “Dead End” sign would tell us to turn around and try a different street. Some people take failure as a personal mark on their character, getting defensive and often blaming other people for the cause of the failure. I have a hard time believing a student when they say “I failed that test because the teacher doesn’t teach the right way”. In the terms of education, failure is not failure if you learned something from it.
Though I agree with the statement above, I also think that society has allowed failure to be acceptable. The national statistics show that we are getting farther and farther behind other countries in regards to math, science, and reading. America spends more than any other country except Switzerland per student at over $11,000.00. Why are we falling farther behind every year? I think America got just a little too comfortable thinking we were on top, and we don’t have to do anything to stay there. The world is changing, as more and more people and countries are able to receive higher education, they take full advantage of it. It won’t take long before American educated students won’t be able to compete in the global economy as well as their counterparts educated in other countries. If a different style of learning and teaching is a possible answer, then I fully support trying the Tinkering School nationally. I would be interested in knowing if Mr. Tulley has had the opportunity to try his theory with an older group of children, say college age, and how much of an impact would it have on their ability to absorb and retain information.