Kara Blevins

Dr. Reinard & Dr. Carney

IDC-201-703
04/20/21

Most Likely to Succeed Reflection

The documentary, Most Likely to Succeed, directed by Greg Whiteley shows how

outdated our educational system is and how technology is continuing to take the world by storm.

We are also introduced to several teachers and students from High Tech High, which is a unique

charter school with innovative ideas. Most Likely to Succeed dives into how if our school

systems stay as it is, students will struggle with finding a job after college or in general. The

overall theme of this documentary was to think outside of the box and question why we do things

the way we do when it comes to education.

Since technology has only continued to grow over the years jobs have changed based on

technology and technological needs. While the job field and the skills needed by future

employees may have changed- education has not. Unfortunately, the way the school system is set

up will fail students when it comes to getting a job in our newfound digital world. In fact, the last

significant change to education was during the Industrial Revolution. The idea of an education

system was brought back from Prussia and the curriculum we still use today was created soon

after. Essentially, in 1890, a committee of 10 people created the subjects that are still used in

classrooms today. This means that in the past 124 years our educational priorities haven’t

changed. When I learned about this during the documentary I was stunned. How can we live in

an everchanging world and use the same subjects, curriculum, and have the same priorities as

124 years ago? I think the hard truth is that we can’t, which is what this documentary taught me,

education can’t continue like this and we have to make a change.

Kara Blevins
Dr. Reinard & Dr. Carney
IDC-201-703
04/20/21

High Tech High is an innovative and unique charter school, however, they receive less

money per pupil and teacher than a normal public school. After seeing some of the amazing

projects they do and the creative teachers they have, you would never know they receive less

money all around. I believe this just goes to show that more money spent isn’t the equivalent of a

better education or school. Another fun fact about High Tech High is that the teachers aren’t

tenured and are allowed to teach however they choose. Instead, the teachers have a one-year

contract with the school and how they perform during the school year determines if they get the

privilege to continue teaching there. This idea is smart because the school will never be stuck

with a tenured teacher who simply doesn’t enjoy teaching. One attribute that High Tech High

looks for when hiring teachers is passion. When a teacher has a strong passion for a subject High

Tech High embraces that and allows them to teach to their passions. In my opinion, this makes

teachers more engaged with their job and students more likely to enjoy what their learning.

More often than not we forget that students are capable of doing so much on their own. In

school, students are somewhat micromanaged- they go where they're told when they're told and

do what they're told when they are told. This isn’t setting students up for real-life success! High

Tech High sets its students up for success by taking the traditional school day and making it

unrecognizable. One example includes how High Tech High doesn’t use bells, class periods, or

subjects. They also insist on helping find students find a way to do something on their own.

Another difference between High Tech High versus a traditional public school is the lack of

testing. They choose to not give any cumulative exams and instead, have an exhibition night for

the public to see projects their students have worked on. This creates innovative thinkers who
Kara Blevins
Dr. Reinard & Dr. Carney
IDC-201-703
04/20/21

can make decisions. Gone are the days where you could just fill in a blank on a test and guess

your way to a good grade, at High Tech High you’re forced to make decisions and think

critically. Something we need to recognize is that students aren’t learning anything because

teachers are teaching to the test. However, the teachers aren’t necessarily at fault here-they’re

forced to teach way too much curriculum in too little time and then test students on it. Which

leads to students hardly retaining any concepts and never learning how to think critically or

creatively. It’s just a flawed system all around.

At the end of the day, we are in desperate need of schools like High Tech High who are

student-centered and care more about learning a new skill than passing a test. The education

system as of right now is going to fail so many students simply because a college degree no

longer promises you a decent job. Having soft skills such as confidence, time management, the

capability to work alone, being able to work with a team, and decision making is what’s going to

stand out in a kid who went to a school like High Tech High versus a normal public school and

inevitably, it’s what will stand out to employers. Reflecting upon this I realize it’s all too true.

I’ve never received a job opportunity because my high school or college GPA was higher than

another applicant, I received the job because I’m organized, efficient, determined, and I solve

problems in creative out-of-the-box ways. Some kids don’t even know how to socialize or live

outside of school, so they struggle. Education is beyond valuable but education as of today is

stagnant. Overall, this documentary opened my eyes to even more issues regarding education

than I even realized existed. If there’s one thing I will always remember from this documentary

it’s that as the world around us changes and the needs of the world change, things like education
Kara Blevins
Dr. Reinard & Dr. Carney
IDC-201-703
04/20/21

have to change as well. It’s normal and nothing to be afraid of. A question I had after this

documentary was how do we begin to make a change? More schools like High Tech High? The

school system is a game and we all play- how do we get this message across the entire country? I

hope that one day I will have answers to these questions and that there will be a significant

change in education to prepare students for our everchanging world.