School Board News

You should listen to someone who builds his own computer—out of hundreds of transistors attached to a sheet of wood—in sixth grade.

You should really listen if he builds it in the 1960s, when computers were multi-million-dollar, room-sized devices that only corporations and governments could afford. 

So it’s no surprise that school leaders were listening when Steve Wozniak took center stage at the closing session of the NSBA Annual Conference.

Co-founder of Apple Computer Inc., Wozniak is world famous for his role in developing the Apple I and II computers that helped launch the home computer revolution. Less well known, however, is his long-term philanthropic work in education and his years as a part-time teacher in his local schools.

Wozniak’s interest in teaching began when he tutored a fourth-grade girl and found he enjoyed it, he said. He then volunteered in his local schools, working first with a handful of students and eventually with a full-sized class.

Although he preferred to keep his school activities out of the public eye, he said, he taught classes for a number of years—and learned a few things. For one, he said, he came to a strong opinion about class size.

That opinion began to take shape when he worked with 19 students described to him as academically poor performing. But, Wozniak said, by putting these students in front of computers and working to make class work fun, his class did well.

“They were the most exceptional kids,” he said. “Every one was a genius.”

Then Wozniak was given a class of 30 students—supposedly “academically bright”—and he found he couldn’t keep them engaged. “I came to the opinion that class size mattered a lot.”

It was a lesson reinforced during visits to primary school classrooms, where, he said, he was constantly astonished by the curiosity of young students about the world around them—but also disturbed to learn of students who’d lost interest in school as early as third grade.

Part of the problem, Wozniak said, is that teachers have too much on their plates.

When young students first arrive at school, he said, “these babies want to explore . . . to find out how things work. They want to open one of the many cupboards. But they can’t do that, because class sizes are so large and they have to be organized and orderly. We can’t really let every child do their own random things in school.”

His own early schooling was enjoyable, partly because schools in the 1960s were relatively well-funded, he said.

Then again, learning was never a chore for Wozniak. “When I took home math tests, we’d be assigned to do the odd problems. I would sit down and do them all. I just enjoyed doing it.”

Or, he added, he might have spent so much time on homework because everyone at school considered him the electronics geek and “no one talked to me or invited me to parties.”

Still, any student can find joy in learning if given the right conditions, Wozniak said. They just need the right tools. For him, transistors and wire were sources of inspiration. For today’s students, it’s more likely to be Facebook or online role-playing games that challenge their creativity.

In his parting advice, Wozniak told school leaders not to forget that their school staffs also need outlets for joy and creativity. Give teachers more flexibility to pace classroom instruction rather than trap them with strict schedules listing what students need to learn every day. Give teachers more freedom to design creative classroom lessons.

“Allow administrators and teachers to bring passion to their jobs” he urged.

And hold onto your great teachers, he said. At Apple, maybe 1 in 20 engineers turn out to be special.

“They sort of know how everything—how all the pieces—fit together,” he said. Such standout employees—whether engineers or teachers—are worth 10 times as much as anyone else.

“Recognize those teachers who are standouts . . . it’s not worth losing them.”

After walking backstage, one lucky NSBA staff member received another piece of good advice. The iPad, Wozniak predicted, could become a revolutionary tool in classrooms, because students and teachers will find it comfortable to use.