Reinventing Our Schools

There is much angst among politicians, educators, parents, and communities caught up in the debate and rhetoric surrounding how to “fix” our education system. While most agree the system is broken, there are different viewpoints, from the extremes on the ends to all the points in between.  Yet most efforts and ideas are futile given that—to use a tired but appropriate analogy—we are trying to remodel the school house by merely painting the rooms—while the foundation is shaky, the building inspector is hovering, and the repair budget is shrinking fast.  Without a clear and overriding vision for an educated society, led by those who have the most power, knowledge, and influence, the schoolhouse will continue to crumble.  The largest, most immediate as well as on going, beneficiary of such a vision are the children—who for the most part do not have a voice in the discussion.  But they tell us in other ways-by spacing out, dropping out, copping out-that schools are becoming irrelevant to them.  The fall out is seen all around us and pundits and others are circling like vultures.

How do we remodel this house?  How do we move from making only technical changes to adaptive changes?  We adopt the platform of “re”- a prefix meaning “back” or “backward” to indicate withdrawal or backward motion.  We back away from what the dark, narrow rooms—indeed the entire structure--the education system has been locked into via bad policy, lack of coherence, and entrenchment in past-their-time practices that do not work today.  Schools are but one component in a complex, organized society and we must acknowledge it loud and clear to connect the dots literally and figuratively.

This new platform is based on the hard work it will take to:

Re-frame the dialogue. What are our beliefs about the value of children in our society? Shouldn’t our value of education in a democratic society be such that we believe that every child, anywhere is worth our every effort? We must work to remodel this house so that innovative ideas are all inclusive, with not one child left out because of their place or circumstances of birth. We must remodel the system comprehensively, not just for some children but for all children.  All children deserve great schools and all schools should have the opportunity to be great.

Re-align the mindsets. We must absolutely rid our society of mindsets that distract us from and distort our vision.  Words and labels attached to schools and children such as “failing” are particularly destructive.  If schools are a microcosm of society, then it not schools that are failing-- it is us. Comparing students from different schools, even within the same disadvantaged neighborhoods, is difficult to do in a rigorous, scientific way.  So we must stop comparing schools and ensure that every school has what it needs for each child to succeed from where they start.  Poverty and race play a huge role in the collective mindset of society and we must fully acknowledge and pledge to do all possible to overturn their negative impact on children and learning.

Re-invent assessment.  How do we define “student achievement”? How do we define “success” when we measure schools, teachers', and students performance? Currently it is defined by one test score given once a year by paper and pencil.  Adequate? Not hardly. Punitive? Yes, in many deep, and harmful ways.  If we value every child, we must assure that every child has the time and resources to succeed at the highest levels.  This can only be measured by using authentic performance assessment methods.  Will this be difficult and expensive? Yes but vitally necessary. All tightly held beliefs such as grades, time, and structure need to challenged and put into perspective based on 21st century needs.

Re-design schools, classrooms, education system. Funding a new system to make it equitable-- and takes into account that schools from poor areas will cost much, much more than current levels-- will take political and societal will, courage, and most importantly, acknowledgement that no evidence exists that there is an educational panacea for social inequality.  Children need a strong community support structure that includes resources for their parents to live a life of dignity—health care, sustainable salary, good education, and reasonable prospect for good retirement.  This requires a comprehensive effort, with all segments working together, not finger pointing or assigning blame for different parts of the whole.  It will take listening to different points of view that may not be like your own, coming together with reasoned debate and common sense solutions.

Re-energize the teaching profession.  Teaching is not rocket science—it is far more complex and demanding work than rocket science. It requires deep knowledge and experience in child and adolescent psychology, brain research as it applies to effective learning strategies for children with diverse needs, and working well within a professional learning community that collaborates and grows with experience and learning. Yet, somehow the pubic at large believes that anyone can be a teacher with only the desire and an entree-regardless of experience or training.  Systemic transformation is needed to prepare and mentor teachers, to place the best where they are needed most, and to reward those professionals at a level commiserate with their status-not based on what is mostly out of their control.  In spite of what we see in the movies, there are no miracles.  We need to nurture motivated, energetic teachers and give them the freedom to create learning environments where students thrive because they are given the opportunity to care about what they are doing—learning for learning's sake.

Re-new relationships that have been sacrificed in the quest for “accountability”.  Relationships between teachers and parents, learners and teachers, communities and schools.  The testing mania has pitted these groups against each other rather than working together.  Only until all are invited to the table, their ideas and roles respected, can we move forward.  “Out of many, One.”

I began my career over 30 years ago in the small neighborhood school that I attended as a child.  It had changed a lot by the time I landed there as a teacher to include children from “State Park”, a low income park, mostly African-American.  Being from the typical demographic for a teacher (still true today)—female, young, white, raised in middle class home—imagine my shock when I took a student home one day to the shack he lived in with his elderly, frail grandmother-no heat, no air, no books, no hope.  It changed me forever.  I took to heart the words of a wise, veteran teacher who mentored me my first few years—those who are least loveable, need it the most.

It is with this conviction that I push for the urgent need to reinvent education—who knows that the cure for cancer does not already reside in a child from the “corridor of shame”, waiting for the nurturance and quality education needed to bring it to the world?

Comments

[Kim R.]

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