From a Kombucha bottle...

“And the day came for the risk it took to remain tight inside the bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.” ~ Anais Nin

Stories

“We all think an exception is going to be made in our case, and we’re going to live forever. And being a human is actually arriving at the understanding that that is not going to be. Story is there to just remind us that it’s okay.” – Ken Burns

Take a Moment to Reflect

Note: This was written as my final exam for one of my master's classes. Since the professor said "Well said! I think this is something worth sharing!"  I figured I would.

With this year wrapping up for our school teachers, we are now given the chance to reflect of the past accomplishments and failures of this school year. As is usually the case, teachers use this time to find the shortcomings in their curriculum and make revisions as deemed necessary. As leaders of these organizations, we should take a lesson from our teachers; we should also use this time to reflect on our leadership role and the success of our schools specifically, and more broadly, we should reflect on the overall state of education in this country.

One of the most pressing concerns for educators today is the problem of testing and accountability. As Diane Ravitch mentioned in her book The Death and Life of the Great American School System, “Our schools will not improve if we continue to focus only on reading and mathematics while ignoring the other studies that are essential elements of a good education.” We cannot only narrow our curriculum to what is on the test. This inevitably robs our students of a proper and whole education.

But what is the point of education if it is not to pass a statewide test? Charles Taylor, the Canadian philosopher, said that teaching deals with the meaning of becoming human. As John Dewey had stated in his landmark Moral Principles in Education, “The business of the educator-whether parent or teacher-is to see to it that the greatest possible number of ideas acquired by children and youth are acquired in such a vital way that they becoming moving ideas, motive-forces in the guidance of conduct.” The question of what it means to be human is an ancient one explored by writers from the Greeks to Philip K. Dick (Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?) and beyond. Nevertheless, as educators, this is our goal. We are charged with taking children and molding them into human beings, not just mindless workers. It seems that these days we have lost sight of this goal.

With the massive cuts to the humanities and the heavy reliance on testing and accountability, our schools are becoming devoid of the true art and craft of teaching. So what can we do? These problems run deeper than the school or district level. This is a nationwide problem, and it will take a nationwide conscious effort to correct.

If we look at models of success, we can often take lessons to guide our own practice. Finland, for example, is leading the world in education. But what makes them so successful? A large amount of the success lies in the investment they have given in teacher preparation. In The Flat World and Education, Linda Darling-Hammond has summarized the core principles of Finland as follows: “Resources for those who need them most, high standards and supports for special needs, qualified teachers, evaluation of education, and balancing decentralization and centralization.” I highly recommend that anyone who has any desire to change the state of the American education system to read Hammond’s book. Unlike many of the “reformist” texts out there, Hammond paints an optimistic picture of our education system, one then can, and God willing, will be improved.

But I digress. Teacher quality is something greatly lacking in this country. Educators need to focus on this operating core, which is really the crux of the entire school. Schools need to move into a more professional, teacher-centered model of organization. This can only happen, however, when the teachers are given the skills and tools to make proper decisions. When I graduated from my teacher preparation program, I did not have the tools to help administrate a school; I could barely run a classroom! If schools begin to invest in their teachers, they can comfortably move to a system of expertise in which teachers are trained in curriculum, instruction, and leadership and then given decision-making ability. This is the real model for success, as is showed by Finland’s example.

We all need to really take as step back and reflect upon what we are doing. Are our policies in the best interest of our children, who are the primary stakeholders in our schools? Where have our goals and priorities gone? Are we trying to educate students to become mindless workers or trying to create human beings, freethinkers who embody the creative spirit?

The hope for our education’s success lies with qualified teachers that are trained with the proper skills to be part of the decision-making process.

WE

Two sturdy oaks I mean, which side by side, 
Withstand the winter's storm, 
And spite of wind and tide, 
Grow up the meadow's pride, 
For both are strong 

Above they barely touch, but undermined 
Down to their deepest source, 
Admiring you shall find 
Their roots are intertwined 
Insep'rably. 


-Thoreau

I remember back in the day everyone had Xanga. This was the beginning for us. I started using Facebook in 2004 but quickly got off recognizing the inherent dangers.

Recently, however, I joined Twitter in order to follow professionals and experts in the education field to keep up to date on the current happenings in education. I was on there for at least a week, constantly checking for updates. Last night I felt it was too much and shut down the account on a whim. Sometimes you get these impulses to do something good, whether it is avoiding a potentially bad situation or giving charity. These need to be acted on immediately before logic takes over and you change your mind.

Freedom!

When I awoke this morning, I went on the computer and felt locked. After checking my email, I didn't know what else I was supposed to do. With no Twitter to check updates on, my time feels so much more open. It feels like I dropped an addiction. Then why am I posting here? :)

There are these moments of permission
by Camille Dungy


                Between raindrops,


                             
  space, certainly,


but we call it all rain.


          I hang in the undrenched intervals,


while Callie is sleeping,


                    my old self necessary


and imperceptible as air.