2021 in Review

I should probably open with complete transparency and admit (to whoever may be reading this) that my desire to engage in this annual exercise is lower than it has ever been. We have all been through a collective ordeal, and our sense of normalcy and equilibrium have become so askew that we may never quite fully regain our bearings. Personally, the past 365 days have felt about ten times longer than that, and I, quite honestly, am worn out. While the year has (quite literally) taken its toll on my body, mind, and spirit, there were moments of success and fulfillment sprinkled in. And though I lack the desire to chronicle this particular chapter of my life in the present, I recognize the importance of encapsulating the experience for future reflection (and hopefully celebration of making it through to the other side). With all of that out of the way, here is my 2021 in review.  

The End of One Journey Leads to Uncertainty for the Next 

By the end of 2020, the wheels were put into motion for the culmination of my doctoral experience. The dissertation was off to the editor, and other than a couple small capstone assignments, all that was left to do was defend the dissertation. On the first Monday of March, less than 72 hours after I received my second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, I defended my dissertation and unofficially became Dr. Duehr (with the official title coming shortly thereafter). 

When you have embarked on such a long and arduous journey, reaching the top of the mountain feels somewhat surreal and almost terrifying. I was greeted with the cold hard truth that the completion of my degree (outside of the compliments and congratulations from others) really only meant I was changing my title from Mr. to Dr. It didn't get me a raise. it didn't get me a shiny new title or promotion. If anything, it priced me out of teaching positions in a number of districts. Within my field of education, having that degree does not open nearly as many doors as one would assume it would. An administrative license is needed in tandem with the degree. So, a few months later I unexpectedly found myself back in school to take the courses I needed to procure that license. In December, I took the certification tests to become a licensed principal, and as of this writing, I am awaiting the results. I do not currently know the direct route I will be taking next, but I do know I have no desire to run in place any longer (more on that later)

Scratching, Clawing, and Sliding Back Down 

At nearly 35 years old, I am well acquainted with the notion that the good does not last and the bad will eventually pass, but I was thoroughly unprepared for the yo-yo nature of 2021, particularly from a health standpoint. In that regard, my body took more of a beating that it ever has, and I am hopeful that is not a harbinger of things to come. 

At the start of 2021, I weighed in at a number close to what I weighed at my heaviest in 2008. It was humbling to say the least, but I was equipped with both a plan as well as the knowledge of what it would take to reach my goals. I was also blessed with a virtual work schedule very conducive to putting in the necessary time at the gym to produce rapid and substantial change. By the middle of March, I had lost nearly 30 pounds, and my strength was even higher than it was prior to the shutdown in March 2020. 

I continued moving mostly in the right direction in regards to my health and fitness until the middle of July. I had gone to a museum on a Friday and we got caught in the rain. The next day, I was not feeling quite right, which I thought was just the effect of spending a bit too much time in some adverse conditions. However, I woke up that Sunday with a fever. I would keep that fever for the next 11 days, including the day of my virtual commencement for my doctorate (meaning I still have not truly celebrated the completion of that journey). I went to the doctor three times. The first two times they tested me for COVID, and I tested negative. By Day 11, my fever began to subside, but in it place was throat and ear pain so severe I could not even swallow my own saliva. This time I was tested for mono and tested positive. Mono is a beast of an illness for teens, but as I am now in my mid-30s, it completely wrecked me. I lost a significant amount of weight and strength. For about a week, all I could eat was soup. Even worse than the physical discomfort was the mental toll it wreaked on me. 

All of us know how a fever can distort our sense of reality and bring back some things we wish were kept away in the deepest abyss. Imagine that for a week and a half while not being physically strong enough to fight it. Even though I am at the point that I am physically closer to where I was before mono (though that road itself has been arduous), I don't know that I've fully recovered in terms of my confidence, my optimism, or my sense of self. Maybe I'll get there someday, but I'm not there today.

Holding On Too Long 

I have never been the best at knowing when it's my time to walk away (or when that choice is being made for me). It caused me heartache and frustration with the distancing of my closest childhood friends from 2013-2015ish. I made myself look like a fool with Myrna, Kim, or whoever else you want to put there instead. I just cannot escape the feeling that I stayed at my current job for a year more than I should have. Maybe I should have been more vigilant at looking at what I'd need to progress to the next stage of my career before I finished my doctorate. Maybe I should have already been planning an exit strategy sooner. Don't get me wrong -- I'm not trying to knock the place I work or the people I work with and for, but I feel like a fish out of water, and I did not feel that way the previous five years I had been there. Returning to in-person teaching has been simultaneously rewarding and humbling. Many of these kids are frozen in time from a maturity standpoint, and they (perhaps understandably) are about a year and a half delayed from what I am used to. Consequently, a lot of my usual tricks and strategies are falling flat. I don't feel like I'm connecting as well, I am coming to a reckoning regarding some of my teaching strategies that I thought were universally applicable, and more often than at any point in the last 9 years, I feel like I'm just not good at this any longer. That combined with the notion that my team (which for years has been a well-oiled machine despite the variance in personalities, styles, and philosophies) just doesn't click th eway it used to has me feeling almost regretful for reaching this point.

I'm also learning that I'm not for everyone, and I'm definitely not for everyone forever.  Some of that might be due to personal flaws that I should probably work on (like being aloof or closed off), but some of it just has to do with the moving parts aspect of life.  As I grow, I need to be better about cordially moving on when something or someone no longer suits me and not taking it personally when they do the same from me.

The Sun Through the Clouds 

I would not be accurate or fair if I solely depicted the year as a daily uphill climb. There have been moments of good sprinkled in. From seeing one of the few good Seahawks games from sixth row seats with my dad in Indy to seeing Anberlin and Silverstein to spending the holidays with family in North Carolina to making new friends and reconnecting with old friends and coworkers, I have never felt truly alone, even in the midst of these dark and lonely times. I don't know if or when we'll get back to being able to do all the things I did back in 2019, but I have found enjoyment in the things I have had the opportunity to experience.  

Moving Forward 

I am ending this year with about as little optimism as I've ever had. As I was reflecting before sitting down to write, I could only recall two years which ended with similar levels of bleakness: 2002 (which was actually a pretty decent year overall) and 2014. In both cases, the years that followed were years that I would classify as great. I do not wish to place that level of expectation on 2022, but if there is hope to be found, it is that history has shown that it is possible to find light after darkness. I don't know where my life is going to take me next. Honestly, I don't know exactly what I want, who I want to be, or even if I am happy with the person I currently am. I also don't want to waste too much of my life staying stagnant trying to figure it out, so I would love to write you in 365 days with some tangible progress. If you've made it to this point, thank you for caring. Thank you for making it through this year. Even if I'm not always glad to be here in my present reality, I'm glad you are. Let's make it through together.

Salvaging the Needs of Students in the Era of High-Stakes Testing

As I compose this post (with nearly 13 years of experience in the field and a doctoral degree to my name), I cannot help but think about the ways in which the field of education has changed during my career. While some of these changes (such as the increased prevalence and availability of asynchronous learning) have been beneficial and perhaps overdue, there are other trends I have found quite troubling. As I consider the field of education and the ways in which I hope to leave my mark on the field as a teacher, leader, and doctor of education, I feel as though we are at a crossroads. The decisions we make will shape the next generation of learners and may have unintended consequences not only on the field of education but on the success and wellness of the country as a whole. We run the risk of doing great damage if we are not willing to adapt our philosophies and methods of education. Through my studies and experiences, I offer a number of suggestions for areas of consideration. While these opinions are ultimately my own, I do hope you, the reader, can find some common ground. At the least, it is my sincere hope that my suggestions energize you toward the pursuit of new strategies and solutions within the field of education.  

Losing Our Way 

In the last 25-30 years (and some would perhaps argue a longer period than that), American education lost its way. Priorities became skewed. As education shifted to a focus on high-stakes testing as a means of assessing students and schools, the academic element of education took precedence over all other components of education (Edmonson et al., 2009). Schools began to search for methods of maximizing instructional time, as each minute spent in the classroom was devoted to academic pursuits and the acquisition of learning standards assessed on benchmark examinations. That shift required sacrifice. In order to maximize our students as academic beings, sacrifices had to be made along the way. Ratings (and the residual perks of receiving increased funding and/or the ability to attract new residents to the district) took precedence over the overall health and wellness of our teachers, and more importantly, our students. 

While I believe that many teachers and schools still value their students as people, the current system values students as little more than data points. Schools do not receive high marks when their students invest in their communities, take care of their families, or grow into wonderful young men and women The workforce is already more concerned with what prospective employees can do than who they are as people; at the least, we should be able to spare students that utilitarian indignity while they are children and adolescents. Unfortunately, the high-stakes testing systems do not appear to be going anywhere. That said, we can still do more than we currently are doing. Here are just some of many potential strategies toward reclaiming education, valuing our students, preparing them for life, and putting them in a position to succeed in and out of the classroom.  

Adapting What and How We Teach 

In an age where more information is readily available and easily accessible than ever before, teaching and learning is still at times presented in a manner that assumes such information must be drilled into the brains of students. In my estimation, that is a gross misuse of time and resources. A significant portion of my elementary schooling in the 1990s was spent on rote memorization. The class of 24 students had to stand and speak in unison, reciting facts from flashcards as mindless drones. Those days are (mercifully) behind us. 

Skills and concepts which require cultivation should take precedence over rote memorization of facts and low-order thinking. Wasting time on the reinforcement of facts which could easily be retrieved in five seconds on a search in a web browser enhances the potential for blind spots to skills and concepts that actually matter and require time and practice to develop. Our time and resources would be best spent teaching students how to find the low-level information for themselves and practicing and reinforcing high-order concepts.  

Closing the Culture Gap 

Despite the rise of globalism in the 21st Century, the gap between affluent and high-needs schools continues to widen. High-needs schools, or schools which exist in areas of poverty and possess barriers to success such as teacher shortages, technological deficits, and limited resources (Gorski, 2007), struggle to maintain academic success for their students and struggle to prepare these students for life beyond the classroom. While there are a number of potential strategies to alleviate some of this burden, two clearly defined strategies became quickly evident. 

When schools shifted to a virtual learning model in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, many students were able to adapt and adjust quickly and easily. Students in high-needs schools, however, were faced with challenges unique to them. The shift to the virtual model was particularly difficult due to a) lower technological fluency in comparison to more affluent schools due to limited resources and b) technological deficits at home, including but not limited to poor internet connection. At the federal and state levels, we must work on closing the technological gap, or we run the risk of furthering socioeconomic and racial gaps. We need to examine the availability and usability of technology with an eye toward equity. 

To further close the culture gap, we must examine our curricula through the lens of the students we service. It is difficult (if not nearly impossible) for learning to occur if students are not able to make clear, uncontrived connections between course material and their own lives (Tatum, 2006); therefore, curricular decisions must be made to tactfully and appropriately (Anderson & Sadler, 2009) connect learning to the backgrounds, experiences, and cultures of the communities in which we serve. This may require an overhaul of the yearly reading list. It may require an intense reexamination of the scope in which social studies is taught, but if we want our curriculum and instruction to be authentic and meaningful to our students, we must embrace this arduous task.  

The Continued Need for Modeling 

On more than one occasion, I have been humbled by my students when they expressed I was not clear enough in my behavioral expectations. While I have for the most part learned my lesson in being explicit and clear in my instruction and expectation, I feel as though my past failings were indicative of a greater problem in education. This is an easily fixable problem but nonetheless is a problem which merits addressing. 

Schools have rigid behavioral expectations but often operate under the assumption that students not only know the definitions of these behaviors but also the applications. We take for granted the idea that students have been taught exactly how they should or should not be before they ever walk through our doors. Such an assumption is both dangerous and inequitable. Schools must first educate students on the meanings of prosocial and antisocial behaviors, provide real life and real time modeling of targeted traits and behaviors, and offer practice in them. All of these strategies are covered under Bandura’s (1977) social learning theory. We must be sensitive and cognizant of the idea that it is unfair to discipline a student for what they truly do not know.  

Emphasizing the Whole Student 

It has long been my belief that the educational system insufficiently prepares our students to be people. We have academic learning standards which are regularly assessed through benchmark examinations. We need to do the same for the social, emotional, and behavioral needs of our students. Our kids are more than academic beings, and while some states (such as my home state of Illinois) have social and emotional learning standards, we still do not have good methods in determining if these standards are being met and what interventions might be needed for students who seem to be struggling to grow in these areas. 

One way to emphasize the whole student is through dedicated character education programs, or what is now commonly known in schools as Social and Emotional Learning (SEL). SEL programs provide designated time and space to cultivate the understanding of targeted traits and virtues, and for students in high-needs school settings, the cultivation of traits such as grit and perseverance may go a long way towards the future success of students (Mandelbaum, 2018). We spend ample time preparing our students for success on a test. We need to spend ample time preparing these same students for the tests life may throw at them.  

Practical/Functional Education 

Beyond character education, there needs to be an increased emphasis on what I refer to as “practical” or “functional” education; that is, the development of skills essential to the lives of students when they are out of the classroom. One of the most common questions I receive from my students is “Why do schools not teach us how to file our taxes?”, and while that is one definite area of need, it is far from the only area. Filing job applications, the expectations for success while working in team settings (where all members are held accountable), and exposure to field-specific technology and terminology are a few of the many areas which could be covered in a functional education course. When we fail to prepare, we prepare to fail. At this point, I cannot confidently state that we are adequately preparing our students to succeed.  

Re-examining Homework 

While I know I am a bit more revolutionary than many of my counterparts in this area, I am prepared to take the risk and speak accordingly. In my estimation, there needs to be a serious re-examination of the concept of homework resulting either in its reduction or elimination. The primary job of a young person is to grow and learn, but growth and learning pertains to their role as a person as well as a student. We need to actively work to reduce instilling anxiety in our students. Subsequently, we must also provide clearer paths to self-discovery. While the reinforcement of some skills is necessary and unavoidable, there should be greater selectivity in determining what merits the invasion of a student’s personal time. If our goal is to shape our students into well-rounded people, we need to actually give our students opportunity to be people and not simply be defined by who they are as students.  

Conclusion 

As American educated has shifted to a model which disproportionately values academic performance over all else, we run the risk of losing an entire generation of students if we are not careful. Though the era of high-stakes testing does not appear to be ending any time soon, school leaders must not be so myopic in their vision of what merits success and must recognize that true success comes to those who balance the academic needs of the building with the social, emotional, and behavioral needs of each student. By closing the cultural gap, focusing on the whole student, intentionally modeling expectations, and keeping an eye on the things students will need to know once they leave the classroom, we still may not fix all the existing problems in education, but we will put our students and teachers in better positions for sustainable success.

References 

Anderson, K. A., & Sadler, C. I. (2009). The effects of school-based curricula on reading achievement of African American males in special education. The Journal of Negro Education, (3). 333-346. https://www.jstor.org/stable/25608750?seq=1

Bandura, A. (1977). Social learning theory. General Learning Press.

Edmonson, S., Tatman, R., & Slate, J. R. (2009). Character education: A critical analysis. International Journal of Educational Leadership Preparation, 4(4), 1–20.

Gorski, P. C. (2007). The question of class. The Education Digest, 73(2), 30–33. https://www.tolerance.org/magazine/spring-2007/the-question-of-class

Mandelbaum, T. (2018). The relationship between attachment and grit in lower income adolescents. Journal of Character Education, 14(1), 59–74. https://www.infoagepub.com/jrce-issue.html?i=p5786478f9449c

Tatum, A. W. (2006). Engaging African American males in reading. Educational Leadership, 63(5), 44-49. http://www.ascd.org/portal/site/ascd/menuitem.459dee008f99653fb85516f762108a0c/