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/
