Since I stopped going to church on Sunday mornings, it seems that I have adopted another Sunday morning ritual, watching The Next List on CNN. For those of you who don't know the show, the host, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, finds people who are doing remarkable cutting edge things in diverse fields. Today, I made the connection that the show was like church for me. The subject was a genius entrepreneur, Jim McKelvey. (http://whatsnext.blogs.cnn.com/category/the-next-list/)
The show starts out showcasing his artistry as a glass-blower and how he founded this company after talking to another glass-blower about the lack of opportunities in this field. It then shows how he developed a technology company called Square, as a way of solving a problem involving accepting a payment. How McKelvey branches into different endeavors from glass-blowing to computer programming to job creation for underserved communities is showcased; the thread that connects each endeavor is that he is fierce about solving problems. "If something is wrong, who's going to fix it? If not me, then who?"
I know he doesn't egotistically believe that he can solve all the problems of the world, but he does want to solve that ones that come his way, the ones that engage and activate him. There are problems enough for all of us. What he did, was inspire me to activate that mode.
I have been involved in education activism for many years, questioning and speaking out about the fallacies of No Child Left Behind and the high-stakes testing culture that public schooling has become all across the country. In the Obama era of Race to the Top and teacher evaluation based on student test scores, the problems are even worse. The adoption of the Common Core standards are intrinsically connected with the madness of current reform efforts, but I hear very little opposition to them among my colleagues. The effect of focus on testing and standards has produced a huge problem that I would like to be able to solve somehow - we have lost sight of the child, the student, as an individual.
When I first got into teaching, it was all about that. It was about being child and student-centered. It was about multiple intelligences and different learning styles. It was about unit teaching and integrating subjects into cohesive, connected learning experiences. The debate between whole language and phonics had been resolved - you needed multiple approaches, not just one. It was about engaging students. It was about inquiry. It was about solving problems. It was about building confidence. Empowerment. This was the profession I fell in love with. It has changed. And not for the better. It has devolved. The things I am proud of as a teacher are relegated to my blog writing. The things that seem to count are the things that I could care less about. Yes, test scores. I could care less about test scores. I care about my students learning and I value tests as a way to keep track of their progress, but the obsession with data, data, data in current practice is over the top.
Old-timers will tell you that if you have been in teaching long enough, you will experience pendulum swings. So if I don't like some "fad" or initiative, just wait it out, the pendulum will swing back. I really think there is something more ominous going on than a fly-by-night harmless pendulum swing. So - I have identified the problem. Public schools and public school teachers are judged by the test scores that their students produce. Teachers, like me, are not in the profession to raise test scores, they are in it to connect to children, to make a difference in their lives. There is a huge disconnect. What is the result of a system whose main concern is the raising of test scores? Less time, attention, and resources on activities chosen for engagement and joy, and more on activities directly related to testing.
Since I am now in the "winter" of my career, the way I had chosen to solve the problem is to look forward to retirement. I see the writing on the wall in regards to teacher evaluation based on student "growth," and the implementation of the Common Core, and I will soon say, good luck and good-bye. But then I get a dose of inspiration from a glass-blower named Jim McKelvey, and I wonder - Is there a way to solve this problem? How can we make the system more child and student focused? How can we have public schools that are models of innovation and aloha? Can it be done at my level, at the grass roots?
I don't have a solution. I only have a reignited desire to solve the problem.
