I try not to inflict my opinions on people too often. After all, opinions are more than plentiful and often of questionable quality. But, occasionally I feel the need. This would be one of those times.
Every now and then, all of the things you've read and heard or seen or experienced, perhaps over weeks, months, even years, come together and crystallize. You suddenly see something clearly and distinctly. It's as if your mind's auto-focus function has just kicked in. I think this is what's called an epiphany.
I've just had such a moment. Even though I've spent virtually all of my many years as an educator of one sort or other, I see more clearly now than I ever have before what the focal point of our work should be, preparing our students for life after high school.
Sure, I've always understood that to some degree, had a vague notion that was what I should be trying to do, but now it's in big bold caps.
WE SHOULD BE PREPARING AND EQUIPPING KIDS WITH THE KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, AND CHARACTER TO BE SUCCESSFUL IN WHATEVER THEY MAY CHOOSE TO PURSUE AFTER THEY MOVE ON FROM HIGH SCHOOL.
The central task of our job is not to make our kids successful high school students, but competent human beings.
I'm hard put to see how the present obsession with the kind of high-stakes testing which has apparently become the driving force of educational practice and policy, whether acknowledged as such or not, is helping our young people rise to that goal.
Is "data-driven instruction" sometimes a PC euphemism for "teaching to the test?"
I need to see that performing up to some seemingly arbitrary standard on any of the fifty different and inequitable state assessments translates into post-high school success.
Does teaching students to reach what someone has set as the desired level of achievement on a PSSA or FCAT or whatever the test in your locale prepare them to achieve any degree of success and fulfillment beyond that? If it does, somebody needs to show me that, because right now I don't believe it.
Further, it is my sense that most of the ground troops don't believe it either. If we are wrong, somebody better step up and start convincing us that theirs is the right way. They've got to seriously improve their pitch.
Unlike Toyota, when we get it wrong, the consequences cannot be fixed with a retrofit and can last for generations. The effects can ripple far and wide.
What ARE we doing?
- Posted from my iPhone using BlogPress
2 comments:
I understand where you are coming from. I guess as teachers we can still have a positive impact on our students. I think there are many teachers who would agree with you and are leading the change.
Fantastic post, I love that your minds auto-focus function is kicking in :) I think that most of us are wondering the very same thing, if the goal is life preparation, what exactly is happening in school that will lead to that outcome? I am seriously stumped! Somewhere along the line those running the show have gotten majorly side tracked and convinced themselves that if they test and test and test that we will have smarter kids. But we don't, we have kids who can take a test and give one right answer. We need the ground troops to band together and let them know that there is a different solution, a different goal that we need to be aiming for.
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