Since 1962, this is only the second time I have not experienced the Labor Day jitters associated with going back to school, and honestly, I miss the ritual of “the first day back”. Last year was my first year away from this experience. Since five years old, I have had some connection to “opening day”, whether as a student, a teacher, an administrator, or a part-time district coordinator. Over fifty-four years. So my heart goes out to my colleagues, both teachers and administrators, who are carrying on the tradition of “opening day”. I wish you all the best and my blessings go out to you. Especially, those teachers who are experiencing your first “first day of school” as a classroom teacher. I remember my first-day, more nervous than I had ever been. And all I can truly recall was a comment from a more experienced veteran; “You will get through it … we all do”.
Speaking of traditions and seasoned teachers, within the craft professions, the relationship between mentor and apprentice presents an extraordinary influence upon the balance of artistry and craftsmanship developed. For the wisdom of the veteran is passed on to novice. Often, this is honored though an exchange of information, time-tested traditions, rituals, and short-cut best practices. However, while the American educational system has spent the last twenty years worked-up and obsessed over “best practices” and “research-based methods”, the organic process of the apprenticeship, between young and old, has been by-passed by one reform-movement after another, leaving today’s schools with a deep shortage of wise veterans within the teacher population. In over 36 years, rarely did I experience, administer, or observe mentor partnerships at the core of professional development; there was always another new initiative, a new curriculum. and a new program for us all to learn. Also due to attrition, there are very few teachers today who have the experience, expertise and wisdom to know what’s truly most important. As a result, our educational system appears to be spinning in a variety of directions without a moral compass or guided by time-honored wisdom . So the intent of this piece is to share a bit of understanding from someone who has experienced one reform after another since 1980. I guess I have moved through the rite of passage of moving from being a wise-ass to a wise-owl!
Fundamentally, teachers educate. The latin roots of “Ed-u-cate” has two meanings: “educare” which means to train or to mold, and “educere,” which means to lead out and bring forth. When I began teaching in 1980, we believed in a balance of the two. As a young teacher, I was expected to create a “child-centered classroom” and support the development of the the gift within each child, the whole child. I also was responsible for presenting core instruction in reading, writing, math, and the sciences within a holistic approach to learning; addressing a wide-range of learning styles and approaches which featured art, music, as well as hands-on projects. Throughout it all, my colleagues and I were guided by the notion that the learning process was a matter of letting the promise within each child unfold and reveal itself. There was an unyielding understanding of trust demonstrated by my most enlightened mentors; knowing what we were doing was act of faith. Nothing more, nothing less. All we had was what was in front of us; our students within our classroom.
Today, there seems to be a different set of understandings guiding our classrooms: Within the Common Core, teachers are challenged by a stress-based guiding premise: “Today’s students are preparing to enter a world in which colleges and businesses are demanding more than ever before“. Also, the Common Core highlights the following values and beliefs: “to ensure that students are equipped with the necessary knowledge and skills to be globally competitive“. Simply, “competition and demanding more” are guiding principles within this movement. As a result, teachers, students, administrators, and parents experience extraordinary pressure to achieve through a standards-based program under the umbrella of being in a race, a contest, or a winner take all competition. We shifted from a system that was once trusted, faith-based, and inherently, child-centered, to a model which resembles an assembly line, a factory, or a high-stakes poker game. Stress and worry are often featured within this process. The levels of stress, worry, and anxiety demonstrated by students and teachers in today’s classrooms are at epidemic levels.
That’s not how it was thirty-plus years ago; where we created a balanced approach to instruction and learning. In fact, most of my colleagues “loved teaching” and projected an inspired level of artistry and craftsmanship related to their careers. However, I don’t believe today’s schools are better off as a result of an emphasis on competition or demanding more with a focus on “educare”, molding and teaching our kids through a set of national common core standards. I do believe that we need to get back to the notion that a successful education program is also based upon allowing the natural gifts, talents, and promise to unfold, and to be “lead out” from within; what we used to call as “child-centered”. In addition, we would best serve today’s students by developing a system based upon trust, faith, and flexibility rather than rigid standards and invasive evaluation systems. The Finland Education system, highly touted as one of the most successful government-run programs world-wide presents the following core beliefs within it’s program and maybe we can learn something from their success (Education Week, June 2014):
1. Heavy emphasis on play. In Finland, people believe that children learn through play, imagination, and self-discovery, so teachers not only allow but encourage play. Development of the whole person is highly valued, especially in the early years. Even at the high school level, you can see students playing foosball or videogames in the student center.
2. No high-stakes standardized testing. Finnish schools believe more test preparation means less time for free thinking and inquiry. Accountability is measured at the classroom level by the experts—teachers.
3. Trust. This was perhaps the greatest difference I observed. The Finnish government trusts their municipalities, the municipalities trust school administrators, administrators trust teachers, teachers trust students, and in return, parents and families trust teachers. There is no formal teacher-evaluation system. Teachers, similar to doctors in the U.S., are trusted professionals.
4. Schools don’t compete with one another. There are no school evaluations since it is believed that all schools should be good. Non-competitive school structures result in no need for school-choice programs.
So what can we do about this and what changes can we present today within America’s classrooms? Simply, if every teacher working today moved toward a balanced approach, bringing forth both a educare as well as a educere lens to the instructional process, we would see happier teachers as well as happier students. By focusing on both learning standards, at the same time, honoring the unveiling of the gifts within every child, we can bring forth balance and harmony to the classroom. It’s what we used to do over thirty years ago, before “Nation at Risk”, “No Child Left Behind”. and “Every Child Succeeds” political agendas took over our educational system.
Specifically, the following tips may help:
Acknowledge the gift within every child, rather than focusing upon “meeting standard” , and doing so from the moment each enters the classroom and leaves each day. Celebrate the extraordinary within every child by placing a premium on relationship development activities.
Acknowledge our own stress levels and being in-touch with our own emotions, triggers, and establish release-points within our day. The tone we set within establishes the overarching tone set within the classroom: Calm creates calm. Take care of oneself as a feature of one’s class management system.
Acknowledge the gifts, talents, and interests that you bring to the classroom and share these as a foundation of your instructional framework. For inspired learning requires inspired role-models. Have fun with the kids and do so by expressing the sense of joy that projects when you are doing something you love.
Acknowledge the gifts, talents, and wisdom found within your colleagues, parents, and partners. You are not alone on this path; there is much more to the oneness that presents itself within collaboration, partnership, and co-creativity.
Acknowledge that politics, agendas, and gamesmanship outside of the classroom are minor distractions from the real experience between student and teacher. Play it well and play it safe, but don’t let it be your guide as you work from your heart. Passion is something that cannot be legislated or evaluated! Most notably, create connections through meaning, both relational as well as experiential. For passion and promise create the most inspired classrooms … as in life itself.
Love to you all. Withing you all a wonderful “first day”. As one once said, “Today is the first day of the rest of your life”. Make it happen.
Larry
larrydavis@specialeducationadvocacy.org