Well, I just read an article titled, "A Transformational Vision for Education in the U.S." and it brought me to tears.
I know what you might be thinking... WOW, she is a new type of crazy! Does she even have a life? Why is she even reading an article like that on her Christmas break? Is she emotionally stable?
There is only one other educational text, up to this point, that has brought me to immediate tears and it was a paragraph in the book, Arts with the Brain in Mind, by Eric Jensen. Maybe that will be the topic of a future blog post.
If you're like me, when something you read brings you to tears you stop and evaluate why it had such an impact on you. This would be especially true if the text is something as seemingly boring and non-emotional as an educational article... I mean, most authors of these things don't write with a purpose of making people cry, right?
The first thing I did was ask myself the same questions you might have been wondering.
- Yes, I am a new type of crazy and this does not bother me.
- Yes, I do have a life and it is largely consumed with a passion for students and teachers.
- And, as far as the emotionally stable part goes... I AM on the tail end of the roller-coaster ride of raising teenagers. Additionally, I am about to board the next thrill ride known as menopause, so you can probably guess that I am only partially emotionally stable. 😉
So, here is what I read that made me cry:
"The learner-centered paradigm changes our very view of learners themselves.
Learners are seen and known as wondrous, curious individuals with vast capabilities and limitless potential... In this paradigm, learners are active participants in their learning as they gradually become owners of it, and learning itself is seen as an engaging and exciting process.
Each child's interests, passions, dreams, skills, and needs shape his or her learning experiences and drive the commitments and actions of the adults and communities supporting him or her."
Go ahead and read it twice and let it sink in...
I love how the learners and learning are described!
*wondrous, curious, capable, limitless, active, engaged, exciting*
Imagine being a student of any age and walking into a classroom where you and learning were viewed this way.
Wouldn't that be a dream?
Wouldn't that be a dream?
I, and so many of us who are serving students today, want our learners to feel these things. We want them to be free to wonder and be curious, to believe that they are capable of tearing down whatever barriers that threaten to limit what they accomplish. We want them to be actively engaged in their learning. And, YES, learning should be exciting!
My heart smiled at the thought of a child's interests, passions, dreams, skills and needs being the driving force that determines the role an adult plays as they serve and support students.
I felt sad, though, because I know that many students do not have the experience of being viewed as described. Their passions and dreams are in no way the driving force behind what school looks like. I'm sure many of you who have been teaching for a long time like me may have witnessed the shift in our education system. I call it the "standard of standardization", where being "standard" IS the standard.
I used to teach in the largest (and supposedly the best) county in Georgia. I will NEVER forget the day when the county level officials walked into my elementary school and took the "home-living" furniture, Legos, blocks and other items out of our kindergarten classrooms because there was a focus on a newly adopted "standardized" assessment. There was no extra time for wondering and curiosity. We had to "focus on the standard". I was angry and honestly pretty vocal about my feelings (I'll blame my red hair for that...).
Did they really think placing more of an emphasis on a newly adopted standardized assessment in our youngest classrooms, where wondering and curiosity should be running rampant, was what was best for students? The leaders were taking us down a path that they hoped would look good on paper, but I knew would not serve us well in the end.
I felt sad, though, because I know that many students do not have the experience of being viewed as described. Their passions and dreams are in no way the driving force behind what school looks like. I'm sure many of you who have been teaching for a long time like me may have witnessed the shift in our education system. I call it the "standard of standardization", where being "standard" IS the standard.
I used to teach in the largest (and supposedly the best) county in Georgia. I will NEVER forget the day when the county level officials walked into my elementary school and took the "home-living" furniture, Legos, blocks and other items out of our kindergarten classrooms because there was a focus on a newly adopted "standardized" assessment. There was no extra time for wondering and curiosity. We had to "focus on the standard". I was angry and honestly pretty vocal about my feelings (I'll blame my red hair for that...).
Did they really think placing more of an emphasis on a newly adopted standardized assessment in our youngest classrooms, where wondering and curiosity should be running rampant, was what was best for students? The leaders were taking us down a path that they hoped would look good on paper, but I knew would not serve us well in the end.
Then, I started thinking about teachers... and I really cried.
Students are not the only ones who have suffered with this change. TEACHERS have suffered.
I had this overwhelming sadness over how these feelings about learners and learning environments have been taken from us. Teachers, who in NO way desire to be "standard" or provide anything "standard", have been forced into a standardized educational system. I'm talking about teachers like me, who have been in the fight for more than a decade, who at one time had those feelings and moments, but now they are few and far between. I know the feeling of joy that comes when you are teaching in a learner-centered environment, and I know the feeling of disappointment and frustration when the established system calls for something else.
So, teachers, I cried for you because I care about you, I respect you, and I hurt with you. I feel sorry that those of you who are ANYTHING but "standard" have to inspire learning in a standardized system. I recognize that many of you have been robbed of your joy and it makes me sad.
All of this may sound defeating, however there IS a "but"...
WE are the "but". (insert giggly 4th grade student laughter here)
Have you ever read the poem, "The Dash" by Linda Ellis? If you haven't read it recently or read it at all, stop right now, google it and read it! This poem makes us question what we will do with the space between our birth and death, our "dash".
Well... there IS another "dash". It's the dash between the day you start teaching and the day you retire. For me, my dash began in August of 1994. I don't know when it will end, but I am determined to make it the most exciting and fulfilling dash EVER.
I refuse to have my dash look like the standard dash. ▬
I like to think my dash will be shaped more like this 〰
How will your dash look? I hope we can inspire each other to transform our teaching dashes from standard to amazing, unique works of art...dashes that are wondrous, curious, capable, limitless, active, engaged, and even exciting!
Happy New Year and Happy Transformations!
The Head Genius
Students are not the only ones who have suffered with this change. TEACHERS have suffered.
I had this overwhelming sadness over how these feelings about learners and learning environments have been taken from us. Teachers, who in NO way desire to be "standard" or provide anything "standard", have been forced into a standardized educational system. I'm talking about teachers like me, who have been in the fight for more than a decade, who at one time had those feelings and moments, but now they are few and far between. I know the feeling of joy that comes when you are teaching in a learner-centered environment, and I know the feeling of disappointment and frustration when the established system calls for something else.
So, teachers, I cried for you because I care about you, I respect you, and I hurt with you. I feel sorry that those of you who are ANYTHING but "standard" have to inspire learning in a standardized system. I recognize that many of you have been robbed of your joy and it makes me sad.
You and your students are the main reason I share our little piece of "non-standard heaven" called Genius Gym through this blog.
WE are the "but". (insert giggly 4th grade student laughter here)
Have you ever read the poem, "The Dash" by Linda Ellis? If you haven't read it recently or read it at all, stop right now, google it and read it! This poem makes us question what we will do with the space between our birth and death, our "dash".
Well... there IS another "dash". It's the dash between the day you start teaching and the day you retire. For me, my dash began in August of 1994. I don't know when it will end, but I am determined to make it the most exciting and fulfilling dash EVER.
I refuse to have my dash look like the standard dash. ▬
I like to think my dash will be shaped more like this 〰
or maybe this...
How will your dash look? I hope we can inspire each other to transform our teaching dashes from standard to amazing, unique works of art...dashes that are wondrous, curious, capable, limitless, active, engaged, and even exciting!
Happy New Year and Happy Transformations!
The Head Genius
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