Growth Rings: Public Education shoot, ready, aim?

Growth Rings: Public Education shoot, ready, aim?

My Growth Rings
I always wanted to be a teacher and make a difference in a child’s life. After nearly four decades in K-12 public education, having served in growing suburban to high poverty to rural school districts, I have seen and experienced much. Madelyn Hunter lesson design, SRA reading, Boys Town Model, Classroom instruct that works, block schedule, period schedule, flipped classrooms, open space classrooms, 1 to 1, I have lived initiatives that have come and gone.

From writing lesson plans to evaluating teachers and principals, from serving local school Boards to having a voice in state and national education reform conversations, I have had a “front-row seat” in the ongoing discussions to transform teaching and learning. As of yet, a direction forward on what school should be has not emerged. After 40 years of professional experience, I am starting to believe we shoot before we get ready and take aim.

I have the greatest respect for educator Lee Araoz (Twitter @LEEAROZ). He is a visionary leader and though his poster speaks to “the age of a teacher”, “embracing tech”, and “teacher mindset”, the true concern is our 20th-century organizational structure of "school". Schools are not a people problem; they are a system problem.

In a recent Growth Rings post, I shared there are four different generations of teachers, Traditionalists, Baby Boomers, Generation X and Millennials, all currently teaching Generation Z. This means adults, who only know the traditional school, are building relationships and preparing children, pre-teens and teenagers to enter, compete and contribute in the 21st-century Information age. Dedicated and committed educators are doing the best they know to do in a system designed at the turn of the last century. 

The financial and emotional cost.
The present reality is the rate of change happening inside classrooms is not keeping up with the accelerating rate of change happening outside the schoolhouse door. For teachers, the challenge is to break out of their isolated silo classrooms, overcome Future Shock, and prepare kids for jobs that have not yet been invented. All this at a time when the definition of family is transforming, kids are dealing with extreme stress and mental health issues are not being addressed.

Educators are dealing with fear and a sense of lost identity. Teachers and our schools, once thought to be the bedrock of our democracy, have come under extreme criticism. A Nation at Risk, No Child Left Behind, vouchers, and charter schools coupled with state achievement test results is causing educators extreme anxiety and stress. This is not healthy.

Technology is not the silver bullet.

There are those who believe that embedding technology into instruction is the answer. The problem is that the speed of the Third Wave is not allowing educators time to know how to do this nor discern what the pros, cons, and trade-offs are. Misuse of technology in the classroom has the potential for far-reaching effects.

Good stewards of tax dollars.
For Districts, some of which are already underfunded, covering the cost of ever-changing technology and providing meaningful professional development to retrain teachers is a challenge. Textbooks or tablets, hardware or salaries, retrofitting classrooms or building new buildings all are in flux.

Underneath this lies an unspoken realization that the current 20th-century structure of education is no longer viable, and the fear is no one knows what is next. Schools comfortable with 20th-century expectations like things just as they are. Underperforming schools are desperate. Patron perspectives range from schools are bad, but not my schools, to parents seeking choice with Charter Schools or vouchers. We are approaching a flashpoint.

Growth Rings: Educational Transformation 1900’s
Over 100 years ago, the country was experiencing the Industrial Revolution. System thinking of the day included: assembly lines, division of labor, interchangeable parts, and mass production, all transforming society.

As a result of those Growth Rings, debates across the country centered on what public education should become. In 1892, the National Education Association appointed a committee of ten educators to address the issue. The Committee of Ten’s recommendations included:

• Eight years of elementary education and four years of secondary education.
• High school courses to include languages, mathematics, science, English and history.
• Subject taught in secondary (high) schools should be taught in the same way and to all students.
• Unifying courses of study and school instruction would enhance the training of new teachers.
• The Committee identified the need for more highly qualified educators. They proposed that universities could enhance training by offering subject-education courses.

Learning moved from the small, personalized one-room country schools to consolidated town schools. Children were sorted according to their chronological age and not necessarily on their academic ability. Teachers moved from being facilitators of learning to become grade or content-specific. 100 years later, this is the structure and system still in use today.

Growth Ring 2020
Today calls for another conversation envisioning the mission of the public schools. The dialogue must include all stakeholders designing with flexibility in mind. This discussion should include parents, educators, patrons, business and industry voices, and NOT be done in isolation.

What do schools need to be to prepare and empower kids in the 21st century? What is the definition of family in the Third Wave Digital Age? How will social and emotional needs be addressed? Reading, writing, and arithmetic are crucial but are not enough. How do we move from one-size-fits-all teaching to personalized, differentiated instruction based on a child’s learning style? What is the appropriate use of classroom technology?

Many, many questions with many possible answers. Transparent discussion and reflection is the way forward. Let’s ready and aim so as to take a good shot.