Wake-Up Call…

   Year after year and decade after decade, traditional public schools are layered with one reform or social initiative after another.  The changes are well-intended, designed to broaden and deepen students’ perspectives, world views, personal awareness, sensibilities, and knowledge.  They are supposed to help students prepare for and achieve social, academic, and professional growth, and lead to their finding success as kind and understanding problem-solving global citizens in a 21st century world.  It sounds like a tall order because it is.  There is so much to do and too little time.

     In addition, schools are pressured to make AYP (Adequate Yearly Progress), demonstrate adherence  to common core standards, meet time-on-task expectations, and evaluate students based on their performance on standardized tests.  In our educational paradigm, space and time are at a premium.  It’s  a lot.         

     COVID-19 was the breaking point.  Or a wake-up call.  After a year of remote learning, academic regression, and a social/emotional crisis of isolation among students, some parents have stopped looking for solutions in traditional public schools.  Instead, they have opted for alternative education schooling that prioritizes 1) emotional well-being; 2) student engagement through learning by doing; 3) personalized, relevant learning that incorporates student interests; and 4) flexibility. This is a growing trend.  And it is a wake-up call.

          Education in America is at an impasse of good intentions and divergent approaches.  Traditional schools are caught in the middle.

     Everyone wants what is best for children, but we disagree on what that means. What is the purpose of formal education and schooling?  Where should the focus be?  What is an educated person?  What is worth knowing?  How can we provide a 21st century culture of learning that is student-aware and that inspires our kids to connect to the world around them with positive energy and purpose?  How can we  use standards as benchmarks while avoiding standardization? 

     How can we establish trust with our children and students?  Can we have open conversations and honestly express ourselves, ask and respond to questions, learn, change, and grow together?  Can we  have such conversations with the powers that be at the state and federal levels?  Will they listen and  research successful alternative schools perhaps to adapt some of their methods and practices?

     When our children are small, we encourage them to be curious, ask questions, wonder why.  Even if you sometimes feel like screaming at the umpteenth WHY?, you are secretly proud of your child’s keen intelligence and persistent desire to learn.  Learning is exploration and discovery, curiosity, asking questions, and, yes, wondering why.  It is a uniquely personal and memorable experience.  Learning is also meeting developmental benchmarks and standards and preparing for careers, college, life.  How do we create an intentional culture in which students embrace and thrive in both aspects of learning? What do we prioritize?

     The issue is not a competition between traditional schools and alternative schools.  It is more than what we teach our students.  It is also how we support them and facilitate their learning (individually and collaboratively), understanding, independence, and participation, and applaud their joy.

     The alarm has rung.  It has been ringing for quite some time. What we do next is what matters for our children - today and in the tomorrows to follow.

Answer to Unpacking Education, No. 4, Question of the Day: 

The correct answer is a) Homeschooling, which - in the past two years - has experienced a greater growth rate than charter and private schools. According to polling data, reasons include the need for proper safety precautions and more individualized instruction and services for children.  https://www.the74million.org/article/spurrier-homeschooling-is-on-the-rise-what-should-that-teach-education-leaders-about-families-preferences/