"We're stuck in a mode where we're using old systems of understanding learning to try to understand these new forms, and part of the disjoint means that we're missing some really important and valuable data." ~ Douglas Thomas, A New Culture of Learning: Cultivating the Imagination for a World of Constant Change
It's a confusing time to be a public school parent. Politicians and interest groups are under the impression that we're desperately looking to place blame, and are waving their hands at us like we're driving past a bad car accident, trying to get us to pull off the road and survey the damage. The distrct blames the state, the state blames the federal government, and the federal government, as it appears to me, blames the teachers. Most parents I know don't feel this way, we love (most of) our teachers and, at the end of the day, don't really care if it's charter schools, paying teachers more, top-down corporate-style reform, private money, or a combo of all the above that will do the trick. Let me say this again: most parents don't care which answer is correct, they just want their schools to improve. Maybe that's because deep down, we know that none of these quasi-"solutions" will do the trick. Deep down, parents who care already understand we know what will, but are afraid to say it. We are afraid to sound like we're asking too much; maybe we are.
We parents want to bring our public school kids into the 21st Century. What we desperately want is not a scapegoat, but public school 2.0, and this doesn't necessarily mean in the realm of technology - although it could certainly be a component. In order to create public school 2.0, we must have a tsunami of innovation in curriculum and instruction. I say tsunami because the innovation has to be vast and has to level a lot of what has been erected in the past. We are now living in a mix-all, mash-up society that blends information and knowledge better than a Cuisinart, and our kids can get this high-intensity blend of information, culture and entertainment anywhere - absolutely anywhere in the whole world - but inside a classroom. Our kids must have a curriculum that looks like the Common Core but feels like Facebook. The modes and methods used now in many of our classrooms are like using a record player to surf the internet; they no longer fit the times in which we live.
We want our kids to have fun. Scientific studies show that children do better in school when they get to have recess. When I was a second-grader, the age my oldest son is now, I had two recesses a day, gym five days a week, and playtime before school. Due to the increased pressure put on children to succeed and move forward at all times, no matter what, so much of the social playtime that makes school fun has gone away. My son doesn't even eat lunch many days, because it cuts into his precious 15-minute recess time. As soon as school is out, he opens his lunch in the car and devours his wilted sandwich and carrots.
The system we've got has diabolically morphed from making sure all children get an equal opportunity to insisting all their outcomes be identical. We parents realize this is doing all children a grave disservice. The reformers' strong desire that all children have exactly the same outcomes each year of schooling, with no wiggle room, makes learning a terrific chore. Children are tracked from the moment they enter school, not having a chance to make mistakes, fail, and have the opportunity to try again. Teachers are required to teach the test, not what they know. If teachers were allowed to experiment with methods and subjects that will help the children achieve knowledge and fluency, perhaps outcomes would be different. Work being done at experimental schools like Habla: The Center for Language and Culture show that when teachers get to be creative and use their instincts, students learn - like the nine-year-old girl who could not read or write well in English or Spanish who was taught to read fluently in both by a teacher creative enough to teach the girl literacy through the her own artistic talent.
It is these three things - a tsunami of innovation in curriculum and instruction, built-in fun time, and a more creative environment for both teachers and students - that might have a shot at bringing us the public school 2.0 that we desperately need. But until we parents stand up for these very specific changes, the politicians and unions and reformers will continue the blame game.
How can we make them stop?
We need to take a look at ourselves. We cannot have it both ways; for far too long, we've wanted high quality education in the public system, but are not willing to pay for it with our time, our effort, or our tax dollars. In order to bring the kind of thoughtful, highly complex instruction that must exist in public school 2.0, we must be willing to pay. Lisa Belkin of The New York Times points out that parental involvement is a key factor in successful schools, but instead of allowing our legislatures to punish parents who aren't involved enough, we parents need to think of ways to get more parents involved. Whether it's holding PTA meetings on Saturday morning instead of during the week, or successful PTAs mentoring weak/nonexistent PTAs, surely we can encourage parent involvement instead of punishing its lack. (I'd love to hear any thoughts or ideas on the subject, so let me know.)
In order to have the system we want, we must demand that schools be properly funded and class sizes stay small. Without the money for good teachers and a proper learning environment, even the best curriculum and innovation will lose its power. We must stand up to our legislatures and demand that they stop talking and start doing.
You are a public school parent. What do you want?






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