I woke up early this morning with cascading thoughts on what I wanted to write about this week. Some of my desire to share comes simply from my desire to share, while there is also a certain amount of frustration that I need to “write” out!
Let’s begin with a statement that I used to make when I met with parents whether that be at engagement evenings or school council meetings, “The education you received may have been good enough for you, but it is certainly not good enough for your children.” And this is not a slight on our educators today or even our leaders, it is just simply the box we’ve been put into and how we tend to respond.
The reason I used that statement so often was to assist parents to understand that the education system that they grew up with and was their norm, didn’t support the students of today. Ultimately, we should want better! But since the norm, the widespread or usual practice, procedure, or custom of “school” is so engrained in our society, we often like to just do better at the wrong thing.
Part of the issue is that governments usually have little foresight or willingness to shake things up especially if it is contrary to their voting public. Instead, they add a couple of new revolutionary ideas (not really) but play to the masses of “the good old days.” They increase standardized testing, add accountability and expand an already burdensome curriculum without “in real dollars” adding financial support. And when results don’t change, they don’t look for the root causes which may force them to rethink their views but rather, increase standardized testing, add accountability and expand an already burdensome curriculum without “in real dollars” adding financial support.
The result is that systems react and stay pretty central in the confines of the box established. While there are some innovative practices throughout systems, the box we operate in continues to be a limitation for more. I had the luxury of leading a smaller school division for 11 years, situated a long way from the provincial capital. It allowed me and more importantly the staff to think creatively, learn, unlearn, relearn and welcome innovation. While I still had to play by the rules within the box, I was able to get to the outer limits, stretch it a little and sometimes, even break out of the box. Part of my time as superintendent was during the Government of Alberta’s Inspiring Education where our goal was to develop “Engage Thinkers, Ethical Citizens with an Entrepreneurial Spirit.”
How I wish for those days again in our schools. Why…because it was countercultural, it was against the norm and most importantly it was about “educating students for their future and not our past. The box was certainly bigger back then and there were actual partnerships between government and superintendent, trustee, parent and teacher organizations. It wasn’t perfect but it allowed for a hard look at what the graduate of 2030 would require to be successful. Standardized testing and accountability were still present but formative assessment and assurance were heightened and programs like AISI (Alberta Initiative for School Improvement) allowed for new research to enhance and improve teaching and learning.
People that don’t want any change and people who want change but are unwilling to change keep the system box pretty small.
I have little hope that any government will innovate on a large scale, but I do believe that leaders committed to improving the educational experience for students and enhancing teaching and learning can at the very least move to the outer limits and stretch the norm. Education is no longer just complicated it is extremely complex and without creative solutions, we will keep climbing a ladder that is on the wrong wall!
