0 Is It Worth It?

Posted by Atsumori. Category:

Moving schools or classrooms forward in today's world is truly like rolling a boulder up a mountain.

First of all, current standards that support age-old standards now packaged tightly and titled the Common Core are taking up the majority of school funds, time, and thought.  Every public school system wants to ace new tests, accountability reports, and evaluation guidelines.  It's a race to the top of national and international rankings.

While I think too much time and money are spent on data reports and testing related to The Common Core, money that could be spent on programs that engage children, I am a fan of making sure that every child has a solid educational foundation in essential skills.

But, essential skills are only part of the education landscape today.  Today's world demands that children learn how to learn with the 4 C's: Creativity, Communication, Critical Thinking Skills, and Collaboration.  The common core does include some work that supports the 4 C's, but it does it in mostly an old-time way, not a way that includes new tools, new problems, and new learning--learning that engages and motivates students in today's world.

Schools, in my opinion, need to do both, and they need to do it in developmentally appropriate ways.  Yet, with so much time being spent on accountability, evaluation, and essential skills, there is little time, will, or intent to explore the more creative aspect of learning, the 4 C's taught with modern day tools, methods, projects, and problems--the kind of education that really engages children and makes them want to keep learning.

My goal this year is to do all: the common core, 4 C's, and engaging, motivating project/problem base learning design.  I'm finding lots of support for the first charge, the Common Core--everywhere I turn there's another lesson plan, rubric, test, or mandate related to that. There's some support for the 4 C's as they relate to the Common Core, and there's little to no support for the third effort, project/problem base learning design--in fact I've spent more time defending that approach than actually digging in and working with it.

I could give up on project/problem base learning design.  There's little support; it takes time away from my personal life and family, and it's not a sure bet, there's room for error, mistakes, and push back as it's not a tried and true spelling test, reading passage, or math calculation.  What keeps me motivated, however, is that when I teach with project/problem base design children are always engaged, hungry for more, collaborating, communicating, and even extending their learning on their own time after school--it's learning at it's best.  Hence, I'm not giving up (yet).

What would be ideal is the following:

• System leadership that spends time looking closely at the needs and time of teachers and students today. Taking the time to truly decide how they will support Common Core instruction, the 4 C's, and project/problem base learning with both tried-and-true practice and innovative pilots.  
• Professional development and learning time that is well defined and thoughtful giving teachers the time they need to research, plan, respond, question, and collaborate around both essential and innovative learning design.
• A commitment by all to support traditional teaching and engagement in innovative design with time-on-task with students for some time each week--too much distance from working with students can foster decisions that don't truly affect students in the positive, dynamic ways possible. 
• Systems that take on student-centered servant leadership where all in the system's main charge is doing what's best for children, and in that charge all make the time for thoughtful debate, lead-time discussions, research, and planning ahead.  

It's worth it to spend time and energy designing programs that both engage and educate children well. In that effort we have to work together to embed the best of the old and the best of the new with vision and effect.  

I'll remain in the game with energy, and look to the collegiality and support of others, including the entire learning community, to continue to design and implement programs that teach children well. 

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