meL’s Word

I am a fan of Karl Fisch – I tend to agree wholeheartedly with so much of what he writes in his blog, The Fischbowl.  A few weeks ago he wrote a post called “What’s the Purpose of School?” In the post he loosely quoted a David Warlick (who I also admire, but don’t follow as closely as I probably should) post with a similar title, What’s the Purpose of Education?.  I read the Karl Fisch post and then read the original David Warlick post.  The government’s answer to the question is

• Cover the standards
• Make AYP
• Improve performance on government tests
• Produce a competitive workforce.

Most would agree, as I do, that this is not the entire answer.  As a parent I expect more than that, much more – I don’t give a hoot about the standards, or the government tests, or AYP.  Sure, I want schools to treat all children as individuals that can learn.  I don’t want a child to be successful based on which school he or she may have (or have not) gone to.  But I also don’t want what my child learns determined by some state committee that decides what is important and what isn’t.  I don’t want pacing guides that dictate how much time is spent on each topic - doesn’t that leave children behind?

Sure, I want my daughter to be well prepared for college if she so chooses (which I hope she does).  I also think that preparation is more than standards, more than AYP, more than government tests.  Education should be more than that.  Teaching her the standards does not prepare her for the world beyond the brick school she is in.  Teaching her using the same methods used when I was in school so many years ago is not going to prepare her for the 21st century.  Her education should provide her with a vast range of tools to use in a variety of situations – and the knowledge of how and when to use each tool most appropriately.

I walk the halls of the schools I work in (two middle and one elementary) and if children are the future, then what I see often frightens me.  I don’t think many these students are being prepared for the world beyond school – certainly not the competitive one they will encounter beyond graduation.  I live and work in a rural area beyond which many do not venture.  I have had students who will never leave the Delmarva peninsula, which is sad.  The future on the Eastern Shore seems bleak.  There is little industry beyond chickens (either the chickens themselves or the grain they eat), beyond the (dying) industry the waterman struggle in, beyond the tomatoes we grow.  We may have a rocket port here in the near future, but how many locals are prepared to work in that industry.  So many of the people who will work in that industry will not be locals.

As our nation struggles in dire economic times, are we preparing the future leaders of our country to compete in the ever-changing global environment?