Something I've been thinking about with great frequency is how can we create real change in our school. It is so easy to find the problems with our school, many of them stand out like like neon signs in Vegas, but the when it comes time to make changes that have an impact everything just gets so watered down, bogged down, completely and totally stuck in the mud. I think this is mostly due to the fact that I love to complain about things that are not going well or need fixed but often this is as far as my committment to change goes.
Recently I sat down with some teachers and an administrator I really respect in a small group and we took some time to discuss the age old question of what is wrong at our school, this discussion went great until we tried to steer the topic towards how can we fix things. We had some suggestions, nothing particularly earth shattering or creative, mostly having to with punishing the students more so they are more accountable for their behavior. I left the meeting thinking is this all there is? The best we can do in the area of making our school better is just come up with stricter consequences for our students? I felt like an opportunity was lost in that 90 minutes we spent together, and these opportunities are lost quite often lost over and over again when I let opportunities for real change slide by and take the easy and sometimes cathartic approach of just complaining about the problem. Hopefully thinking about this and sharing my thoughts will push me to get out of the muddy pit of complaining and start working on some creative and inspired solutions.
Thanks so much for sharing these thoughts, Myron. I think about that topic a lot...and like you, I get very frustrated with the lack of real, original solutions to this often asked question.
ReplyDeleteFrom my perspective, I think it has to do more with the opportunities we provide for our students to have authentic opportunities to fine-tune their thoughts and share their voice...all of which can be wrapped up in the content we wrestle with on a daily basis.
As I think you stated clearly, we cannot "punish" students into submission. And we especially can't "punish" students into a love of learning, of finding, of asking more questions. I think the best we can do is start by creating a movement in our own classrooms and let that spread. Expose students to the kinds of learning experiences which light a fire as opposed to ones which focus solely on completion and compliance.
Thanks for helping me think about this a little more, and helping me clarify my own thoughts.