I was reading a recent blog post by Will Richardson, a self-described “outspoken advocate for change in schools and classrooms in the context of the diverse new learning opportunities that the Web and other technologies now offer”, and was stopped in my tracks by this:
“Here’s the point: if we see direct instruction as our value, if what we care about is “higher student achievement” in the context of passing the test, we are, in a word, screwed.”
This quote not only stood out to me, but really made me consider exactly what our value is as educators – not just what others perceive our value to be. Is our value just in getting kids to pass the test? Is that “all” we’re good for? Of course I cannot agree with that – we have so much more to offer the students we serve. BUT is that all we’re seen as? I might have to agree. The conversations I hear most often seem to be centered around the next test and making sure kids pass it. Very few conversations are started to talk about how students can take control of their own learning to master the content at hand. If kids master the content at a higher level, won’t they then naturally have the low-level, regurgitave skills needed to pass a bubble test? Isn’t that our real value as educators – not getting kids to pass a minimum proficiency test, but in fostering the characteristics students need to grow into lifelong learners?
I thought Will made a compelling argument for why we need to honestly evaluate who we are and what we do. Click this link for the whole post if you’d like to read more. Please let me know what you think by leaving a comment below!
