by Sam Weaver

Created on: March 11, 2009

There are many problems that exist in our public education system. After teaching full-time for several years, I think the underlying problem of the system that nobody really wants to talk about, is that our system is a soul sucking grind. Whether you are a teacher, student or administrator (or janitor, cook or nurse for that matter) trying to create an oasis of fun, excitement for learning, and skill building that really matters is a subversive act in our public school community.

Almost every child learns to walk and talk. If you watch a young baby in the throes of this development, they put their whole selves into the learning process. Frustration and failure are a part of the learning process, and their caregivers support and encourage them, and the culmination gaining some mastery of these two skills launches the baby into the whole new phase of toddler-dom.

We don't lose the drive to learn when we get to school. However, the process of school disenfranchises the majority of our children by its very nature. Just think back to your own school experience. How many hours did you spend either bored because you already knew the material, lost because you didn't understand what was going on, dejected because you didn't feel the work required was worth doing or maybe you didn't think you would be able to do it to your teacher's satisfaction, upset because you were having social issues with a teacher or another student or uninterested in the material being covered? Our school system trains us to believe that this wasted time and unpleasant environment is the cost of living. The cost to us as individuals and to our society as a whole for accepting this world-view is immeasurable and immense.

This underlying problem doesn't get fixed by a new standard, or a different test. It doesn't get fixed by enacting a different teacher preparation program or providing mentoring to new teachers so that they can become more like the teachers who have decided that the most efficient way to teach is to pretend all of your students are exactly the same and will be enthralled with all you have to say, and happy to produce whatever work product you request just the way you want it.

The goal of schooling should be to help students think critically about the information around them, make decisions that benefit themselves and their community, and learn how to gain mastery of the skills that they will need to succeed in life. The principle by which schools are designed should be an exposure to a wide breadth of topics and subjects, opportunity to work deeply in areas that each student connects with, and experience how they can make the most of their community. They should be encouraged to challenge themselves and work at the boundaries of their abilities and given support while they risk failure by stretching themselves.

The details for an individual child may be as different as each child is, and that is how real learning happens.

The major stumbling block for us to embrace this approach as a widespread educational solution is the difficulty in assessing the quality of education that each child is getting. Although, the areas that we currently measure have less to do with the quality of education than with the ease of making equitable assessments so that everybody can be judged "objectively". In order for this kind of approach to be accepted, we need to move from a priority of an "ease of managing the students and teachers" to spending our energy and efforts providing the services that children need to be met where they are and helped to further their growth and learning in a way that works for that child.

Schooling would look a lot different, but our society would be better off for the changes.

Learn more about this author, Sam Weaver.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.