Last week I decided I would give up carbs. It wasn’t a rash decision. It was actually well thought out, prompted in part by the massive amount of snacks I was gifted for my birthday. (Anytime 10 different people are able to buy you fritos, you know you’re in a bad snack choosing place!) I have some friends who love their keto life style, so I thought, I can handle this…high fat, low/no carb. I got this.
Day one went well.
Day two prompted my husband to question my life choices.
Day three I ate a jelly doughnut.
What I’ve learned in my third year as an administrator is the same thing I learned in my carbless adventure last week…you can’t go to the extreme in your decision and choices.
There are a variety of hot sports opinions on “how” we should be doing what we do in education. They tend to fall in the “extreme” category. It’s almost to the point where I can’t check twitter anymore because I am so easily annoyed at the “extreme” ideals of what is being shared, and how very different it is from my reality.
There are very few things that I think I would now take a hard and fast stance against in education. There’s a lot I would stand for…primarily, a focus on the individual people. The relationships. Building connections. Fostering hope. But these are not mutually exclusive against some of the other things that we hear. George Couros just referenced this conversion on FB a book he was reading for perspective, “What I notice in that in this reading it is very either/or for “kids nowadays”. ”
Why does it have to be an OR? Can’t there be an AND?
Every campus, every classroom, every child, every day.
My teen? My AP class taking teen? She knows what her PSAT, ACT, and SAT scores have to be in order to attend Texas Tech University. Taking tests like that do not compare to a hands on, no HW, no testing environment. Yes, we’ve done test prep. She hasn’t had algebra in a year…but you better believe we’re doing algebra HOMEWORK in order to prepare her for what is coming up on the PSAT. I know that she is also taking practice tests at school…are they teaching her to the test? No, but they are preparing her for what lies ahead…these scores will determine her trajectory moving forward. I NEED HER PREPPED!
I get that our educational system needs a re-haul. I get that we are over testing our students. but I also know that my job isn’t just to play, it’s to prepare them academically. That’s a foundation of reading, of writing, and of mathematical foundations. I can do that in a fun environment, that teaches them to love learning , but when you say things like “Just love your job and everything else will be ok.”, I find that hard to stomach. You’ve got people all across the nation who love their job…but are also working their bottoms off to give their students every possible advantage they can. They have students who are struggling, who are behind, below, every which way. They deserve to have us prepare them for their actual reality, not the one we wish they could have.
Back off the extremes, friends. Let’s do right by each kid, and whatever it takes to make that happen.
all the things,
Amber
I agree that it is often easy to jump to the extremes and that is what makes people resistant. Just like implementing new programs at the site, it is often a better idea to ease the staff into it. When I was a classroom teacher the extreme changes and the mandated programs were met with more resistance and fear than those which were gradually implemented.
Awesome! Let’s always do what is best for kids!
Your analogy of the diet plan is a good example of what happens generally. In such a fast world we forget to look at what really matters. Doing things just because it works for some does not mean it works for all. If we truly want our students to grow, I believe we should reflect of how our great innovators of today think. It wasn’t a program or a set of rules but an inner drive to create and take risks; to learn from mistakes and to have a support system that enables all.