Introduction:
“I want to set out how the standards culture is harming students and schools and to present a different way of thinking about education . . . you do have the power to make the system change”
“If you run an education system based on standardization and conformity that suppresses individuality, imagination, and creativity, don’t be surprised if that’s what it does . . . the old systems of education were not designed with this world in mind”
Back to the Basics:
“Education is one of the main ways that communities pass on their values and traditions from one generation to the next” (pg 8).
“One of the declared priorities is to prepare young people for work. And yet, youth unemployment around the world is at record levels” (pg 14).
Changing Metaphors:
Conformity, “the institutional tendency in education to judge students by a single standards of ability and to treat those who don’t meet it as ‘less able’ or ‘disabled’ - as deviations from the norm. In this sense, the alternative to conformity is not condoning disruption; it is celebrating diversity” (pg 36).
Compliance is about “whether and how students are encouraged to ask questions . . . struct compliance is essential in manufacturing products, but people are different (pg 36, 37).
Cultural: Education should enable students to understand and appreciate their own cultures and to respect the diversity of others
“When people live in regular contact, they deeply influence each other’s ways of thinking and behaving . . . Cultural diversity is one of the glories of human existence. The lives of all communities can be hugely enriched by celebrating their own cultures and the practices and traditions of other cultures” (pg 49).
Personal:
“What people contribute to the world around them has everything to do with how they engage with the world within them” (pg 53).
Natural Born Leaders:
Enabling students to pursue their own interests and strengths:
“We all have a wide range of natural aptitudes, and we all have them differently. Personalization means teachers taking account of these differences in how they teach different students. It also means allowing for flexibility within the curriculum so that in addition to what all students need to learn in common, there are opportunities for them to pursue their individual interests and strengths as well” (pg 88).
“Being in your element is not only about finding your talents. Some people are good at things they don’t really care for. To be in your element, you have to love it” (pg 89).
The Art of Teaching:
Engage
”Great teachers understand that it’s not enough to know their disciplines. Their job is not to teach subjects; it is to teach students. They need to engage, inspire, and enthuse students by creating conditions in which those students will want to learn. When they do that, their students will most certainly exceed their own expectations and everyone else’s too. Great teachers achieve results by bringing the best out in their students” (pg 104).
“Rafe Esquith has no teacher’s desk in his classroom. If the desk were there, he might sit behind it, and he thinks that his role is to be moving among his students all the time” (pg 107).
Expect
”Teachers’ expectations have radical implications for the achievements of their students. If teachers convey to students that they expect them to do well, it’s much more likely that they will. If they expect them to do badly, that’s more likely too” (pg 108).
Creative Teaching
”Creativity is the process of having original ideas that have value” (pg 118).
Learning to Teach
”Great teachers are the heart of a great school. In their various roles, they can fulfill three essential purposes for students:
Inspiration: They inspire their students with their own passion for their disciplines and to achieve at their highest levels within them.
Confidence: They help their students to acquire the skills and knowledge they need to become confident, independent learners who can continue to develop their understanding and expertise.
Creativity: They enable their students to experiment, inquire, ask questions, and develop the skills and disposition of original thinking (pg 127).
What’s Worth Knowing:
Curiosity - the ability to ask questions and explore how the world works
“Human achievement in every field is driven by the desire to explore, to test and prod, to see what happens, to question how things work, and to wonder why and ask, what if?" (pg 135).
Collaboration - the ability to work constructively with others
Compassion - the ability to empathize with others and to act accordingly
“Practicing compassion is the truest expression of our common humanity and a deep source of happiness in ourselves and others. In schools, as elsewhere, compassion has to be practiced, not preached” (pg 139).
Composure - the ability to connect with the inner life of feeling and develop a sense of personal harmony and balance
”We live in two worlds: the world within us and the world around us. The standards-driven curriculum is full of the outer world. It does little to help young people fathom the world within them. Yet how we act in the world around us is deeply affected by how we see and feel about ourselves” (pg 140).
Grade: B
Some great stuff here for sure. But also, perhaps a bit long. Reduce it by, say, 70 pages, and it would be solid. Still, its worth the read for sure.
For more on . . .