A few days ago Pete Rilley wrote a great post on Education’s Hidden Message. It really struck a cord with me. I have pretty much felt this way about education since I was a student, and that is one of the reasons I entered the field. One of the many messages my parents gave me while growing up was in essence “if you don’t like something you can walk away or you can change it.” Some times I feel overwhelmed, like I am being squashed by it all, but the collaborative nature of the blogs, podcasts and other tools have helped me stay focused and realize I am not in this alone.

There were a few points that really hit home. Pete writes;

They are learning that it’s easier to “play school” than to engage one’s curiosity and thirst to learn. We pretend that this all has relevance to their lives and they pretend to care.

My parents had a devil of time getting me to “play school” if I was interested and motivated I excelled, if I was not interested they could in no way get me to comply with doing homework or projects at my best. I remember my mom telling me “just jump through the hoops.” Now as a parent I find myself thinking the same thing. Though I have not yet said it allowed to my children. When my daughter, for example, works on an assignment she usually goes to the web to find information, some times she just goes to look up stuff she is interested in. She can spend hours looking up information on Mesopotamia, Mars, Spanish colonies, Manga, and Japanese food. She is learning but the homework is not getting done. I find I have 3 persona’s in this; the parent, the educator, and dare I say the public school educator*. The parent in me just wants to get the homework done so we can get on with the other things we need to do, but is also proud that she is curious and knows how to find things. The educator is ecstatic that she is curious, learning, engaged and self motivated. The public school educator in me sees the value of the original assignment and knows that for many kids they need the assignment in order to interact with the content and stay focused on the standards. (Just a side note here, much of the time my daughter comes home with assignments that I think are very appropriate and very creative. She has a great group of teachers.)

The other point that Pete makes was the something I struggled with as a student.

They are learning there is always a single unambiguous right answer to a question. If it can’t be measured, it’s not taught.

I found this true more as an elementary and middle school student. It was as if we simplified the information so much that it became incorrect. In some ways I am sure my own kids wish I would simplify things, when they ask me a question they usually get a much longer answer then they bargained for.

Overall I feel we are working in a 19th century system which was effective then. Over time we created a large bureaucracy which by its very nature changes slowly. This bureaucracy now finds itself in the 21st century where change is rapid, it just can’t keep up. I also know there are many good, great people in the system who are making effective change one student, one classroom at a time.

(It all sounded much more elegant in my head then on the screen)

* I am not really sure how to explain the difference between the two. I am a public educator after all and have been for 20+ years and love what I do. I guess maybe it comes down to the ideal and real.