{"id":653,"date":"2009-02-01T21:37:51","date_gmt":"2009-02-02T02:37:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.bethknittle.net\/WP_Blog\/?p=653"},"modified":"2009-02-01T21:43:01","modified_gmt":"2009-02-02T02:43:01","slug":"whats-your-mission-statement","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.bethknittle.net\/WP_Blog\/?p=653","title":{"rendered":"What’s Your Mission Statement?"},"content":{"rendered":"

I have been thinking about a comment Steven Squyers<\/a> made during the Friday night panel at EduCon 2.1<\/a>.\u00a0 “What’s your missions statement.”\u00a0 He was discussing how the Mars Rover Project has a mission statement short, to the point and takes up less then half a sheet of paper.\u00a0 He said when decisions are made we refer to the mission statement, if it supports the mission then go for it, if it does not then throw it out.\u00a0 I have worked at a number of school districts that all had mission statements.\u00a0 These statements hang on lobby walls, are printed in student hand books, adorned web pages and appear at school committee meetings.<\/p>\n

They go something like this;\u00a0 (a mash-up of the last 4 schools I have worked in)<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

“The mission of Any School,\u00a0 in partnership with parents and community, is to educate all students to high standards of academic excellence, artistic expression, cultural awareness and to prepare a diverse student body to be creative, responsible, productive citizens in a dynamic changing society.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Lofty goals.\u00a0 But honestly I do not see it happening.\u00a0 I participate in a large network of educators and work with some of the best\u00a0 who try to meet this vision everyday.\u00a0 But systematically I do not think we are working to meet these goals.\u00a0 We discuss how to improve state test scores. We eliminate art, music and enrichment classes due to budget cuts.\u00a0 We limit access to the global community and prevent students from connecting and creating with today’s interactive tools.\u00a0 We stress the 4 core subjects to help students meet the testing standards but little more.\u00a0 We focus on data driven decision making. How does this data support artistic expression, social and cultural awareness?\u00a0 Listen to the language found in state and federal DOE reports and spoken at many school meetings. What is the real mission being expressed? My guess “to help all students meet the academic standards set by state testing,” the rest has taken a back seat. Contrast this with the language used at EduCon 2.1.<\/p>\n

At EduCon<\/a> the words that echoed in the halls were; students, collaboration, creating, change, connecting, talent, growth, etc.\u00a0 We focused on topics surrounding pedagogy,\u00a0 meeting diverse student needs,\u00a0 connecting curriculum to real life, developing a depth of understanding and inter-connectivity of content.\u00a0 I encourage you to take the time to view the sessions<\/a> which were recorded by the students of Science Leadership Academy<\/a>. The overarching themes, how to create change in our schools, how to help our students achieve more then just good test scores?\u00a0 How to get our schools to refocus and fulfill their stated missions?<\/p>\n

What is my mission statement?\u00a0 Do I have an action plan to help me create change? What is my part in the big picture? I know what I believe<\/a> about education.<\/p>\n