3/16/2014
@Garciaj9Josh
“Standing Next To a Mountain”
As we enter the spring with gusto, I feel like we are standing in front of mountain. There is a pile of initiatives that are standing right in front of us and it feels like we are trying to push a boulder up that mountain. I often hear how much there needs to be done and how many new things are being added. I am not sure what is new or what is just renamed? We have done standards, now we have different standards called the “common core”. We have done standardized testing, now we have new ones. We have come to recognize these test scores are essential to our perceived future success as schools, but not necessarily essential to the success of our society. We are constantly bombarded by negative messages of how bad our American education system is. Most of legislative conversations in today’s politics are based on adults outcomes and struggle to connect to the students we serve.
This week, I become clearer that pushing the boulder is not the best work. For me the mountain has unfortunately remained the same. It is big, it is daunting and it is real. We still have a mountain of prejudice in our system. Now more than ever, we must renew our commitment to eliminating prejudice in our schools and society. We must identify and prioritize our work, focusing on only work that continues to dismantle the framework of segregation. We must work to support initiatives and systems that don’t restrict student rights by adult perceptions. We must identify multiple measures to demonstrate mastery not as gate keepers but rather keys to access and success. We must remove our egos, it doesn’t have to be our original idea for us to believe in its mission. We must create a manifesto for our students. One that articulates what we the adults will do for every child, every day. This manifesto must be so clear that we can hold each other and ourselves accountable when we don’t live it. We must study our current practices to unfold why we still have segregation. Is it based on learner skills or because of our adult beliefs? We must recognize that segregation in society is about power and those who are in power are not going to give that up easily.
Let us tell our children that education is the most important thing and we are renewing our
commitment to each and all of them. Let us run towards our students’ pain and recognize their pain is only our pain that we have run from. Today, is the day that you find your fierce urgency to save our children. Today, we must become a part of co-conspiracy to help each child reach our shared definition of success. Today, may be a good day to stop trying to push the boulder up the mountain. Today, may be a good day to begin to tear down the mountain…
Finally from, “Unknown”
“You can do this! We can do this!”
Cross-posted: http://edge.ascd.org/_What-I-Learned-Lately-WILL-1314-17/blog/6563440/127586.html
@Garciaj9Josh
“Standing Next To a Mountain”
As we enter the spring with gusto, I feel like we are standing in front of mountain. There is a pile of initiatives that are standing right in front of us and it feels like we are trying to push a boulder up that mountain. I often hear how much there needs to be done and how many new things are being added. I am not sure what is new or what is just renamed? We have done standards, now we have different standards called the “common core”. We have done standardized testing, now we have new ones. We have come to recognize these test scores are essential to our perceived future success as schools, but not necessarily essential to the success of our society. We are constantly bombarded by negative messages of how bad our American education system is. Most of legislative conversations in today’s politics are based on adults outcomes and struggle to connect to the students we serve.
This week, I become clearer that pushing the boulder is not the best work. For me the mountain has unfortunately remained the same. It is big, it is daunting and it is real. We still have a mountain of prejudice in our system. Now more than ever, we must renew our commitment to eliminating prejudice in our schools and society. We must identify and prioritize our work, focusing on only work that continues to dismantle the framework of segregation. We must work to support initiatives and systems that don’t restrict student rights by adult perceptions. We must identify multiple measures to demonstrate mastery not as gate keepers but rather keys to access and success. We must remove our egos, it doesn’t have to be our original idea for us to believe in its mission. We must create a manifesto for our students. One that articulates what we the adults will do for every child, every day. This manifesto must be so clear that we can hold each other and ourselves accountable when we don’t live it. We must study our current practices to unfold why we still have segregation. Is it based on learner skills or because of our adult beliefs? We must recognize that segregation in society is about power and those who are in power are not going to give that up easily.
Let us tell our children that education is the most important thing and we are renewing our commitment to each and all of them. Let us run towards our students’ pain and recognize their pain is only our pain that we have run from. Today, is the day that you find your fierce urgency to save our children. Today, we must become a part of co-conspiracy to help each child reach our shared definition of success. Today, may be a good day to stop trying to push the boulder up the mountain. Today, may be a good day to begin to tear down the mountain…
Finally from, “Unknown”
“You can do this! We can do this!”
Cross-posted: http://edge.ascd.org/_What-I-Learned-Lately-WILL-1314-17/blog/6563440/127586.html
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