“The problem with education is THE problem”

Where to begin, is the question. 

The past ten days presented several opportunities to share the work of dedicated educators to create and sustain the transformative work of teaching resulting in unprecedented student performance improvement and growth.  

When I contextualize the challenges, circumstances, and conditions of a rural, economically disadvantaged county school system that our staff, students, parents, and community strive daily to overcome, the results are even more impressive.  This is as it should be. 

In meeting with Lilesville Elementary staff this week, you could sense the commitment, dedication, optimism, focus, and professionalism of a staff that is deeply dedicated to the proposition that each learner can and will be successful when each staff is successful in the work, the effort, the collaboration, and the support of one another.  Lilesville is well on their way to a “breakthrough” year!

Focusing on what they (the staff) have within their control is a powerful first step.  Their principal,

Ms. Phillips has facilitated an exciting, energetic, and contagious mindset of pursuing excellence.  Excellence not fixated on fixing problems but in creating possibilities, endless possibilities for each learner.

Creating possibilities is more or less absent from national, state, or local conversations about education.  There is far too many complaints, criticism, and calls for “reform”.  There are so many voices that no wonder there is confusion.   The result of the collective noise is more conflict, more unrest, more uncertainty, more distrust, and more lost opportunity to meet the needs of each learner – the loss of pursuing excellence.

As I have stated before, reform has nothing to do with continuous improvement it is all about correcting.  So much so, that the problem with education is the problem.

What needs to shift is the collective focus from problems to what has, can, and will be the result of pursuing excellence in the work of teaching and learning – passion, ownership, investment, creativity, innovation, imagination, and invention. 

We will see, experience, and hear things that were only dreamed or envisioned by the few. Though some may be amazed, those that pursue excellence will be pleasantly pleased but never fully satisfied or content with what has, can, and will be because their curiosity fueled by possibilities provides endless motivation to explore, discover, and create.

The problem is the problem is exacerbated by competing agendas from polar opposite ideological positions.  Neither is right and neither is wrong.  In the vise of these extremes are our students.  They are learners only limited by adults who argue, debate, demand, and legislate from not what is good, right, or true about pursuing excellence in teaching and learning but rather from a position that actually works against the very thing we most desperately need – an educated citizenry.

“A rising tide raises all boats” and so it is with education pursuing excellence.  The quality of teaching and learning therefore is not measured solely by test scores or easily manipulated metrics.  In pursuing excellence quality is in part the journey, the experience and in part the application of acquired skills and knowledge.  These are clearly dependent upon factors that can only be measured by each individual – their interests, their likes, dislikes, their pursuits, their happiness, their contributions, their commitments, and etc.

The pursuit of excellence isn’t devoid of benchmarks or milestones albeit assessments, assignments, or tests.  The pursuit of excellence is not without standards or measures either.  What differentiates the pursuit of excellence and the pursuit of “other” is the role the individual learner and individual teacher bring to the proposition – Everything!

The pursuit of excellence is “all in”; mind, body, soul, and spirit. 

Isn’t that what we want education to be? 

Hats off to Lilesville for pursuing excellence for each learner!

Here is your Anson County School’s fact of the week.

In 2007-2008, 32% of our Biology students scored a 3 or 4 on the End of Course Test.

In 2011-2012, 70% scored a 3 or 4 on the End of Course Test.