“Sometimes …”

Much has and will continue to be written, discussed, debated, and legislated regarding Hurricane Sandy – not to mention litigated – someone has to be sued, right?  The destruction and loss of life are challenging for words to describe let alone for many of us to comprehend.  Watching camera footage along with the interviews of victims was difficult especially in the immediate aftermath.  Then came the unseasonably early nor’easter – talk about insult to injury.   The rebuilding of communities, towns, and cities will be an enormous undertaking not to mention expensive.  Yet, is there any doubt that it will be done?

Homes and businesses along with the infrastructure to support utilities, communication, transportation, schools and other public services will return.  So will the people – the human spirit - the composite of psychology, philosophy, and religion that define humanity is nothing short of amazing.  This is precisely why I have little doubt that from catastrophe there will be growth and renewal. 

It is against this backdrop that I move to the front and center of a different challenge – a challenge that if we collectively responded as if facing the severity of a Hurricane or some other natural disaster we would at last solve.  That is, the challenge of universal literacy!

I recently shared at the NC Legislative Research Council as I have in the past in other venues that we can eradicate illiteracy in three to five years if we really chose to – yes you read that right – eradicate illiteracy.  We already know more than we need to do to actually achieve this – we just have to want to.

This is where the sports commentator says, “C’mon man!”

Yes, indeed, c’mon! 

The knowledge we have about how the brain works especially the ability to watch, track, and affect the development of sight, sound, and symbol recognition is now a fingertip away.  We can aggressively increase both the requisite skills as well as intensify the acquisition of skills, experience, and knowledge commensurate with literacy mastery.  In fact, the cost of aggressively preventing intervention versus the costs of remediation of failed learning or better put the failure to learn is pennies versus dollars.  In fact, the longer a student is in remediation the more costly it becomes.

Hence the prevention to intervention model – it makes sense from both an educational and fiscal perspective.  So, why don’t we embrace it? 

We are but …

The “buts” are primarily our mindset followed by using time, technology, and teaming differently.  For example, we are still limited by how we use time.  The only time that should have constraints are the first bell at the beginning of the instructional day and last bell signaling the end of the day.  Other than that, educators should be compelled to use time to achieve mastery – literacy mastery.  Mastering literacy embeds all subject areas, content areas, and learning activities. 

Mastering literacy is not age bound or grade bound.  What we must do is to ensure it without compromising.

What will it take?

We have the tools, technology, theory, and teams.  We need to shore up training and permission to use time differently to leverage the aforementioned tools, technology and teams.  Permission?

Yes!

Our principals and teachers have permission – not that they needed formal permission to ensure literacy mastery.  Nonetheless, they do. 

A challenge, to be fair to our staff, is ensuring that students who have already mastered the essential skills of literacy move to even more profound skills, knowledge, and experiences.  Simply put, I am not suggesting that students demonstrating literacy mastery should in any way not be challenged or expected to learn to even higher levels.

Herein lies a second challenge – the bane of our existence is sameness.  Once we use permission to be different, we will begin to break away from sameness – treating each learner the same – same grade, same pace, same space, and same place.  As an example, the only factor that second graders have in common is “age”.

Is this practical? 

It has to be!

What we need now more than ever is the collective commitment and courage to make this happen.