I’ve got a little story for you.
It’s Christmas, and it’s the first time the family is having dinner away from the home they grew up in. The cook (not the matriarch of the family) is preparing the roast to cook, and the first thing he does is cut off the ends. He puts it in the pan, it cooks, it’s prepared to be served, and then comes the question. His mom asks, “Why did you cut off the ends?”
A little unsettled, he replies, “That’s what you always did when you cooked it, mom.”
She laughs, and he begins to get a little worried. After her laughter subsides, she shares why: “We only cut the ends off because we didn’t have a pan big enough to fit the whole roast.”
And just like that, the dreaded TTWADDI has reared his head.
ANY SIGHTINGS AT YOUR SCHOOL?
Now think about your school. Why do we do things the way that we do them?
With some things, there are good reasons.
Maybe we do things that way because it’s best for kids or because it keeps people safe at school.
But with other things, I imagine that we don’t always have a great reason for what we’re doing. With many things, probably more than we’d like to admit, we’ve never even thought about why we’re doing what we’re doing.
I think it’s time that we start thinking seriously about what we’ve not thought about before.
Typically I’m not one to make suggestions without offering solutions, but my goal is a bit different here. I want us to think of what we haven’t been thinking of. I want us to spend a bit of time exploring the gaps in conversations. Yes, eventually it’s important that we come to some conclusions, and I’m invested in that conversation as well. But I think it’s worth taking a step back from time to time and sharing a few ideas about what school could actually look like if we shook off the force of habit that has a strong hold on many of our practices.
So here are a few ideas I’m trying to rethink. I have some thoughts on solutions, but I’ll save those for another day.
Ideas I’m trying to rethink:
- If we want our teachers to develop best instructional practices, why do we depend so heavily on whole group instruction for professional development?
- If time out isn’t a good option for discipline in the classroom, why is ISS such a common consequence for behavior?
- Why are we so hesitant to share our ideas with other educators? Why not connect more with others? Why not try to do that in new ways?
- If we know that learning is often a messy, non-linear process, why is learning so often divided up into 6 or 7 or 8 period days?
- If we know that learning happens at varying rates for various students, why are six weeks grading periods so commonly followed?
What are YOU going to rethink? What do we need to reconsider in education? What have we done the same way for too long?
Share your ideas in the comments!
Great post, Aaron. When I was a new principal, I often asked your question, and was mostly told; “Well, that’s the way we’ve always done it.” Not a very acceptable response. You point out some of the specific things schools typically do that are on automatic pilot and don’t ever get reviewed for effectiveness. I hope that your post gets the attention it deserves. You may want to check out my blog that addresses some of the topics you mention; especially the one on professional development.
Really enjoyed reading this! Great food for thought!
You say ‘If we know that learning is often a messy, non-linear process, why is learning so often divided up into 6 or 7 or 8 period days?’ and ‘If we know that learning happens at varying rates for various students, why are six weeks grading periods so commonly followed?’
That suggests the next question, ‘Why do we have grades?’
You are right. We need to start to ask questions, not just continue with the status quo. Perhaps some things are best left unchanged; perhaps some things need a complete overhaul.