A belated thought on education...

So I signed up for, and officially missed, the national Blogging for Education Day--November 22. But I figure any day is a good day for blogging about education, so here I go.

The problem is, as usual, where to begin. I have so many problems with our current education system--and yet I feel so strongly about championing the teachers and administrators who continue to try to improve it, against all odds. It's not that anyone involved is party to its complete failure; there are some--many--great people trying to make it work. It's just that I think it's a hopeless cause.

I've had some very good friends argue that we are, generally, succeeding at providing education for the masses. In some respects, they can make their argument, but it is primarily centered around their own experiences. Likewise, my own opinion is centered around my experiences.

My experience: being too smart far too young. I was a July birthday, then I skipped Kindergarten, and did Matteo Ricci--graduating high school and college with a B.A. in six years rather than eight. I never fit in. Although I was challenged academically, the difference in my intellectual abilities and emotional maturity were marked.

My husband's experience: being smart, but not "book smart." Jim grew up thinking he wasn't very smart because he was a visual learner in an auditory environment. When you need to see it, and all people are doing is talking to you--good luck with that. Thank God he was a hard worker and persevered despite the challenge. A small adjustment would've shown him how smart he truly is.

My oldest son's experience: near genius IQ, barely passing grades. ADHD makes it challenging for him (mine went undiagnosed until adulthood). Despite mastering the content, if he doesn't jump through the academic hoops, his grades have never reflected his intelligence. Once again (like Jim), a kid who feels not smart because of grades that don't reflect his intelligence or value.

My youngest son's experience: so observant, so in touch, yet so turned off to learning and school. A perfect candidate for project-based learning, he wants to see the correlation between theory and reality. He can manage his own work, can be self-motivated, and is capable of great work--but is frustrated by being "talked down to" and not having his ideas respected in a traditional classroom. A highly intelligent kid who is bored.

So, four great minds, capable of great thoughts, great plans--yet what has our school system done to support us? To encourage creativity? To teach concepts in ways that we might understand? We are, I think, pretty indicative of how we are failing kids. Sure, we may be providing a basic education, but if you have ANY challenges--good or bad--you have to figure out your own way. As an adult educator, I know that we have known for years about different learning styles, yet we are still teaching kids as if we are preparing them for an Industrial Age. The fact is, the Information Age is far different, and requires different skills and abilities.

I, for one, don't have any confidence, whatsoever that our current system can change enough to meet the current and future needs of our children, and our country. It's why I've always advocated for charter schools. And, while the opponents of charter will show you statistics that they "don't work," the fact is there are plenty that do. Every day that we spend trying to turn the Titanic is a day another child drowns in the frigid waters of our current system. Let's look for new, innovate solutions, reward teachers who use innovation to achieve success, and train teachers and administrators to set up schools that will educate ALL of our kids for the 21st Century and beyond.

Well that was an election, wasn't it?

I pride myself on listening to all sides of the stories. I listen to Glen Beck, Bill Maher, FoxNews, CNN, MSNBC. I read People. Newsweek, Time, and occasionally, Huffington Post. I have a strident desire to find middle ground. The problem is that "compromise" has become a word with negative connotation. It means giving up something you believe in. Which, in some ways is true, but I love Steven Covey's concept of finding a third, better way.

I know politics is an "off limits" topic, but anyone who knows me knows that I'm a little fuzzy on the term "off limits." I think we DO need to discuss politics. I think it's sad that we no longer can enter into serious discourse because we've become so divided. I WANT and feel we NEED to find some common ground and search for ways to move forward.

The funny thing is, in all other areas of our lives, we do compromise...and we don't usually think twice about it. Do you hold a hard line at work and refuse to give? Not likely, because it could mean your job (which is a treasure in this day and age). Do you hold a hard line with your spouse, your friends--no matter what? Not likely, because the relationship is more important to you than winning the argument. Do you hold the hard line every time with your kids? I know we don't, as much as we try. Truth is, there is nowhere in our lives that we refuse to compromise, except when it comes to politics, and yet, it's so critical for us to move forward as a country.

If we continue to refuse to "give in", to refuse to find common ground, we will not move forward. We will continue to see elections where people vote Dem, Rep, Dem, Rep...and so on, and so on, and so on...just like the old shampoo commercial. The fact is, we have different ways that we believe we need to achieve the same thing, but as long as you hold yours and I hold mine, we'll never move forward. If each of us, just for a moment, lets go of what our "ideal" is and looks for a way that we can connect and find solutions, perhaps we can get out of this stalemate. Because, the reality is, an ideal is just that...an ideal. Ideals don't work because reality gets in the way. So the answer is somewhere between what you believe and what I believe.

If for one moment, we would be willing to let go of our agenda and "yes, and" someone with a different ideology, could we not--even by happenstance--find a third, better way? I assert that "compromise" is not a bad word. It is a neutral word, and a necessity sometimes.

I'm not professing that I have anything figured out, but I'm sick of being afraid of putting ideas on the table for fear of being attacked. What if...instead of attacking ideas, we opened our minds, regardless of who put the idea forward? What if...instead of taking sides, we took the same side? What if we took the time we invested in trying to be right, and invested it in trying to understand and figure out something new?

Sorry, I'm an idealist. Actually, on second thought, I'm not sorry at all.