For two weeks I’ve been watching my kids, waiting for the day
when I see that glimmer that I can grab onto and run with. Run to begin inquiry based learning. So, I wait. Please take a number. . . .
After talking with a special area colleague about my
observations and curiosities, which she is sharing as well, I’ve begun to consider
things more closely. In the past few
years I’ve noticed changes in kids. One
thing I’ve seen is what appears to be a significant challenge in not only
working with others toward a common goal/interest, but in being able to
cooperatively produce a learning outcome.
Mrs. S. and I debated the causes; society has changed, community sports are
more often encouraging elite performance, cuts in school-wide programs and
health classes have minimized practice in collaborative teamwork. I’m not so sure it’s any of those, but what
if, instead, it’s right before our own eyes?
What if it’s education itself?
What if the cause is right in our own classrooms?
My nine year old niece has asked many times what she needs to
do to move into my classroom because she’s going to lose her mind with the
worksheets they have to do (ie: test prep).
Lola is one smart cookie and casually mentioned over the summer “I hate
school and I hate to read” W-H-O-A. . .
. Houston? This kid has always LOVED school, is
incredibly bright, and now the sudden shift?
On our first
PD day back, a colleague told me that her daughter spent weeks last year being “prepped”. She felt that it may have produced better
numbers, but lost her daughter significant “real” learning time, caused
incredible stress for her and their family, increased illness, & sleepless
nights for her child; none of which were worth the price said eight year old
paid.
I know I’m “odd man out” and the things I do in my classroom raise
eyebrows, but as I’ve said before I’m NOT a test prep girl and no matter what
the pressure or the potential cost it has on my career, I won’t do it. I have heard of a huge increase in teachers
spending weeks (and in some cases, the year!) on test prep, although they likely
don’t realize how much they do. What if teachers,
subconsciously, are fostering and possibly encouraging the mindset of
independent, scores driven, superficial learning?
The other day I asked my kids to look at our tub (yes, THE bathtub
that has a prominent place in our class Living Room!) and asked what they
wondered. <<insert cricket
chirping>> They s-a-t there. You know that “dead” wait time? Eternity?
After about 5 minutes one of the kids finally broke out with, “I wonder if
Dr. D knows that’s in here?” (Great job
kiddo – make this about me!).
Thankfully, that question was the platform that others needed, although
guardedly, to begin to wonder, but in the way they thought was “right”: How heavy it is? When did it get in here? Did it fit through the door? And
finally, slowly, they moved toward “bigger” questions: How big was the factory it was made in? Was it made in this country? What kinds of
tools did they use to make it? What type of metal was used to make it?
After cancelling out the dead noise of uncertainty with such
great questions, I gave them a new task.
In a learning journal I showed them how they could draw a bag, rather
large, in the center of a blank page. I
then placed a paper bag that was clipped shut in front of 7 different learning
teams and asked them to record everything they wondered about it. I didn’t keep track so I can’t tell you how
long it took them to come up with something – wiggling, looking, searching. Watching each face I could tell this was
painful. They wanted an answer, wanted
me to tell them what to do, afraid of a blank journal page. They - just - wanted – me – to – give – them –
a - paper to fill in the right answer. When
I heard some questions from a few teams I stopped everyone, asked them to share
“sample questions” from their teams, and returned them to their task.......and
then, new questions began; Can I write it
here? Does my answer have to go in a
certain place? Where do you want me to
put it? How should I write this? I came
to a sad realization: these kids truly
have lost the art of wonder, the art of questioning and discovering, the art of
safely taking a risk of new thinking, the art of learning independently.
An even bigger realization for me?
The fear of not gaining an “effective score” or the fear of not having a
clear majority of class proficiency on a high stakes test may be to blame.
In an article published by Alfie Kohn, he gives 8 facts about “Standardized Tests and Its Victims” (well
THAT’S a hard title to swallow!!!). It
amazes me that this article was published thirteen years ago and yet the fight
is a much larger battle now and it’s obvious that not many listened to him. I’m not sure which one of his facts that I
love most, but #4 is incredibly thought provoking:
“Fact 4. Standardized-test
scores often measure superficial thinking. In
a study published in the Journal of Educational Psychology, elementary school
students were classified as "actively" engaged in learning if
they asked questions of themselves while they read and tried to connect what
they were doing to past learning; and as "superficially" engaged
if they just copied down answers, guessed a lot, and skipped the hard parts. It
turned out that high scores on both the CTBS and the MAT were more likely to
be found among students who exhibited the superficial approach to learning.
…. But, as a rule, it appears that standardized-test results are positively
correlated with a shallow approach to learning.” Kohn, Education Week Sept. 27,2000
Kohn goes on to say that he knows
he’ll be challenged on his research by defenders of high stakes standardized
tests and adds five more points, including this one:
Far from improving education, high-stakes
testing marks a major retreat from fairness, from accuracy, from quality, and
from equity." Here's why. “*…Standardized tests tend to measure the temporary
acquisition of facts and skills, including the skill of test-taking itself,
more than genuine understanding”. Kohn, Education Week Sept. 27,2000
This reaffirmed my core beliefs of leading with inquiry,
discovery, and reigniting that fire of intrinsic motivation to learn. There’s NO WAY I can motivate ANY child to
learn through test prep. To acknowledge
and affirm every child’s natural ability to learn I HAVE TO use active, student
centered learning. Yes, I’m still
addressing the standards and am assessing along the way, but I’m doing it with the
role of “lead learner”. It’s a different
role, it was uncomfortable at first, but I am RARELY at the center of the
stage. As one of my kids put it the
other day, “So, you’re telling us you’re just like a chaperone along for the
ride?” Yes, my lil dear, that’s exactly
what I’m telling you.
Imagine if we all held tight to
the Kohn philosophy.
Imagine if more people pushed back
and teachers refused to “test prep”, but instead did “lifelong learning prep”.
Imagine if more parents pushed
back and demanded an end to this nonsense and opted out, refusing to allow
their children to be abused through these high stakes standardized tests.
Imagine...
Please excuse me, I think my kids
are about to call my number . . .
<3 it! Soooo true sad but true :-(
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