A Problem of Articulation

Ever tried explaining electricity to a nine year old? I gained another level of respect for Virginia's elementary school teachers tonight.  My daughter has a test tomorrow on electricity. Nothing complicated: open and closed circuits, conductors and insulators, series and parallel circuits, resistance, etc. We used iPod headphones, turned switches on and off in the house, and even made some sparks with jumper cables to see the principles of electricity at work.

She really got it. Then I started quizzing her with the study guide. Maybe she didn't get it after all. She could show me and even explain what all of the terms and concepts were all about while we were moving around the house and looking at electricity at work in our world.  But something about putting it into clearly articulated words, absent the tangible examples, escaped her.

After a little work, she managed to articulate a little better, but when I read the definitions from the page for her to identify, she struggled a little more.  The terms and language used in the review guide didn't quite match the language she had used to understand the concepts. 

Tomorrow, I don't know how her teacher will assess her.  I'm sure that with over twenty other students taking the test at the same time she won't have a chance to just explain it to him, much less show him. If she's asked to write about it her chances are much better. I do know that at least by next year she will have to answer multiple choice questions about it for the fifth grade Virginia Standards of Learning test, the type of test that doesn't value what you know or give you the chance to express what you've learned-- it is the type of test that exposes what you don't know and expects the student to understand the narrow scope pre-determined by the "standard-setters" and "test-makers."

My experience tonight leads me to wonder how many students are harmed because teaching them to truly articulate their learning is no longer valued. We expect to assess learning through an easy and streamlined process.  We define what should be known, how it should be expressed and if students learn to articulate differently than what is prescribed they are punished rather than rewarded.

I don't have a well "articulated" conclusion to my thoughts, but after spending time engaged in learning with my daughter I found myself sad that even though I'm convinced that she understands, I'm not sure how she'll test. And in our world today, the test is all that matters.

(Post-Script- I first wrote this post over a month ago.  My daughter aced the test.  It was fill-in the blank and short answer.)

What Do You Hope Your Child Learns in Kindergarten?

That question took me by surprise.  I found it on a page in my son’s kindergarten registration packet.  It was part of a set of questions to provide personal information about the student that might be of interest to his future teacher.

At first, thoughts of letters, numbers, colors, and such came to mind.  But what did I really want.  I thought about reading.  I would be pleased if he came out of kindergarten reading, but I don’t think it would alarm me if he didn’t learn that skill for another year.  He can already count and do simple addition, I would appreciate some additional number skills.  He’s working on manual dexterity, so a little writing would help.

I couldn’t find a way to really express in a short space what I hoped that he learns in kindergarten.  In some ways, I want to be surprised. 

Maybe he can learn something that I haven’t yet thought of.  I hope that his teacher is able to provide the flexibility to allow my son exposure to some things that he wouldn’t otherwise get at home.  I bet she (or he) brings a unique background and experience into the classroom along with every other student there.  I hope that teacher finds ways to share those experiences with my son.  I hope that teacher finds ways to allow each of them to share these unique experiences with each other.

My son has quite an imagination and at this stage of life, quite an infatuation with superheroes.  I hope that his teacher can appreciate his enthusiasm and find ways to let him express his imagination. 

I hope that my son learns about conflict and compromise in kindergarten.  I want him to have the freedom to make mistakes and learn from them.  I want him to experience frustration and learn the satisfaction of working through it effectively.  I want my son to learn what it means to remain an individual in the presence of a community without sacrificing the essence of either.

I hope that my son learns that sometimes you must do what you’re told.  I hope that he learns the difference between being made to do something you don’t like and being made to do something wrong.  I want him to learn how to appropriately express his opinion about both.  I want him to learn when to stand out from the crowd and when to fit in.

Resiliency is important.  I hope that his teacher allows him and his friends to work out their differences and sees an occasional disagreement as a good thing.  I hope that he doesn’t get bullied, but I want a teacher that knows how let him get pushed just enough that he learns to stand up for himself.

I want him to learn independence.  At home we do 1:1, and that means adults to children, not computers to learners.  At school I expect something closer to 1:15, maybe 1:20.  I hope that he learns to keep up with his stuff and maybe even look out for his buddy from time to time.  I want him to learn that in this world things happen because people make them happen, not that we sit back and wait for others to do.

I want him to continue to learn how to be himself.  I hope that he gets an opportunity to reflect and work alone.  I hope that he gets a chance to work toward a goal with one or two others.  I hope that he gets a chance to work with his class to complete a project or task.

I hope that he learns about culture.  I don’t care which ones as much as I hope that it is something taught with passion and authenticity.

I hope that he learns about history.  I don’t care which facts as much as I hope that he understands a sense of the past and how it affects the present and future.

I hope that he learns about science.  I don’t care which specialty as much as I hope he learns to question with curiosity the natural world he lives in and ways to understand it through observation, inquiry, and investigation.

I hope he is exposed to the arts, that he is given the chance to appreciate the expression of others that aren’t found in his day-to-day life.

When I sit down with his teacher in November to discuss his progress I hope that she (or he) doesn’t consume my fifteen minutes with numbers and charts.  I really don’t want to see sets of benchmarks and my child’s achievement.  I expect his teacher will be a professional.  I hope they will tell me “your son is doing well” if he is and if not I hope they will tell me what we need to emphasize at home. 

I hope that his teacher shows me evidence of expression, of competence, of compassion, and curiosity.  I want to see his creations, his positive influence on the climate of the classroom, what his teacher has learned from three months of interacting with a new set of students.

Above all else, when I send my child into this school, when I give up my control over his safety, security, and nuture for seven hours a day, when I entrust that which I love above all else in this world, this is what I hope he learns:

You are loved and cared for and appreciated for who you are and who you may become. 

I’m not sure if there is a standard or test for that one.

Reforms Jump the Shark?

David Sirota penned something I read the other day that signaled the arrival of something I knew was coming. I doubt I am alone but I don't see many folks in the summer and reactions often take time to come in. High Stakes Test Mongers may finally have donned the water skis, that stupid life ring thing around their waists and jumped the shark. That phrase is an underused cultural reference but one we here at TU are very fond of.


Henry Winkler would roll over in his grave if he saw this headline. What...? He's still alive? Well that's good news. But it just bolsters my point. At what point do the reforms involving more testing lose momentum and do more harm then good in an effort to revive support? Winkler's career moves on without Fonzie and let's hope our reforms will be the same. It took Happy Days 10 years to run out of steam and I can only hope a similar fate for all this test driven reform.

My daughter is four. I know what four year olds are like. High stakes for her is whether or not we get a treat before she goes to bed or gets to watch a kids show after breakfast while Mom and dad get ready. I can only imagine her performance on any test might be connected to whether or not she got to listen to "I like to Move it, Move it" on the way to said test. Four year olds get tested for scoliosis and lice...not in academics. Argh! Sirota convincingly points out the flaws with a testing heavy approach to reform and skillfully uses Finland as a model of success. A worthwhile read. Finland has problems too, ....uh...well it is really cold much of the year in Finland. And they likely have several people that can't read even though everywhere I see has their literacy rate at 100%.

Seriously though comparisons such as this lose some of their teeth when one considers the multitude of factors that affect education. It might still be worthwhile to try and learn from each other in order to improve but rankings and comparisons used for motivation? I can't say that makes much sense. There is a new film on the subject. The Finland Phenomenon which no doubt presents a more in depth look at what makes Finland's educational system tick. It's not testing.

What we need here is a trusted social or cultural figure to stand up, say no, and inject some insanity to all this craziness. Someone as iconic as Richie Cunningham. Wait... who was driving that boat? Who? Seriously? So what you are saying is while it was Fonizie's who jumped that shark, Richie, actually helped by driving the boat? Man what is the world coming to? I'll tell you...a place where someone actually thinks giving four year olds important tests is a good idea.

Mr. High School Goes to Elementary

This year I teach a Leadership class made up of mostly freshmen.  For most of the second semester I've traveled with my class to a local elementary school to provide assistance in the classrooms.  My own children have been in elementary school for five years, but this experience has provided a different perspective for me on elementary education.  I've seen many things go on at this elementary school that I would love to see transfer to the high school level.  I'm sure not every school is the same, but these are the things that I've loved watching at Hollymead Elementary school in Albemarle County.

1) The building is filled with adults who all seem to have a role to fill hands on with students.  If I sit in the lobby for more than ten minutes I will see three to five people walking down the hall with anywhere from one to six children.  When I walk down the k-3 hallways, every classroom has at least one other adult than the teacher.  I haven't figured out how many are volunteers and how many are staff, but the impact on the climate of the school is quite notable.

2) The building is filled with color.  Most newer high schools I've visited are colorful places as well.  My high school has several additions that feature natural lighting and lighter colors, but the older wings are still quite dark and cavernous.  It is easy to underestimate the impact that environment has on attitude and behavior and I would like to see even older facilities kept up to better reflect this.

3) The building is filled with sound but not noise.  I rarely passed a classroom without some sort of interaction going on.  Students have so much opportunity to interact.  This can quickly turn into non-productive chatter, but having so many available adults helps keep the activity directed.  For the most part, teachers seem to work with this sound without letting it reach the level of distraction.

4) The building is filled with students working actively.  Whether moving about in the hallway, or quietly producing something at their tables (not desks, I noticed very few desks at the school) students were continually engaged in learning.  My first day at the school I witnessed one class working on paintings of leprechauns and rainbows. (It was close to St. Patrick's Day).  It was a nice activity, but when the teacher reinforced the pattern of colors in the rainbow using ROY G BIV, I knew this was more than just a fun holiday exercise.

If I have the opportunity next year I plan to continue this involvement with elementary school, hopefully playing a more active role myself in the classrooms with my students.  It has been an excellent professional development opportunity for me.  Perhaps greater interaction among teachers actively engaged in the work of instructing students could serve all educators better if the time and opportunities existed.