Therapy Tuesday
Photo by: DCJohn
This morning, in a rush, all I had time to do was glance at the headlines of the Washington Post. This isn't such an odd phenomenon: mornings are a rush of things to check off the list in a limited time. It's like a race each day. One headline caught my eye, but I had to defer to read it until later.
DC Public Schools were actually doing something beyond the norm. This in and of itself is news, as their mover and shaker was told to get out of town by the new Mayor-Elect. I expect revolutionary from Michelle Rhee, the outgoing Chancellor of the DC school system. What I found was an article about extending the school day. Most school systems in our region have a 6.5 to possibly a 7 hour school day. DC's is six and a half. However, in some charter schools in the city, the day is 9 hours, with a shorter summer break.
As a kid, I would have groaned and protested a longer school day or year. My wisdom as an adult changes this old perception. I celebrate this idea. First of all, there is practicality to it: especially for families that work. Why not have school hours basically match standard work hours? The extended day gives kids the opportunity to work more collaboratively (groups can meet during the elongated school day), it provides an opportunity to delve into a subject matter rather than learning by rote, and it might spark the passion that has long left the building when it comes to education.
Two months ago, President Obama spoke about education reform. He advocated for more pay for teachers as well as a longer school year. Certainly these are two ways to start addressing our educational system's deficits. What doesn't make sense to me, is why the most talented teachers are working with the most gifted students rather than the more challenging ones? I see this in a local school system where the teachers at a program that is supposed to be "alternative" seem to be more burnt out than their counterparts. Some of this is because of the population that they are dealing with, but if you put a teacher who doesn't love what they do with a student who hates being in school, it spells disaster for both.
Maybe it's also the kind of schools that we are creating. Ones where sitting and taking in information is the norm rather than experiencing learning. I look at my son's montessori school with amazement: he is three and is coloring in maps of Europe. He does this by taking out a map puzzle where each country is its own color. A worksheet accompanies the puzzle and he colors in the corresponding countries based upon the map. He was so excited about his worksheet, that he has been bringing them home. Since they are incomplete, we work at home to fill them in (unfortunately, I don't have the puzzle, so our colors are off). The concentration, love, and persistence he demonstrates leaves me speechless. At three, he has passion for learning and for school. My fear is that by eight, this will be gone.
I myself, loved school. Sure, my relationship with school had its ups and downs, but I loved to learn. (I don't think you go to get a doctorate just because...) I love ideas, passionate dialogues, and having a changed viewpoint. These are skills beyond the classroom that we, as a country, lack. Our innovation, which had always been our pride, seems to be dissipating. I hope that somehow, we can fix these holes and bring passion back.
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