Our hard work of many community members helped to craft a vision of excellence that compels us to think creatively about how we instruct our children, and for good reason.
The education system of the United States was designed in the 1890s for the sole purpose of sorting students. The system was designed to make decisions about whether or not a student was going on to high school, the university, or back to the family farm. For example, my grandfather went to school through eighth grade, and went back to the family farm.
The initial education system was created for a society that needed a small portion of students prepared with high level skills, and a larger portion of students prepared with relatively low level skills. In general, schools prepared students for work that was not necessarily intellectually stimulating, skills that required repetitive skills, tasks that didn't require much problem solving, and an environment which was highly supervised.
Preparing students for this world was adequate, as these jobs paid enough for a family to thrive. Unfortunately, so many of these types of jobs have become automated, or pay at levels that are not comparable to an adequate cost of living. Many career paths that exist today, even those that do not require a college degree, require our students to be ready to problem solve, work independently in creative environments, learn quickly and flexibly, communicate and collaborate at high levels, and be prepared to adjust and adapt to ever changing technologies and workflow systems.
Our children deserve a school system in which every child experiences high levels of learning success, to prepare them for any post-secondary path they aspire to (career, military, college/university). This preparation requires us to rethink some of the skills we teach, which were not a focus of the initial purpose of our education system. We can't afford to "sort" students, we need to embrace "every" student. We can't afford to prioritize teaching compliance over skills our children need for the real world. Every child deserves to learn at high levels, in a personalized way that meets their individual needs, interests, and aspirations. I want them to be able to commit to and engage in learning, not just comply.
Every child has talents, no matter what they bring to the table. Students will naturally sort themselves based on their own talents, interests, and aspirations; and even by their individual capacity to handle things taking place in their lives. We don't need to do this for them.
We, as an education system, simply need to acknowledge that "If we judge a fish by how it climbs a tree, it will live its whole life believing it is stupid." ~ Einstein
Let's help children find their talents so they develop confidence to try, fail, and try again. Life demands this of us, in all walks of life. Our children deserve our best efforts!
