Focus on What Matters
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In education today we are too focused on test scores, grades, and standards. We need to return to focusing on the students, the purpose of school.
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Focus on What Matters
- 1. Focus on What Matters Jennifer Orr @jenorr jenorr.com
- 3. From Christopher Lehmann’s flickr stream
Hinweis der Redaktion
- I believe we are out of focus in education today. I am defining our focus by where we spend our money, our time, our resources. Currently, it isn’t focused on the students.
- A few years ago Chris Lehmann keynoted here at VSTE. One of his favorite topics is the idea that we teach students, not subjects. Chris refers to teachers saying they teach science or math. I usually say I teach kindergarten.
- But he’s right, I teach kindergartners. I may love math or social studies (actually I love it all) but the children are the reasons I do this. And they are the important part of this.
- As a society, as educators, even as parents we are often more focused on the content than we are on the students. Many parents, intentionally or not, put a lot of emphasis on their child’s report card.
- In discussions of schools we define them based on their test scores. The students are secondary to those scores.
- Even when we manage to talk about the students it is only in relation to their test scores. We look at students who need more, students we are failing. We talk about what to do about their reading ability, how to raise math scores.
- Currently in education it’s all about the numbers. Standardized tests, minority populations, class size, etc.
- So, we need to remember that we teach students – not subjects.
- Me recognizing my misfocus
- If we teach students – we need to know them – we need to think about them as people
- I had a recent epiphany in my classroom one day. It was a big epiphany, hence the numerous light bulbs.
- Best work – what we focus on
- Best learning – what we need to focus on
- Bringing our focus to the student rather than to the content, should naturally solve that issue – it should naturally drive the focus to learning rather than work.
- Currently, this is our focus. I’ve watched fabulous, caring teachers do things in their classrooms they are ashamed of because this is looming over their heads. It makes it impossible for them to remember what they teach.
- This, then, is the million dollar question (oh, yes, I chose the millipede carefully just for that pun). What do you teach? As teachers we need to internalize that question.
- Then, the next step is to attempt to help others recognize what we teach. We, as a society, need to agree that we teach students, not subjects. Until then we will continue to make educational choices based on poor prioritizing.
- If we teach students, we have to advocate for them. If we believe something is harming them, we need to fight it.
- I do this child, and her beautiful first grade adoration, an immense disservice if I care more about, am more focused on, value higher the content than I do her. She, and her classmates, are what education is about. They matter.