All in all you're just another brick in the wall

("The Wall" - Pink Floyd, 1979)

Each child is unique.  I have taught close to two thousand students in the past 7 years, and while some of them have certainly had common traits, I have never seen two children who are exactly the same.  Even identical twins are not the same, despite their physical appearance.  Since they are all different, children learn in different ways as well.  Howard Gardner's Theory of Multiple Intelligences identifies 9 distinct intelligences of which children may be gifted in several and lacking in others.  Teachers routinely use this knowledge to teach their lessons in a variety of ways so that every child has the opportunity to learn.

As we tighten our belts in an attempt to educate more cheaply, the first thing that suffers is always class size.  As class size increases, it becomes more difficult to teach using Gardner's theory and even the most capable teachers are sometimes forced to teach more things than they would like in a direct instruction format.  Although we have all learned that this is the least effective instructional strategy, it is a necessity as bodies multiply to fill every corner of a classroom.  There is not enough physical space for students to work on projects or in groups, and there is not enough time for teachers to conference with individual students to design independent activities geared toward each student's interests and strengths.  There is sometimes not even enough time to give adequate instruction as various behavior issues and interpersonal conflicts consume much of a teacher's time.

Please understand - when teachers complain about unwieldy class sizes, it is not because they would like to have fewer papers to grade.  It's because these educators realize that cramming 36 11-year-olds into one classroom results in a sub-par educational experience for all of them.

The number one thing we could do to improve every struggling school in America is to reduce class sizes.  Otherwise students will continue to be - pardon the overused reference - left behind.  I believe there should be a national policy limiting class sizes according to grade level and type of class.  Children with certain special needs who require extra attention should be weighted in this total.  Self-contained classrooms should also be limited.  This is common sense.  Failing to do it indicates that we don't think the next generation deserves the kind of education we received.

All you need is love

("All You Need is Love" - Lennon-McCartney,  1967)

Arguably the most important skills children learn as they grow up are the ones that help them get along with others.  They learn to show respect for others, how to resolve a conflict, and how to have empathy for others.  Developmentally, children are very selfish until they near adulthood and begin to see the world from a more mature perspective.  They are actually unable to put other people ahead of themselves in their brains, but they are still able to be nice to others if someone teaches them how important it is.  Reminding them that they like it when others are nice to them helps them to understand.

As an adult, I am shocked at the number of my peers who seem to have missed learning this skill in their childhoods.  Certainly none of us is perfect, but I have worked for people who lack even the most basic politeness in speaking to their subordinates.  While it mostly makes me angry to be treated with less than the respect every person deserves, it also makes me think that teaching these skills to children is as important as ever.

When our focus narrows to include only one goal (reading and math test scores, for example) we must remember what we are leaving out in order to devote all of our energy to this one thing.  I will never say that reading or math is unimportant, but surely empathy is even more important.

Can we all ignore the people in charge just enough to be sure we teach the next generation to care for one another?

Joy to the fishes in the deep blue sea. Joy to you and me!

("Joy to the World" - Three Dog Night, 1970)

Most people who work with kids mention joy when they describe what they like about their work.  They know how beautiful it is when a child's eyes light up because of an interesting fact or a funny story.  As an adult, I always wish my life were as full of joy as a child's.

I believe there is less joy in those children's eyes than there once was.  Spending hours each month practicing with arduous standardized tests and bubble sheets has done little to improve their reading ability and much to sap the joy out of their busy little lives.

Clearly we need a way to quantify our children's knowledge - to make sure they are gaining the skills that society has indicated they must have.  Since standardized testing has repeatedly been proven inaccurate because of children's demographics, testing ability, and mood on the day of the test, I think we should demand a better way.

Why not let professional educators, who are trained in assessment, be responsible for the assessments in their own classrooms?  Why not ask them to explain what their students have achieved each year in an honest way, without being afraid of punitive measures taken against them every time they are tasked with trying to reach a child who struggles?

The real problem seems to be society's belief that educators are dumb, lazy, and uncaring.  All of these things are true of some educators - as they are true of some members of every profession.  Instead of making principals responsible for hiring good teachers, we are making our children responsible for showing us their knowledge in a format so unwieldy that its results do not even give us a true picture of what's happening.

Simplify it.  Give everyone involved - parents, teachers, administrators, community members - a job to do, and then let them do it.

If we threw out all the bubble sheets at every elementary school in America, perhaps we would see some joy creep back into our children's eyes.