As educators,
we typically focus on three areas when we discuss our children’s education:
1.)
What content
or standards do we teach?
2.) How do we organize our education delivery systems?
3.)
What
instructional practices will best resonate with 21st
century learners?
Content and Standards
Let’s examine
standards. We have spent
the last several years debating standards, ad nauseam. Common Core or traditional standards? Many
states are retreating from Common Core because of mounting pressure to develop
their own standards.
But I can’t
find a curriculum specialist anywhere who believes there is a significant difference
between Common Core standards and traditional standards. They are essentially
the same.I’m not saying this debate was useless, but I am saying we’ve spent
way more time and energy on it than we need to.
Our Delivery Systems
The second
area we’ve spent an enormous amount of time on is our delivery systems. Should
we or shouldn’t we push charter schools? Should we or shouldn’t we adopt
vouchers? What about career pathways? I repeat: These are necessary topics to
discuss. We have just spent too much time going back and forth.
Focus Here!
In our work
with the nation’s most rapidly improving schools, our consultants at the International Center for Leadership in
Education (ICLE) have found something consistent in these schools: they
focus almost exclusively on instructional practices.
They ask
themselves: Which instructional practices do I use to reach a generation that
grew up with technology and instant gratification? A generation that is active
and engaged. A generation that is growing up in a different environment than
the adults who are today’s teachers.
Do these
schools ignore content and delivery systems? Of course not. But these schools do emphasize instructional practices
above all else. And we think that’s the right approach.
The focus is
not simply on covering content and basic skill development. They focus is on
the application of knowledge and skills. For those familiar with the Rigor/Relevance
Framework, the focus is on Quadrants B and D. Most schools driven by the
tests are focused on Quadrants A and C.
So, let’s
stop our endless debates about topics that lie on the margins and instead focus
on what matters! Focus on helping apply knowledge with real-world examples and
skills you are now teaching.
