One thought on “A British perspective on Education”

  1. I just had an incredible conversation with a substitute in my school today around student engagement vs. student ability. It was interesting to hear from an “older” educator about how we are doing this education thing “all wrong”. She told me how she left public education right after NCLB because she “couldn’t teach in that robotic way”. She feels bad for our students because they “cannot make a decision for themselves”. This substitute is probably in her 60s and seems to understand better than some of our younger teachers about the need for student self direction, hands-on learning, student choice and cognitive dissonance. She sat here in the library asking me why she doesn’t see more flexible seating, experiments, student choice and student voice in public education. I, unfortunately, had no answers. As I look around my library, I wonder what changes I can make. As I think about my own children, I wonder what kind of learning experiences they are having day after day. This substitute teacher said “we need to get back to the basics” and she wasn’t talking about students in rows and common core. As I sit and reflect, I wonder…where did we go wrong? And I also think about the task on leadership that lies before me. I am up for the challenge because WE deserve better.

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