Four different cups...Four different learners

There is a Buddhist story of a young zealot desiring to learn everything he can about Zen. He reads many books, and articles and desires nothing more than to learn everything he can. He reaches an epitome of sorts when he requests a meeting with a Zen priest of renown and knowledge. He meets with the Zen master and proceeds to tell him everything he has learned about Zen Buddhism. The Zen master gazes and listens intently to the young man, espousing all he knows. Finally, the young man asks the Zen master, what else can he learn. The teacher offers the young man tea, and performs a patient and delicate tea ceremony where the young man watches and observes intently the actions of the teacher. The Zen master offers tea to the young man, at which the eager student bows in humble acceptance. The Zen master pours tea into the cup in front of the young man, and when the cup has filled continues pouring the libation, flowing over the cup and onto the table and eventually flowing to the floor. Finally, the young man screams "Stop! Stop pouring! The cup is full- no more will go in!"

The master stopped pouring and said: "Just like this cup, your mind is full of your own opinions and preconceptions. How can you learn anything unless you first empty your cup?"


Sound familiar? How many people does this sound like in your organization? Many experts, and still no solution to the problem? School learning organizations are filled with the experts, and few genuine learners willing to understand the core issues and apply sound logic to solve a problem.

There is another Buddhist parable about four cups that symbolize four kinds of students. One cup is upside down, representing the student who is there to learn, but pays no attention. Pouring tea (which symbolizes knowledge) over this is wasted and lost. The second cup is right side up with a hole in the bottom. We hear what's being taught, but we forget it all too soon. The third cup is also right side up and doesn't have a hole in the bottom, but is covered in dirt. When the tea is poured into this the instruction is cloudy symbolizing the manner we distort what we hear, interpreting, and editing it to fit into our preconceived ideas or opinions. The fourth cup represents the ideal way to be a student. Upright, receiving what is taught. Clean and open to learning something new. 

Which student are you, and how do you promote learning in your environment?

A Well Taught Child Can Move Mountains

Michelle Rhee is a very interesting young lady. She is a public figure dedicated to improving urban education, at the expense of any people that get in her way. Her aggressive manner of management created a battleground in the Washington, DC schools, to the point where in-fighting, dirty politics, and shocking rates of student failures never really improved. She is part of the current education culture of testing before anything else, which feeds my notion that some people look for ways to promote the best, shoot the rest rather than educate to the learner's ability.

In a recent story about her presentation in South Carolina where she lambasted and put down teachers, the following comments were made by her:

"The bottom line is: 
the system did not become the way that it is by accident.

It operates exactly the way it was designed to operate,

which is in a wholly unaccountable, dysfunction manner.

So, when you seek to change that dynamic including going

after low performing teachers 
you're gonna have a whole lot of unhappy 

people on your hands. When you stop that gravy train,

somebody is going to be unhappy." (1)

The interesting thing about this attack on teachers and teacher unions is that it is indeed hypocritical of her very comments since she was paid $50,000 for the presentation. So, speaking of a gravy train, she has hooked an audience of "Kool-Aid" drinking political bigots into accepting her brand of educational change at the expense of their pocket books. 

The fact is, politicians should remove themselves from attempting to run schools as corporate machines with bottom-lines and "zero" tolerance for mistakes. Schools are learning environments about children,  like a perfect stew, need time and quality care to become a successful contributor to the future.

I would put my money behind the teacher that gets poor test scores, yet inspires children to move mountains!

(1)     Thomas. @TheChalkFace, "Rhee's "Gravy Train" of Hypocrisy." Last modified April 14, 2013. Accessed April 15, 2013. http://goo.gl/4rDk6.

"Be All That You Can Be..."

Years ago, before the US Army was "Army Strong", there was a recruiting commercial that was popularized that went something like "Be All That You Can Be." It was a motivational theme that encouraged fulfillment and achievement on your terms as a human being, and not according to the dictates and mandates of a higher authority. Now, we all know that's not possible in the Army, with a drill instructor or bureaucratic governance of individual rights being so prevalent. But, nonetheless, the message was clear: be all that you are capable of becoming. What a wonderful motto to use in our schools.

The State University of New York had a similar battle cry: "Let each become all that he is capable of becoming." Beautiful, optimistic, inviting.

My high school in Schenectady, NY had a similar theme: "Enter to learn, go forth serve". It was emblazoned over the massive stage in the auditorium. It made you consider the purpose of this endeavor, we call education.

The current trend for our public schools has changed this stream of optimism to threats:
"Be all that you can be, after you take the test that evaluates your abstract thinking, and then conform to our plan of global competition."!!!!!!!

 Where are the optimistic messages that will invite learning, exploration, and service? Are they hidden in the standardized tests children are forced to take each year? Are they subliminally sent in the actions of wayward governmental authorities dictating how we must teach, and how they must learn?

This week, I applaud the state of Florida for reversing its decision from 2007 of "one-size-fits-all" graduation requirement on all children, to adapting more of a "be-all-that-you-can-be" model for future generations.

       "Florida lawmakers on Friday sent Gov. Rick Scott a sweeping education bill that rolls back graduation standards that just three years ago were hailed as reforms that would help students compete globally.
          
         Instead, college-bound students could opt to take tougher courses and earn a high school diploma that includes a "scholar" designation. Students would also be allowed to take career education courses or enroll in work-related internships."1

And this movement is also being seen in Texas (2), as well as other states attempting to  reexamine the question "Does one size, really fit all?"

As a retired school superintendent, I can still see the faces of disenfranchised students that wanted out because they saw no future in struggling with Algebra, or reading Shakespeare and taking assessments that affirmed they were poorly prepared for the world. Their focus was not on succeeding on tests and going to college, but doing other things, such as learning a trade, exploring the world on their terms, and learning as you go. No doubt, there are those that condemn this way of thinking, but when you need a mechanic to fix a car, would you rather have someone who knows trigonometry and calculus, or someone who can work with their hands to solve a mechanical problem? When your plumbing backs up in your home, would you rather have a scholar that can recite Chaucer and Shakespeare, or a plumber that can analytically think through a structural problem that involves getting your hands dirty?

This is not to say some tradesmen are not capable of pursuing abstract thinking, but as researchers have stated, every individual learns at their own level of motivation. Ramming mandates for global competitiveness down the throats of all children will not support and maintain a free society. 

1.     "Florida Legislature passes sweeping education bill." The Daytona Beach News Journal, April 12, 2013. http://goo.gl/QIht6 (accessed April 14, 2013).

2.     "Texas Considers Reversing Tough Graduation Requirements ." Headline Bug. (2013). http://goo.gl/yhhFf (accessed April 14, 2013).

Tools for Success as a School Leader

I've often been intrigued when a successful person has attained their goals and achievements. They possess the characteristics of success that are unparalleled with others. I found this wonderful slide presentation that summarizes these attributes. I hope you find it interesting:

Best wishes for your success...

21st Century School Leader Gazette

Today's edition of the 21st Century School Leader Gazette is out for your professional reading.

Standardized Madness

A friend of mine in Florida wanted to become a real estate agent. He followed all the directions from the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulations. This included taking a 60 hour course in real estate law, practices and procedures. He had his fingerprints cleared and approved and all he needed to do to be certified was take a state exam. The state exam was created by the Pearsonvue corporation under the approval of the Florida legislature. After taking the test, and failing miserably, he was undaunted, studied harder, and tried again.  In fact, after 5 attempts at taking the test, he has decided that the exam has defeated him, and he will not become a realtor, after all. 

After speaking with him in depth, he described the fact that he knew the material, inside and out. He practically memorized, verbatim, the Florida real estate laws, and still, he was unable to pass test. Probing further, I asked what the test was like. His description was of a standardized, norm referenced examination of a multiple choice variety. He felt the answer choices for each question were like different shades of white. The clear choice for the answer was not even close to what the presumed correct answer was. Thus the problem of standardized testing, that one size does not fit all, and the only people benefiting from the exam are the test makers, themselves.

I have never been a big fan of this type of testing. It forces people to think within a box of information only, and not out of the box. It negates the hands-on practical application of experiential learning in favor of one possible answer only to a question. The anxiety and frustration experienced by my friend was evident, but he was in his 60’s. Can you imagine the torment and pain an 8 or 9 year old deals with?

It is great to hear that some schools are attempting to stand up to the test makers, and the government groups demanding this kind of accountability. Actions across the country are showing this movement getting stronger. Children should not be placed in this type of educational experience for any reason, whatsoever.

“Are standardized tests capable of measuring anything more than how well one is able to pass that particular standardized test? Might it not make more sense to test the student using the same medium in which the student will be required to perform? After all, the test required for one to obtain their driver’s license is a test where they get in a car and actually drive. The United States Air Force has flight simulators at its disposal which provide a sufficient likeness to actually flying a plane to train the pilots-to-be.” 

Edcuation discussion: The history and evolution of standardized testing. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://goo.gl/rd0WR

The Saturday, April 6, 2013 edition of the 21st Century School Leader's Gazette is now online: http://goo.gl/cpwtZ