I just took a Survey Monkey poll on the changing perception of what success is in America. This was partially pushed on Facebook by HC, so why not?
It makes me think. If we are re-examining what it means to be successful today in the US, shouldn't we also be looking at what it means to be a successful educator?
I used to think that my main goal was to prepare students for the same high quality, liberal arts education I received at HC. To that end, I wanted my students to write and speak well, solve problems, work together, push themselves and have high expectations. I still want that for my students, but their success with those skills has nothing to do with where they go to college or if they go to college. Their success is, in part, a measure of how well they choose what they do next, how well they do once there, and how prepared they are at the end of that experience for what comes next after that.
I have told students all the time that if the most important thing they got out of a course was a grade, then that course had failed them. If they could receive their diploma without ever having to push themselves to achieve more, then their diploma was less meaningful. If they moved on to the next stage of their lives and were woefully unprepared, then the system had failed. If they came to the end of their life and regarded high school as the best four years of their lives, then they had blown it.
My success as an educator is tied into how students do next. They might love my school, love my class and remember all the great things they read and wrote about. However, if they do not have the transferable skills that go with all the thinking and learning I want them to do, then a lot of time has been wasted. They might dread coming into my room because I make their brains explode, and I hold them to higher standards than they hold for themselves. But, if they think that they understand excellence, and know how to reach it for themselves, I am ok with waiting for them to come back years later to say I was right.
What do you think?
It makes me think. If we are re-examining what it means to be successful today in the US, shouldn't we also be looking at what it means to be a successful educator?
I used to think that my main goal was to prepare students for the same high quality, liberal arts education I received at HC. To that end, I wanted my students to write and speak well, solve problems, work together, push themselves and have high expectations. I still want that for my students, but their success with those skills has nothing to do with where they go to college or if they go to college. Their success is, in part, a measure of how well they choose what they do next, how well they do once there, and how prepared they are at the end of that experience for what comes next after that.
I have told students all the time that if the most important thing they got out of a course was a grade, then that course had failed them. If they could receive their diploma without ever having to push themselves to achieve more, then their diploma was less meaningful. If they moved on to the next stage of their lives and were woefully unprepared, then the system had failed. If they came to the end of their life and regarded high school as the best four years of their lives, then they had blown it.
My success as an educator is tied into how students do next. They might love my school, love my class and remember all the great things they read and wrote about. However, if they do not have the transferable skills that go with all the thinking and learning I want them to do, then a lot of time has been wasted. They might dread coming into my room because I make their brains explode, and I hold them to higher standards than they hold for themselves. But, if they think that they understand excellence, and know how to reach it for themselves, I am ok with waiting for them to come back years later to say I was right.
What do you think?
Hey Katie: Thanks for commenting! Send me an email if you want to be an author of the blog as well. I suspect you have a lot of idea. Ray Dewar (rgdewar@gmail.com)
ReplyDelete