When I first read "A Home and a Heaven for Children," so many images and observations came rushing into my mind. In order to respond, I had to give myself a few days to fully digest the information.
Even now, I couldn't possibly do so with a single blog post.
And so my story begins before I even set foot in a graduate school classroom. It starts with my own children, in the nursery and elementary schools they attended. I have a lot to say about nursery schools, but must put that subject on the back burner for now.
One of my PTA positions involved selecting and attending various cultural arts shows, which I took very seriously, since I've always believed that cultural studies and the arts should be a central focus of education. Well, having been amazed and inspired by a woman who had brought a story (and an entire Native American Pow Wow) to life for nursery school students, I thought she'd be the perfect individual to bring into the elementary schools.
Since 3rd graders were learning about the rainforest, Beth Hagedorn of L.E.A.P Unlimited, Inc, took 2 classes of students (at a time) into the gym and had them stand arms length apart. That would give them enough room to act out their part. You see, as she spoke about the rainforest, they would be able to play the parts of certain animals, or the wind, or the rain...Only invisible props were used.
The 4th graders were learning about the Revolutionary War; so the presenter facilitated a separate program relating to the Setauket Spy Ring, which specifically related to the local area. She first described (using props, when necessary) the many secret codes, items, and tactics ordinary citizens used to send messages to General George Washington. Then, the students had the opportunity to act it all out. Small groups of students were asked to play different parts, which made it all fun and interactive.
I found it fascinating how she integrated storytelling with physical movement, history, science, and drama, in each of the programs. I also loved how she not only brought the curriculum to life, but engaged the imagination as well. If I were heading back to a classroom, I certainly would have left a significant amount of time for discussion and a creative writing project, or research of some sort.
Unfortunately, I left without being able to obtain feedback from students. I did ask a couple of teachers what they thought, though, and they seemed pretty unimpressed. They seemed to feel that this was a superfluous activity which ate up time they could have spent directly teaching the children. Plus, the Revolutionary War curriculum didn't include local history at all! How sad, I thought.
Looking back now, this experience was just one of several early clues that my teaching philosophy was not in line with the direction public education was heading in. I was seeing circles, while many of the public school teachers around me were seeing lines.
I thought I could make a difference. I really did. I still wish I could.
I wonder how many teachers feel the same way. Did they once see the circles? Have the lines become blurred?
The way I see it, the cultural arts experiences described above roll so many aspects of learning together - the hands-on activities, the arts, the fun....with so much potential to grow into related projects, student-directed learning, research, and writing. Such authentic assessments tell a teacher so much more about what a child's learned than any multiple choice exam ever could. If there really needs to be a test, why not at least put most of it in essay format? That way, you get them thinking, writing, and connecting ideas.
Rick Ackerly says to "use the whole body if it helps." Well, that's what Beth Hagedorn did here. It not only makes learning more meaningful, but research shows that sitting at a desk all day just isn't healthy.
I must say that the line I like most from his post, though, is "you don’t always achieve your goal by driving directly at it." When it comes to learning, I prefer to take the scenic route. And if at all possible, I'd park that car in the garage and walk or ride a bicycle instead. That way, I'd get out of the hot seat and into the gym of real life. How about you?
I'd like to thank Rick Ackerly for dedicating an entire blog post to answering some questions I had posed during an email chat. His vision of school as "a place where learning drives achievement, and love drives learning" wraps it all up into a beautifully wrapped package. If only we would dare to open it up.
What are your thoughts? Would you like to share your vision of education?
For further reading about assessments, please try Education Week's "Classroom Assessments for a New Century."
