Been Doing Some Thinking

News Flash!

America Eradicates Illiteracy!

“The vision of universal literacy has been realized”

“The bold, oft-controversial commitment of ensuring literacy for every child has been achieved.  American schools have for the past 36 months embarked on a relentless, unapologetic crusade to defeat illiteracy.  The “whatever it takes” strategy included the early and aggressive identification of learner skill, knowledge, and experience with language leading to individualized learning plans, repurposing of time, resources, and effective use of technology based supplemental programming.  The key however has been the commitment, conviction, and courage of educators to do what they have always known needed to be done.  No silver bullet and no short cut.  Teachers provided laser like, focused instruction to meet the needs of each learner.”

Fantasy? Fictional? Absurd?

Let me ask you, how serious are we about eradicating illiteracy?

Isn’t about time that we move from the politically correct “yes” we agree all learners should be literate to “yes” take no prisoners - whatever it takes to get it done action? 

What do you think?

Dr. Ron Edmonds stated so poignantly in “Some Schools Work and more Can” (1978),

“We can whenever, and wherever we choose, successfully teach all children whose schooling is of interest to us. We already know more than we need, in order to do this. Whether we do it must finally depend on how we feel about the fact that we haven’t so far.”

These words should set off bells and alarms.  They should cause each of us to pause, reflect, and ponder where we are in the year 2014 with educating each child.

To some these words serve as an indictment of the content of our character, challenge our convictions and commitment to each learner, and question both individual and corporate courage.  To others these words are pithy or trite and have little or no effect.  For the majority I fear, these words are met with quick opposition or dismissal based more by deeply held opinions and attitudes that teachers irrespective of how hard they work, how much they care will never successfully teach all children to be literate.   Oft-cited poverty, home, gender, ethnicity, or some other demographic characteristic are generally inferred or implied.  The reality of barriers or obstacles has been proven over and over again to be challenging but not insurmountable with respect to literacy.      

So, why haven’t we eradicated illiteracy in this country! 

John F. Kennedy challenged this great nation to “send a man to the moon and return him safely to the earth”.  What did we do? 

We assembled the “brightest and best”, the “dreamer and doers”, and … “mission accomplished” within a decade.  We thought differently to achieve different.  We were challenged to lead the world and we rose to that occasion.  Often forgotten was Sputnik and how embarrassed we were as a nation.  Are we not embarrassed now?

So, I ask again, why haven’t we eradicated illiteracy?

As Edmond penned, “we know more that we need, in order to do this”.  We really do! 

The advent of new technologies and the authentic integration of learning theory and learning science are but two factors that make literacy, universal literacy realistic.

If we know what works, what is in the way?  Money?  Time?  Attitude?

I suggest our challenge is that we have not made this priority one!  We give achieving literacy lip service but unlike Kennedy’s vision, we are not compelled to achieve it.

Two reasons stand out as to why we haven’t achieved “literacy for all”.  First, the instructional day and instructional calendar were designed to serve a different purpose.  We have organized, operated, and rewarded schools from a paradigm of control, order, and predict.  We made attendance compulsory rather than learning.  This, in part, explains why over the past 20 years there has been so much push back on student performance accountability.  It’s the system not the people.

The public school system was never designed to ensure each student learns to high standards let alone achieve universal literacy.  If we did, the school day and school year for that matter would be fundamentally different.  Let me be clear, I am not saying that “make the day longer” or “make the school year longer” will eradicate literacy.  Rather, I am saying we must configure and use time differently.  To do so will require a seismic shift in what we know and what we do in several areas – most of which are made much more complicated and complex than they actually are. 

Next week I will elaborate more on reconfigured time as well as spend time on the second obstacle to “eradicating illiteracy” – one much more controversial.