We Don't Need Adversaries to do right?

Our history as a nation is replete with adversaries.  From the warnings, “The British are coming” to what appears to be a Cold War renaissance we have had adversaries.  In many cases we did not ask to have those against us. However, having someone or something as an adversary has actually been, arguably productive.  We have leveraged adversaries to “rally”, “mobilize”, “support”, and “unite” as well as to “justify” or “rationalize” an action, decision, or a “cause”.

The history of American public education, like our nation, is fraught with adversaries.  Public education has been made to be “the” adversary for all forms of societal ills, conditions, and problems. We must have something to be against to know what we stand for, right? 

As the enemy, public education must be attacked in all ways and at all times.  It must be seen, felt, and heard as something that must be defeated.  As the enemy, what value, what positive, and what import can be associated with it?  It must be defeated.

The call to arms is not new.  Certainly public education has been the recipient of blame many times before.  It was public education that allowed the Russian’s to launch Sputnik after all.  The reaction, however, was to expand science education, raise our expectations for what students must know and be able to do, and provide funding to ensure that “never again” would public education let us down. 

Sputnik has been replaced several times with the advent of additional national “challenges”.  Currently, our competitive global position, economic development and future, and way of life are three that come to mind as reasons that public education is the adversary. 

For adversaries to exist there must be supporters.  A good question to ask but one that should be asked in only the “right” circles is “supporters of what?”  Asking in the wrong setting or with the wrong person may get you labeled as “unpatriotic” or against “free market”, “competition” or something worse – “supporters of government schools”.

Nonetheless, the question must be asked.  The answer must be more than a regurgitation of political sound bites.  The answer cannot simply be the continuation of reckless, irresponsible, and out of context use of data. 

I am very curious as to where those who view public education with disdain received their education.  I wonder if they were educated in the public schools?

The continuous demand for better schools in the name of “accountability” is extremely short sighted and dangerously close to abandoning what has made this country the envy of the world.    The narrowly defined accountability model was imposed on a system that was never designed to achieve universal proficiency let alone mastery.   Every business, industry, or manufacturer knows that to maintain viability or productively they must have the capacity to adjust, adapt, innovate, and imagine or reimagine their processes, practices, products and services to meet or exceed customer expectations.

Public education is no different!  Public education will provide the necessary skills, knowledge, and experiences to prepare learners for the “next”.  To accomplish this requires now more than ever, a collective will, a collective commitment, and collective courage to do what is right, true, and good.

We don’t need adversaries to do what’s right.

What we need is permission! 

Permission to suspend or remove the constraints imposed by policy and politics to focus on what educators do best – teach.  Educators are inspired, motivated, and rewarded when their students create, construct, and apply their learning. 

Interestingly enough so are learners.

Public education is not the adversary.  Rather, constraints in the form of destructive policies and “slash and burn” politics are the real enemy.    How many months to the next election? 

Next week – authentic accountability is less expensive and more effective.