Success For All!… or…. Not
So here’s a question to ponder. One that I’ve been spending some time thinking about lately:
In the education system as it is currently constructed and implemented, it is simply a fact that we need to accept that there will be students who do not succeed.
Do you believe this to be true or not? Do you believe that the system (and society in general) sets up winners and losers? Do you believe that this is basically impossible to turn around (even on an individual, student by students basis) without massive, saint-like efforts?
I hate this mentality. I remember being astounded and mortified in a course called Dynamics of the Curriculum. The instructor was great, a person who believed in finding ways for all students to be successful, looking at alternative curriculum models, etc. I’d had several courses with him, and our philosophies meshed well. There were a couple of high school teachers, who, upon a discussion about how to plan curriculum, said, “Well, there are the gifted kids; they’ll succeed no matter what we do, and there are X% of the kids who are going to drop out anyway, so we don’t need to worry about them. We just need to focus on the ones in the middle.” I was appalled that he’d said that he didn’t need to worry about challenging kids, but more so that he thought you could (should?) just ignore the kids who would drop out. If they are giving up completely, why not have some alternative to keep them there and meet their needs?
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I believe it is our job to make sure that each child meets with success. Failure to do so means we failed in our task. What is the point of teaching if not to reach students. We must do all we can to change the system that is failing, work with the one child that needs more support, and change our teaching styles to accommodate more students. It is our job!
Thanks for your thoughts on this very contentious issue. It is a difficult thought and a hard place to stand on any type of firm ground. I don’t doubt that it is “our job” as Lisa says to help students succeed. I wonder if the system is setting us up for failure by underfunding our buildings and placing multiple roadblocks in our way.
In Winston Churchill’s opinion there is especially one thing which decides about success or failure: the courage to continue!