The apostle Paul tells of his approach to ministry in 1
Corinthians 9:19-23. The Message translation describes it as, “I kept my
bearings in Christ – but I entered their world and tried to experience things
from their point of view. I’ve become just about every sort of servant there is
in my attempts to lead those I meet into a God-saved life.”
In order to communicate with and
develop individual lives in a variety of cultures and communities, Paul went into
their world and acted as a servant. What if our schools embodied these same attributes?
Who is serving whom here? The schools today have not taken the time to
experience the educational system through the eyes of the children. No set of
standards or boxed curriculum can produce the learning that meets the needs of
the kids’ futures. Especially when they are driven by uniform tests. It’s not
productive to only know the needs, concerns, and interests of the students. We
must come along side and live through their passions with them.
Not only do we need to implement
this approach but we need to detox students from the definition of “learning”
that school has branded them with. One of my fellow teachers, who is actively
giving his students the opportunity to explore their interests and talents,
tweeted this; “Freedom is the hardest part for the students to grasp.” Of
course this generation of students lack a motivation and passion for learning
because we’ve pushed our flawed structure of teaching on them. Marketing
experts will tell you that if you have to continually push the product on the
consumer then the product is broken. Federal and state legislatures continue to
push a design of college readiness and rigor. Don’t get me wrong, these have
their place, but above all, the child must feel that we (teachers, parents, and
peers) are learning right beside them due to the genuine care and love we have
for them.
Despite major contradictions
between my philosophy of teaching and learning and those of the traditional
school, I’m hopeful for an opportunity for educational reform.
A friend recently asked, where I
was with my blogging and my search for ideal education. I think the following works as an evaluation
tool of my progress.
Seth Godin has said that a
successful leader (and I think educators) can be compared to a good hockey
player. They both require three main qualities: They must know what to do, have
the resources to do it, and care enough to get hit.
At this point I feel comfortable saying that I possess two
of these.
1.
I definitely care enough to get hit!
2.
I know
what to do. (How humble of me)
- Thanks to God’s guidance and the research of
many smarter than me, I think I have an understanding of the critical
components needed for an ideal place of learning.
I’m always searching for resources to make this happen. That
means taking in everything fellow educators, parents, experienced
administrators, and most importantly children can offer.
Joy in serving students.
