I have to admit that after reading ch. 10 and 13 about how sustainable we are creating our educational systems, and how habits of the mind need to be integrated into the curriculum, I felt a bit ho-hum, for lack of a better word. Since my organization, Delta Kappa Gamma Society International is a liaison to the UN, I had heard about the Education for Sustainability (EfS) before and some of the great work it has driven over the last 21 years. I also can't recall exactly, but I believe it was when I started teaching in Vassalboro, when I was introduced to the Habits of the Mind. This came along with Jim Fitzpatrick's behavioral models we were looking at as well as Jay McTighe's Understanding by Design model. Though they were not 'new' ideas to me, it was great to be reminded of their strength and potential impact on education. I believe that programs or models for thinking like these make us truly rethink why we do what we do each day, as well as how. But in the end, I get frustrated that we are still reading about only a few wonderfully inventive places that have incorporated these models, rather than the few schools that have yet to get there. It seems that educational change is slower than the worst diet/ exercise plan out there, and yet we still keep getting up every day and doing it the same. Isn't that the definition of insanity? - To continue to do the same thing in the same way and expect different results.
I also read a few blog entries from Curriculum Matters that talk about how the talk and the discussion around the coming Common Core State Standard Assessments has changed, and how these might need to be considering as a starting point for a new dimension in education rather than the end result. Interesting thinking that I hope the author will expand on further. We certainly need to be educating ourselves as teachers and teacher leaders about ALL the potential options for our students. Then we need to consider how to implement these or some of these or even parts of these into our schools. Years ago the discussion of whether there should be day cares and medical services and other services available at schools was a huge debate. Many argued that the school had become the heart of a community and so it made sense to offer the services to the community in one place where all had to go. The louder voices it seemed were angered by the notion that schools should offer all kinds of social services, that somehow this would disrupt the learning process and take away from our schools. Now with the rising numbers of poverty-stricken families in all of our communities, we have once again returned to this discussion and some schools are even offering free breakfasts and lunches during the summer break for those families that qualify.
I suppose it all comes back to determining how we define school in our communities. Unfortunately, there are many federal, state and local pushes that force parts of that definition, particularly in regards to money, but what would happen if our state or our regions or local communities pooled their resources to serve all the people within that community better- wouldn't we then be creating a more sustainable future and quality of life for all people?!
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