The Body Work & The Engine
Beyond the current education veneer
Within the last month, I believe there have been more advances in some schools thinking differently about the education of young people in their care than ….. well, let’s say a long time. Some of this has been exhilarating to be a part of. Here’s a summary of what I have witnessed from a K-12 perspective:
- World class educational leadership with pro-active, rapid responses to crisis situations in the face of multiple layers of adversity
- Fantastic approaches some schools are taking to teaching and learning in a sudden upheaval to norms of practice short term (and arguably, long term) eg, see work of @WirreandaSS, @sarahandrews012
- Fearless teachers not only willing to put themselves at risk of infection in face-to-face situations but creating materials ‘on the fly’, juggling the physical classroom and the virtual classroom as well as other variants in between
- High quality materials, forward thinking education teams are producing focusing teachers, students and parents on core factors of wellbeing, factors for effective learning and guidance in a radically different education model than anyone has ever seen before eg, work of @MichaelHaEDU, @mesterman
- Generous academics offering access to their insights, experiences and research into high schools and primary schools that teachers can utilise to improve their practice eg, Michael Phillips, Gilly Salmon
In the long term, though, this is just the veneer akin to great body work, a gorgeous, custom paint job with a deep polish. When the pandemic is over, for this all to really matter in making changes in schooling that have been needed for decades, we must ensure that we work on the engine with as much as enthusiasm as we have the body work. This will involve high level and uncomfortable decision making about what we want and need from a contemporary education system.
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There is a similar call for action being voiced in the health sector in the UK,as a result of the pandemic, where, after having life saving nursing, the following was said by a certain Boris Johnson:
“It’s hard to find the words to express my debt,”
The system is “powered by love”
Yet, this glosses over deeper issues in the health system which saved the British PMs life. Such issues need a complete rethink, a new engine to power us forward. Compliments while well appreciated by nurses and teachers alike, amount to little if we go back to the way it has always been, which has not been very good for a long time.
