must read for leaders in education

The Three Legs of the Education Table
Michael Swickard, Ph.D.

After more than a hundred years of education research in the United States it would seem that public schools would be getting better rather than worse. Why are they not? Because public school administrators ignore the three legs of the education table:
First, the child must be curious. The natural curiosity of children is the entrance into their minds. It is not something to foster, it is something to keep from destroying. Every child starts with it. They are born with it. They come to school with it and then by third of fourth grade many students do not care anymore about anything to do with schools. They have lost their curiosity, or rather, the educational system has destroyed their curiosity.
Second, connected to their natural curiosity, the child must have passion. They must care about something at school. When they lose their passion, they are lost. When there is nothing to be passionate about in school for them, there is nothing holding them in school. As they just go through the motions, nothing is gained from their time in school.
Third, the child must enjoy the passage of time. This is not to say that everyday at school must be a Disneyland ride. Every day must be enjoyable. Only the most removed from education think children can learn if they are miserable. There can be small moments when they do not enjoy that moment, but to be successful they must answer to the affirmative if asked at the end of the day, “Did you enjoy this day in school?”
People say that school is not supposed to be fun, it is work and work is never fun. Wrong. Again, it is not constant amusement, but each and every day a child should have their curiosity come alive, their passions increased and they should enjoy the passage of time in school. If not, we are just wasting time and money.
No Child Left Behind concentrates on testing. There is nothing about testing that inspires curiosity, passion or enjoyment of the passage of time for students. Many schools are canceling recess so students can study longer and harder for the accountability tests. Fixation on testing is harmful to students.
Many public schools no longer even act as if their fiduciary relationship is with the students. Instead, the enterprise is a giant works project for teachers and administrators. Unions spend their time working the system for more money and control. In the last couple of decades the administrative load in school districts has doubled and then doubled again and then doubled again. Years ago teachers were the largest population of workers in a district. Now the administrators outnumber the teachers.
So many administrators have been hired that the public schools no longer teach the curriculum, they administer it. Whatever they are doing is not working since only about 65 percent of public school students even graduate. And many of the graduates have long since lost their curiosity, passion and enjoyment of the passage of time. Some graduate without the slightest desire to ever learn anything again. How sad.
It is time for the students to be returned to the core of education. The administration says all students are the same, all teachers are the same and with enough statistical controls all students can be taught anything regardless of if the students want to learn. They are wrong.
No Child Left Behind has left all students behind. By focusing on testing, testing and more testing to see if schools are “good” or not, nothing that happens at schools creates any curiosity or passion for the students. They do not enjoy the passage of time.
Finally, the things students do care about such as sports and band are often under attack because the administration thinks that if the students spend ever increasing amounts of time on studying for the accountability tests the schools will be seen as being a good school. Nothing could be further from the truth.
Return the schools to the teachers and look for ways to not destroy curiosity and passion. Every day ask every student, “Did you enjoy today in school?” If the answer is overwhelmingly no, then change the school until the answer is yes.