Every week, my kids bring home their “Friday Folders” from school, usually packed with paper…torn out worksheet pages, handouts from school, permission slips, tests taken, more worksheets, lunch menus, letters from the principal, more worksheets, more tests, an occasional fund raiser, and yet more worksheets. Wendy and I sign our names to much of it, usually in a Monday morning blur, our kids shoving it in front of our faces saying “Just sign it Dad, it’s nothing” or something similar when we ask just what it is we’re signing. And the next week, that signed paper comes back with another flurry of worksheets and tests and quizzes and god knows what else.
We’ve been collecting it, all of this Friday Folder paper, growing what’s become an enormous pile of it in the corner of our bedroom, a pile that I guess in the eyes of their school in some way represents the learning that my kids have done this year. I’m guessing we’re supposed to be proud of all of this accomplishment, this big pile of paper that my kids never, ever revisit as it sits there, growing week by week. Sometimes I look at it and see 1,000 paper airplanes. And sometimes I look at it and wonder if what it really represents is not so much what my kids know as what they have become, a couple of highly dependent learners, enabled by their teachers and their school to produce a constant stream of, of…of what? Knowledge? Learning? Busy work?
I was reminded of this by David’s post today where he writes about the need for students to become more self-directed, to take charge of more of their own learning in a world where, for the kids who are connected, at least, there is so much more to learn. I know this isn’t anything new; we should have been teaching kids that all along. But the fact is that what we’ve taught them is that the teacher sets the agenda, defines the method, assesses the outcome and controls the whole process. And as David suggests, it’s no wonder many teachers and adults in general seem to be waiting for someone, anyone, to teach them instead of taking the initiative to teach themselves; we are most all products of the system.
But I’ve been giving a great deal of thought to what my own children are going to need to be able to do when they get to where they have to support my wife and I in our old age, and I’m convinced that none of what they are learning now is going to in anyway ensure a pleasant retirement for us. They are not being empowered to learn, not being helped to become:
- Self-learners who are able to navigate the 10 or 15 or however many job changes people are predicting for them by the time they are 30
- Self-selectors who must find and evaluate and finally choose their own teachers and collaborators as they build their own networks of learners
- Self-editors who can look at a piece of information and assess it on a variety of levels, not simply believe it because someone else does
- Self-organizers who can manage the slew of information coming at them by developing their own structures and strategies for making sense of it all
- Self-reflectors who are not solely dependent on external evaluation to drive their decision making and their evolution as learners and people
- Self-publishers who understand the power and importance of sharing and connecting information and knowledge and can do it effectively and ethically
- Self-protectors who understand where the online dangers lie, can recognize them, and can act appropriately to stay away from harm
Of course, all of this requires a certain willingness to relinquish control, not just of the things we know but of the things we don’t know. In fact, that second part is even more important, I think.
The teachers in my kids’ school are good people, and I know I’m a tough parent. But the more I look at it, the more I’m convinced that my kids just are not being served by the constant passing of paper back and forth, by a curriculum that’s driven by stupid assessments that require answers that may no longer be accurate or relevant by the time my kids need to actually call them up later in life. It’s the exact opposite of what they need. And I’m not sure I can sign off on it much longer…
(Photo “fly the flickr skies” by gadjoboy.)
So homeschool.
It’s really the only way, then you can put your own ideas/thoughts/opinions into practice.
Seems the only way, eh?
Chris
And the school and district are not turning to you as a resource to demonstrate, model, mentor, inspire, and transform learning for both the teachers and learners?
Will you move to my district?
I think the most important shift is for students, and your kids, to find problems they care about.
This doesn’t take homeschooling, but it sure helps to have parents willing to be involved enough to expand their kids’ perceptual horizons.
The best learning I ever had in high school was in trying to fix high school. (It didn’t work, but I learned tons.)
It was just a problem that I latched on to.
It was certainly nothing I was going to find in the curriculum. The “learning” was so detached from any context that I cared about it, or could relate to . . . I didn’t see any problems in my world that the learning was going to help me solve.
My father introduced me to a new frame accidentally, with a strange reading list brew of Nietzsche and Stranger in a Strange Land, but the key hop, that led to young self starting/motivation/learning/organizing/selecting was in finally seeing a problem I could get take a whack at.
Then I had to go find my own methodology and resources.
We did a lesson about estimation. How many sheets of paper does this school use? The actual number was 2,250,000 sheets of paper for this one school of 900 kids per year.
Then I asked them how much of that paper did they keep, or are we just “feeding the dumpster”?
Unfortunately many parents in your kids class probably would think the pile of paper its great. It’s a sign they are doing something … and that work which is “busy work?†– well that “builds character.†I still think one of the major issues standing in the way is the parents’ own school experience which tends to be what they have to go on to judge how they think their kids are doing.
“Schools are not doing the job and schools need to change fundamentally as long as when you’re done making changes it’s pretty much just like when I went to school so I’ll understand what you and my child are doing.†– is basically the thinking I see we have to get past. One way is to have examples of what you think school should look like working well as many times as possible. Where are those examples? How do we consistently show them off?
Brian
I have to play devil’s advocate here. How many student-created web pages are there floating out in cyberspace, pages that haven’t been looked at by anyone – students, teachers, parents, or strangers – since the day they were created? I suspect that much of the work in that pile of papers probably IS busy work. And I agree that the technology does empower teachers and students to learn and collaborate in new ways. But I would maybe shift the focus from the medium – paper or electronic – to the message: “you must rely on me for support and direction” or “I empower you to learn about the world on your own.” That’s what’s important. I’m amazed at some of the paper “writer’s workshop” creations that my kindergarten daughter brings home. True, it’s a limited audience – her teacher, her classmates, her parents – but she gets the experience of exploring the world through writing and sharing that with those around her. Contrast that to a blogging project where students make a few entries and get a grade and then the whole thing is forgotten by all involved in a few weeks. I think it’s important to keep the conversation focused on the the instructional paradigm, not the tools that support it.
David, I spend part of my day in an 8th grade classroom. The teacher passed back a sheaf of graded papers today – which most of the kids promptly threw in the waste basket. One boy has been making a real effort to improve his grades this quarter, so I suggested that he might want to show the grades (much improved) to his parents. He selected one paper; it wasn’t his highest grade, but he commented that they might interpret the “10” (of a possible 10) as a failing grade. He’s playing the game as far as marks go, but I don’t see any impressive growth in understanding. As long as he does his assignments and remains eligible for the baseball team, he, his parents, and his coach are satisfied. Of course, during his “off-season” none of the above care about grades, ineligibility, etc. Sad commentary on what’s important in life.
Sounds like you either need to start a school or buy a boat. Let me know whether you want me to send my resume or bring my canoe and paddles 😉
As a teacher who works VERY hard to try to develop empowered learners I say amen! I know, I know that the Friday folder is supposed to be a chance for the kids to show the parents what they’ve done; the sad part is that it’s usually the way for teachers to cover themselves and communicate with parents with the limited time they have (both teachers and parents). I am amazed at how hard it can be for me to keep my students active in their own learning. They are so often waiting for me to tell them every move to make, but they ARE learning!! I am more amazed by the teachers who basically tell them to do what they say, and then are amazed at how passive their students are…. hmm, wonder why?
Anyway, I know that communication with parents is important; and I know that as a parent we also have a stack of papers growing in our dining room. I am happy to say that they are ALL student creations, none of them needing to be signed, but my child is attached to every one she creates. Periodically, the repetitive looking ones get “eaten” during the night. Why are you still collecting yours? 🙂
(P.S. One fun and nice thing we’ve found to showcase some of the good ones, is to cut out the cool ones and decoupage – fancy word for glue and then shallac – them onto flower pots that we’ve painted some bright color. Great for the garden, great gifts like for Mother’s Day! And, hey, wouldn’t that be a great gift for your child’s teacher; to remind her of all the wonderful Friday communications you’ve had?…. Okay, I realize that’s probably a bit much, but next time you look at that mound of papers and wonder what your child’s learning, it might be a thought to cheer you up :))
I hear ya! I teach the fifth grade and I hand out the infamous Friday Folders each week. At this point in my teaching career I have turned a corner and I finally get “it.” The World is indeed flat and I need to prepare my students to be adaptable, self motivated, critical thinkers, and do all that I can to empower them. At the same time, I am not sure that the parents or even many of the staff members understand the “quiet crisis” that we are in. So it seems like I am walking on a slippery slope trying to balance the old with the new and start a grass roots explosion in our community. Wish me luck. I was surely disappointed when your conference was canceled in our neck of the woods due to low enrollment numbers. Just another sign of how much work we have ahead of us.
To add to your ‘self-‘actualization list I would add a few community minded skills…
“They are not being empowered to learn, not being helped to become:”
• Community-learners who share, hyperlink, inspire discourse, and connect in meaningful ways to other learners.
• Community-Contributors who add value to their on-line and real-life communities (Think Share-Alike, and volunteering) – building a sense of belonging.
• Community-members who have a global perspective, and feel connected to ‘thy neighbor’ in their local, national and international communities.
These add more ‘umph’ to your already great list of things web2.0 and schools2.0 can bring to our children.
Thank you Will!
We all know education has to change.. hence we read and comment on this blog…John Dewy wrote that progressive education was the answer to teaching children in 1920, a good many of us agree that integrated, relevant, student driven education is the best means to knowledge acquisition but yet in 2007 many teachers still handout worksheets, have the students work out of text, take assessments that do not accurately learning of any kind. all in subject isolated classrooms. Teachers who “know” need to find ways to incorporate the 2.0 technology with traditional methods… and unfortunately this means still handing back Friday folders, and maybe some day we will be able to download them off line..
And then parents come to me to complain that we do too much ICT- they can’t see the benefits of using Web2.0 technologies to learn, collaborate and communicate- I feel my responsibility to help the parent community understand as well.
I think that parents think we “do” ICT like it’s a separate subject like geography or music. I need a few more parents like you who can see the benefits of communicating with others from outside the confines of our classroom walls. I want to open the doors!
I think that students do need to learn to use web 2.0 tools and be critical thinkers and these tools need to be integrated into curriculum. I also know that educators embrace small steps and like to hold on to their past practices. So, I really have two thoughts that are vexing me right now:
1. I think that some skills lend themselves to paper and pencil such as learning to add or subtract. I teach high school students and I am sick of seeing students pull out a calculator to add 15 + 17 or multiply 8 and 9.
2. If school districts are slow to adapt to new technologies, would it be a step in the right direction to try to help them implement portfolios? With a portfolio the student keep some of their work and reflect/analyze their successes or mistakes and learn from those graded papers. At least then we are taking a step towards the critical thinking skills that they utilize when working with web 2.0.
I don’t think worksheets are always the best learning tool in the world, but I think the content is more important. Although I believe that Web 2.0 tools CAN be used all through a student’s learning life, you have to realize that there are a certain amount of skills learned in elementary school that do require some rote, pencil and paper practice. Like the commentor above me wrote, math skills are one example.
And as another commentor mentioned about writing workshop, my students do a lot of “paper and pencil writing” and it is still collaborative, creative, and self-directed.
Also, and I don’t know if you’ve covered this in past blog posts, but how available is the technology at your children’s school? I had to “throw away” the Wikipedia learning experience I had planned for this year because of inability to get into a computer lab so students could “self-direct” their learning. I might be able to show them the learning tool using my computer and a projector, but it’s just not the same.
Amen, Will. I read the post and clicked through to the comments. Never doubt that we need your voice. We have to build a critical mass of people thinking this way (and expressing it) to see any change at scale. Not that we know what the answers are yet, of course. Keep it up…
-Mark
Will,
I enjoyed your piece and agree with you.
I just spent a few days teaching in a school and realized that the kids lack fundamental human communication abilities. I’m not talking Web 2.0 here. I’m saying that the kids were incapable of expressing themselves in ANY medium.
It was quite apparent that no adult had ever engaged in a sustained sincere conversation with these students. Their vocabulary and conversational ability has been reduced to grunting and punching.
Every (real) education reform is dependent on kids spending quality time with adults who respect them.
As for the testing BS, find out what the law is in NJ (I can help if you want) and OPT YOUR CHILDREN OUT. It won’t change much for the rest of the kids in the system, but it will send the correct message and benefit your kids. Our children didn’t take the state standardized tests in California and parents have similar rights in other states too. This is one way in which parents can do the right thing.
Check out these links:
http://24.248.90.158/page.cfm?p=443 (article about the test boycott I organized)
http://tinyurl.com/2es6zo (A great book for parents – “Not with Our Kids You Don’t”)
http://www.pencilsdown.org
I’m sure you’re aware of the anti-homework books by Alfie Kohn and Etta Kralovec as well.
******************************
We found that when we finally got fed up with our kids bringing home homework consisting of 200 identical arithmetic problems that we would put our foot down. We wrote a polite letter to the teacher saying, “The volume of work being sent home is harming out family life, our child’t ability to play, practice her instrument, etc… So, once she has demonstrated an understanding of the concept being covered, we will sign the paper and she will not answer any additional questions.”
I have never heard of a teacher saying anything, but “OK.” Many teachers don’t agree with their own practice or don’t know why they do what they do.
A wonderful list of self-xxx. Perhaps one can add “self-starters”. It is indeed a challenge to get going in this self-help realm.
Will —
I have a couple of wonderments.
#1 — Have you considered home schooling??
#2 — Do you go and volunteer in the classrooms of your kids? (though that may be intimidating to the teacher if she/he knows how HIGHLY you are respected of your tech use.)
I would NOT in any way though question the teacher first — because she/he might be living up the the expectations of the administration. Perhaps the admin thinks the more worksheets demonstrates the teacher’s abilities.
This is much more deeper an issue that the pile of papers you are accumulating.
Up for a game of chess tonight?? — I shall be in SL for a bit.
Jen
Along these lines, perhaps…we recently went to the orientation for the magnet school our child will be attending in the fall. The principal read to the assembled parents every word of the same Powerpoint presentation she read to us at the last meeting, several weeks ago, when we took our child there for the admissions testing. The English language needs a word for the emotion that combines numbness and anger…
I think a large part of this is that we’re still in Web2.0 and not at Web3.0 yet. Web2.0: There are those still trying to get people to recognize it exists and is academically valuable. Web3.0: The value of the web is a given by all, now let’s everyone see what we can do with this thing.
In my district we have a handful of paperless classes. The teacher puts up assignments in a blog, students hand in essays with wikis and they all conduct discussions on forums. Yes, it’s asynchronous and easily showcases their work, but basically it’s the same conversations as we were having before, we’re just saving trees.
Once we can make the assumption as educators, that all student work is digitized (text, images, audio, video, whatever,) is easily accessible and our assessment system allows for the variety of mediums, focusing on the thinking involved to create the work rather than a single skill set, all this technology starts fulfilling its promise, and the paper pile goes away.
Will, It is an interesting tug of war when your career is to help teachers and schools integrate technology but your job as a parent puts you at odds with the same system. If I had a dollar for every time I told someone that school got in the way of my children’s learning I would be rich.
Fortunately, I believe what happens at home can make up for some of the wasted hours at school.
My children are young adults, two college graduates and one graduates next year. In the course of their school lives, two were homeschooled for a time, they all attended a private Quaker school, and they all graduated from Public High schools. I did whatever it took for them to succeed as individuals.
They are bright,engaged, life-long learners and I am extremely proud of each of them. I was an active participant in making sure they were educated both at school and at home. Too many parents hand over the job to teachers and think that is all that needs to be done. Of course, I’m preaching to the choir in this forum but at least it’s good to know there are others like us:)
When you say that you will monitor your child’s homework and cut it off at the point of excess, you are not challenging or questioning the teacher, you are his/her partner in the education of your child.
I’m a big believer in doing what’s right regardless of how it affects the bureacracy.
Paperless classrooms are a dopey example of what Papert called technocentrism.
The Philadelphia School of the Future is “paperless” due to some ideological fetish of the Microsoft Corporation.
That means no Harry Potter for those kids.
I want fewer worksheets and MANY MORE copies of high-interest books in classrooms, particularly in disadvantaged areas. Sure kids can read a screen, the range and richness of content isn’t there.
Giving kids a digital copy of a Dolciani algebra text merely perpetuates bad educational practice with one less book to schlep.
I’m not saying a paperless classroom is the answer either, although I have taught in paperless environments and I do think kids need practice in how to flourish in them. Books aren’t going away any time soon. I’m talking about the stupid homework that is forgotten as soon as it’s handed in.
wow, after reading all these comments i forgot was I was going to say to you Will about your blog. But anyway, I always enjoy reading your posts. They are very insightful and I still havent remembered what I was going to say so I will just ask this:
WHen are you doing that conference in Boston?? I heard it was some time this summer, June or July? I am anxious to hear you speak, I’ve heard great things about your presentation style!!
I feel your pain and was at the same crossroads five short years ago with a daughter ending third grade and a son ending second in a public school that they dearly loved. Three final straws pushed me out:
1. My daughter was tracked into the gifted math class and came home every night with a stack of gifted worksheets. Worksheets that took over two hours of family time each night. Instead of working outside, creating a project together, playing a game, or reading aloud,we did math. Math that was way over her head and totally disconnected to anything in the real world. Exasperated, I finally declared enough and told Sara I planned to meet with her teacher and request that this work be discontinued. Sara tearfully begged, “Please don’t Dad, Mrs. Teacher will put me in with all the dumb kids.”
2. At the Fall parent conference, my son’s second grade teacher started our conversation with an apology. “I’m sorry,” he sincerely said. “You see Matthew will clearly be able to pass the math section of the state test in the third grade, but I have a classroom of fifteen others who need a lot of work to get there. So, I will not be able to help your son move ahead with math until the Spring. You should consider working with him at home.” Honest teacher. Good person. Good teacher. My son loved his year in second grade.
3. When I spoke “off the record” one-on-one with our superintendent about my concerns, he said, “You have to understand. Our school is not just for you and your children. If you do not like what is happening here, you should leave, but we are not going to allow a single parent control our curriculum.”
—-
I pulled my children and weaned them from the love of certificates, trophies, and letter grades. Their new school did not make help them become digital learners, in fact they have had little exposure to technology the last five years. Their new school, however, helped them own their own learning and gain an understanding about what it means to learn. Sara returns to public school in August. She has not been marched through a list of state standards the past five years, nor has she been standardized by testing. I am confident, however, that she knows how to learn. That she loves learning. I can’t say that I can say the same for many of the incoming freshman where I teach.
Many of my colleagues think I sold out on public schools, but I stand firm in saying . . . my job as father is far more important that my job as a public school teacher. I didn’t have time to wait. Children don’t have time to wait for us to get our act together.
My decision helped me rest at night, but I still ache for the kids who don’t have the families that can help them get beyond the system.
As I prepare to return to the classroom after a nine-year break in the corporate and graduate ed worlds, I find myself here, reading, which I do frequently!
This post is so timely. It was exactly what I needed to hear as I start thinking about how to structure my new mathematics classroom… and I really mean new. It’s a new high school, well, an old building, but students, new concept, and exciting technologies, and I just can’t wait. I’m thinking about posting the self-… list in my classroom so that they understand that everything I do (ok, well, much of it at least) is to help them reach these goals.
As I’ve been lurking here for nearly three years now, I have been so jealous that I didn’t have a classroom of my own to try out these cool things you and others that contribute here get to experience. Really, this community is a part of why I’m going back. I want to belong and contribute to this world! I’ve learned so much here!
So, thanks for jumpstarting me!
Jenn
Will, you’ve prompted me to finally post something I’ve been thinking about for a while now. It will be interesting to hear if people think this is a crazy idea or if the time is right.
I am just thinking that this is one of my favorite posts! We can ALL relate to this one. I have a friend who saves all of her children’s papers in a garbage bag for each year. Her son, who just graduated, has 13 garbage bags full of paper. Ironic, don’t you think? I wonder if he will revisit these bags, or if she has unknowingly made it easier for him to take them to the curb when his opportunity arises.
I was just thinking about the envelope my paycheck comes in and the wasted effort to seal it and the check itself – what a waste! We could save money by just eliminating mindless wastes because it has always been done that way. But preaching to the choir here…what do you propose to do? My parents had their own problems, so when I was in 8th I decided to go to private school. Dad paid out of a sense of guilt…but it was the best investment he could have made! What are you thinking?
I was just talking about this with my homeroom group this week. We have a portfolio requirement at our school. The kids all buy a white portfolio and put papers inside that reflect their achievement of our school goals. They then have a student-led conference at the end of the year where they show their binder to their parents.
I mentioned in a faculty meeting that a white binder full of paper may not be the most authentic way for our students to share their achievements with their parents.
The next day I asked my students to share some ways that they could, more authentically, share their work for the year. One of my most wonderful students carefully explained to me that the reason we have the binders is to prepare students for job interviews. You know, when they go to an employer with their paper resume and samples of their paper work in a binder.
She was so enthusiastic about this “simulation of real life” that I hated to burst her bubble when I explained that I have gotten all of my jobs through my electronic presence – my blogs, my websites, etc.
I asked her: “if I just got my new job as a result of my professional blog demonstrating my skills, mind-set, and experience (and of course interviewing); how impressed do you think an employer will be when – 10 years from now – you show up with a binder?”
And the light-bulb goes on.
I agree totally with this blog, as a High School Graduate in 2000, our children our not learning really learning anything of value. in my opinion self direction is best way to achieve success. Home schooling, internet schooling is the best way for education or schools changing there policy on what education should be allowed, I think the teachers should be able to choose there school material. shouldnt really be up to the school board. If the school board didnt restrict teachers on what students can learn, our educational system would be much better then it is now, I think the main reason why there are so many school shootings, it’s cause the students are not interested in what there learning, and just the reason of bullies and such and the pressure of high school exit exams.
Self-directed learning is far more valuable than a one size fits all curriculum. However, self-directed learning just doesn’t work with the 25-35:1 student to teacher ratio in most classrooms. I think most teachers would truly love to guide their students in the pursuit of meaningful learning activities, but there must be a change in the way our schools are structured and scheduled. 40-50 minute blocks of time don’t lend themselves to this type of learning, either. Often times teachers are blamed for lacking flexibility and creativity,or even the will to adapt, but they can only do so much within the system as it currently exists.
The old adage of “give a man a fish and he will eat for a day … teach a man to fish and he will eat for a lifetime” could not be more true or accurate.
Still it often comes down to intrinsic self motivation and motivations.
It is wisest to be self motivated .
However in many cases no matter what you do some people can never be motivated in essence to do things for themselves.
Many like to be cared for to so to speak – to follow rather than to lead – even themselves.
As old as mankind are the mindsets of leaders and followers – even of their own selves.
It all comes down to basic curiosities and interest in life.
Some have it, many will never have it.
No matter what you do.