As a consultant providing professional development, I often wonder how educational reform always has a feeling of urgency. Don’t get me wrong; I am not in favor of slow, uneventful reform, which makes our students wait for change. What I am wondering comes in the form of a question. Is reform about the destination or the process? Follow along as I compare educational reform to life…
When we die, do people share stories of the unfortunate death or do friends spend time remembering the times of life? I think about my own personal life and the items I would celebrate rarely are condensed into one single event. I celebrate my children for all of the great moments together and watching both of them develop and grow. It’s not about the day they leave my home, it’s about the time we have together! In the words of Garth Brooks, “There's two dates in time that they'll carve on your stone and everyone knows what they mean. What's more important is the time that is known in that little dash there in between.”
Enough rambling! The point of my discussion argues that school reform is a process of development and growth. I believe that no matter the outcome of a reform movement, the process of understanding and implementation will always create professional development and meaningful change. Take for instance the current national movement of the Common Core Standards. Many schools are scrambling to simply complete a curriculum map that shows they are doing what is expected and not taking time to truly understand the purpose of the Common Core. The common Core is most meaningful when teachers explore, map, argue, and create relevant units of curriculum using the Common Core. This time collaborating will always create more change than a district curriculum specialist mapping the standards and handing it down to teachers for implementation.
In closing, I would ask all teachers to celebrate changes and school reform by arguing, debating, discussing, and celebrating the process of implementation. This will create meaningful change that will directly impact your students.
