Education a lesson in societal health

We live in a time when divisions between Americans are becoming increasingly polarized.

Constructive discussion, that is to say communication focused on forming rather than severing connections, has devolved into trench warfare. So-called debate is too often a shameless contest of mudslinging and finger-pointing. It will rest on the shoulders of today’s youth to take a different path, one that breaks this destructive cycle and leads our society out of the tar pit wherein we appear to be trapped. Supporting such a change will certainly up the ante for all educators.

The 2001 reauthorization of the 1965 Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), named No Child Left Behind (NCLB), initiated a nationwide push for increased academic performance of children and for greater accountability of teachers and schools. Despite real and perceived shortcomings of NCLB, some progress has been made in raising academic expectations and performance across America. Our own district has embarked on a sustained journey aligning course content with state standards and improving the consistency of course content across all schools within our state-sized boundaries. Several schools have demonstrated substantial academic improvement in recent years. But are these improvements enough to prepare our graduates for the broad responsibilities of citizenship?

NCLB is now up for its 10-year review and reauthorization. Successes and failures at the national and state levels may guide improvements to the act. Yet, we cannot wait for amendments to NCLB to occur, especially in light of a political climate prone to obstructionism and passionate rejection of compromise. The stakes for democracy are too high. Students who pass through our schools need more than proficiency as measured currently with high-stakes tests. They need, indeed we need, for them to be, as novelist Mark Slouka recently proposed, “men and women capable of furthering what’s best about us and forestalling what’s worst.”

Deborah Meier, founder of the Coalition of Essential Schools, offers a challenge to educators, a call to cultivate “habits of mind” that can be applied in any subject area, and perhaps more importantly, in the world of citizenship beyond school. Her criteria for broader, deeper student learning require student to practice critical thinking, cooperation with others and real-world problem solving. Meier asks all educators to teach students specifically how to determine the quality of evidence (assessing validity), how to consider various viewpoints (wearing another’s shoes), how to search for patterns and causes (including consequences), and how to keep focus on relevance (making it real).

The idea is that developing healthy, productive “habits of mind” will translate into demonstrating habits of action. Students taught in this manner will be less apt to uncritically accept the prejudices of others. They will be more able to make independent informed decisions — from the grocery store to the voting box. They will also consider the consequences of their words and actions when working with others in the community and at home.

Arguably, our best teachers are already weaving these soft skills seamlessly into their lessons. Others may benefit from professional development helping them learn how to link “habits of mind” with teaching of academic content. Either way, what will be needed is a district-wide commitment to and community support for expanding what students are expected to take from their K-12 school experiences out into the world. The health of our democracy may very well be determined by the integrity of our public education.

Paul Morely is a language arts teacher at Burchell High School.