Academic Aesthetic 161: Old vs. New

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Written during last Wednesday's thunderstorm-induced power outage (which gave us off on Thursday...), and recorded during tonight's thunderstorm, I talk a bit about how the "old" should not always be replaced by the "new."

"We need to hack that system."

A while back David Warlick expressed some regret about his daughter deciding to not follow in his footsteps as a teacher. I'm not sure how that feels (I'm a 4th generation teacher m'self...), but I find his musings on why she came to that decision (and who is to blame) to be very interesting.

My favorite quote:

Again, no blame to a system that’s worked for years. The blame goes to those who remain satisfied with a system that’s worked for years. We need to hack that system.

I've worked under no fewer than 4 Superintendents, and I think my current one is the best I've ever had. Why? Because he's the first I've seen that's made some very positive changes within the system.

But he's still within the system. Test scores are still more important than attaining real world survival skills. It's what the School Board expects. It's what the system expects.

The more I teach, the more I feel like I'm a passenger on a cargo ship headed for a reef, desperately trying to paddle against the ship's own momentum. Granted, there are a lot of other people manning the oars alongside me, but we haven't been able to turn that boat around.

At least, not yet.

And I'm still rowing.