The System Story
Imagine yourself
walking into any public or private school in our country. It does not matter
what level the school might be, an elementary, middle, or high school. Imagine just wandering around the
school. Walk down the hallways, visit
the cafeteria, go in the gym, visit the library, and move in and out of the
classrooms. As you wander around, you
may begin to notice that the majority of the places we call schools are very
similar. For the most part, they all
look and feel the same. Students have teachers that teach various subjects. Students
are grouped by their age, subjects are taught separately, class begins and ends
during a specific period of time, bells ring, and students move on. Tests are taken, report cards and grades are
given, students are sorted and ranked, and children that fall behind are placed
in special programs to be remediated.
It really would be difficult
to tell what state you are in simply by walking around a school. They are all arranged in a very similar
manner. Principals are in charge of the
buildings and often times; the assistant principal continues to posit
“discipline,” as grade level teachers are sorted by their “content expertise.” The state standards and curriculum guides all
look very much the same. The lesson
plans teachers write all look similar. Apart from some novel technologies such as computers,
smart boards, flat screen televisions, hand held devices, and a host of ever
changing new devices and platforms for teachers and students, there is not that much different in our
schools today than there was three decades ago. Even new technologies have not
changed what occurs in most schools and classrooms. How can this be?
