Did you ever find yourself interested in a topic only to wonder, why? Why am I so interested educational reform in America today? I was an average student, who didn't like school and didn't graduate from college. How then did I become so interested?
In 2010, Rosemary and I closed down a stretch of twenty-four staight years of having one of our two daughters in school (K-12). (Vickie graduated from Kent State in 2003 and Carla is in her second semester of college). Some interest was generated there. It was from reading a business book in the late 90's however, that created the emotional spark that nailed me.
I can't remember the book or the author but I've probably read versions of the same story in at least fifty other books since then. It goes something like this:
The teacher asked her first grade class which of them thinks they are creative. Every hand is thrust into the air along with a chorus of "me! me! me!" The seventh grade teacher asks her class the same question. About a quarter of the hands go up and no one speaks out loud. That same class has now reached its senior year in high school. When they are asked the question, no hands are raised and students nervously look around hoping the teacher will not call upon them to explain (at least the ones who aren't texting on their cell phones).
That hit especially close to home. I was about forty years old when I discovered the first creative bone in my body. What had happened to me? I suspect it was a combination of a less than ideal childhood combined with a school system that hammered any creative potential I might have had, out of my mind...although some nuns used a two-inch wide metal ruler. The aggressive ones drilled holes in the ruler so as to cut down on air resistance thereyby generating more velocity and ultimately creating larger welts. Oh well, at least the nuns were creative. I believe that too was called educational reform.
Today, thirty-seven years after graduating from high school, I have an entirely different viewpoint on education. I am passionate about students navigating a pathway pre K through post 16 that will not only provide them with a solid foundation to build their 21 st century career upon but encourage a lifetime of learning.
image - Terrific Parenting
