While I'm not a Luddite and enjoy technology, I have nevertheless been reluctant to venture into the world of social media. At Orchard, however, we ask our students to lean into discomfort and to take appropriate risks, so here I am in 2012 finally posting my first blog!
Over Winter Break I read a great book, The Global Achievement Gap, by Tony Wagner. One of his many provocative points was that in education today the term rigor is defined and interpreted many different ways.
For many, more rigor in education means more homework, more content delivered at a faster pace, and more stress for students. The progressive educationalist, Alfie Kohn, refers to this as the Listerine Effect, i.e., it can't be working if it doesn't taste bad.
I believe in a rigorous education, but to me rigor does not have to include the above characteristics.
Rather, I subscribe to Madeline Levine's view of the outcomes of an elementary-middle school education: to help children develop a sense of self, exhibit success, and foster friendships. Guiding students in these areas requires much more teacher subtlety, nuance, and an understanding of the uniqueness and individuality of each child in the classroom than the traditional characteristics of a rigorous education.
Wagner also points out today's education climate of high-stakes testing has taken the fun and enjoyment out of school. A precept of progressive schools like Orchard is to engage the student and maintain the natural curiosity they bring to school in the preschool years.
Orchard like any school must always strive to enhance its program, but it is also important that we continue to hold fast to our progressive roots and values, i.e., developing the whole child (not just cognitively), viewing each child as a unique learner, more widely defining what student success looks like in the classroom, and providing relevant and exciting classroom activities that engage students.
I am heading the ISACS Head of School conference in Chicago and my favorite conclave is the one with fellow progressive heads: typically the discussion at these meetings touches on the different definitions of rigor and the values progressive schools esteem.
For my second blog I'll focus the dialogue among progressive heads.
