A couple of months ago, I casually mentioned to my husband that I might discontinue blogging. As a retired educator, I found myself questioning my relevance to today’s educators. Much has changed since July 2018 when I retired including a worldwide pandemic that schools are still recovering from. I worried that what I had to share was not what educators wanted or needed to hear. My husband asked me a simple question: “You tell educators that they should be sharing their stories,” he said. “Why would you stop blogging now?” Ouch! He was right. We all need to step back sometimes; I stepped back for a little over a month, and now, I’m mentally ready to write again.
Last week, I hosted an “Elevating Teacher Voice” blog study and discussion via Zoom on the What School Could Be community. Steve Shapiro read his blog, “If We Truly Care about Teen Mental Health” and we had a thoughtful discussion afterwards. This is an important topic, one which concerns me, one which high-achieving schools rarely talk about. They are focused on having the highest test scores in the district or having the most students who receive Advanced Placement credits, or having a high percentage of their students accepted to prestigious universities.
Many students in high-achieving high schools feel pressured to do everything possible to get into a “good” college. They take Advanced Placement (AP) courses, participate in athletics, take leadership roles at school, do service projects, and strive to be the best all-around student so they can get into the college of their choice. Unfortunately, in their effort to stand out, their physical, social-emotional, and mental health can take a toll. (Listen to this podcast which shares one young person’s experiences: “A Letter to My Younger Self with Emmy Huefner”) With all of their responsibilities, these students don’t have time to just relax or to pursue something that would impede on their schoolwork and activities.
Participants in the “Elevating Teacher Voice” discussion shared what schools in their area have done to focus on students’ well-being such as limiting the number of AP classes a student can enroll in per year or doing away with class rankings. In his blog, Steve Shapiro shares six actions which schools, families, and the community can take to help students be happier and healthier, mentally as well as physically: 1) Slow down and cut back. 2) Center learning rather than grades; 3) Redesign school schedules to maximize opportunities for meaningful student and teacher relationships: 4) Increase opportunities for students to do work in school that is interesting, meaningful, and satisfying; 5) Change the conversation about college; and 6) Work relentlessly to help students and parents redefine success.Great advice!
The value of a blog is the thoughtful discussion that it can generate, and I believe this is an important topic that impacts our students. Should school communities be preparing students to be who they want to be or what we want them to be? Do students have time to explore and discover what they are passionate about or what they’re good at, and are they given permission, time, and support to try different activities? Isn’t it time we agreed that a student is not defined by their test scores or grade point average or the number of AP classes they take or the number of colleges or universities they get accepted to? Let’s change what school could be - a place for deeper learning, a place where students learn with and from each other, a place where they can create and share their learning with others in their classroom, in their community, or even in their world. Our students deserve it.
A Note: With all the talk about AI and ChatGPT and education, I seriously thought about trying it out for this blog. I have seen people’s posts or writings using this AI tool; I was impressed. I’ve heard that it’s easy to use and can be a time-saver when writing things like letters of recommendation. If I were still working, I have no doubt that I would have tried it out already. But would AI help me to write a better blog?
Writing a blog is personal, and although it might have taken me a shorter amount of time using AI, I believe that struggling through the process is what makes each blog post meaningful for me and a true reflection of my thoughts. ChatGPT will have to wait.
