Fixing education, pt. 4: Why accountability failed and what the real focus needs to be

We've established (in part 2 of series) that the "Nation at Risk" analysis of American education of 1983 was extremely flawed. The declining average in SAT scores was due to some students scoring far higher while others were getting left behind. There was also no analysis into the fact that before 1975, kids with handicaps or learning disabilities were excluded from public schools. We'd finally allowed these neuro-diverse learners in but didn't know how to teach them. We could expect there would be a new crop of SAT takers whose scores were lower, and thus brought the average down. What about poverty? Racism? So many variables that were never taken into consideration. The conclusion that American students were mediocre was inaccurate and simplistic. Nevertheless, politicians rallied to "hold schools and teachers accountable" for our "dire situation." Which is why politicians and administrators should not be doing this work. Barking up the accountability tree does not improve education. We now have 40 years of trying to improve education with accountability, and we've actually made it worse. "Accountability" is the wrong tree. Improving education is about nurturing a child's inborn, instinctive love of learning. That is the tree we need to be watering. It is a completely, utterly different approach to the issue. It probably sounds all touchy, feely. Let's look at history. Homo sapien children have been growing up for 200,000 years. For the vast majority of that time, we lived in hunter-gatherer groups. Children learned everything they needed to thrive, on their own, in multi-aged play groups. These groups allowed children across tremendously varied developmental stages to learn and grow at their pace. That's how our brains have evolved to grow, develop and learn. We started farming and living in settled societies 12,000 years ago, and it took time for this lifestyle to spread. Even then, most children learned alongside siblings and parents on farms and shops. They learned by doing. As we got kings on the hill and serfs in the fields, a few wealthy kids got an academic education. This was typically with a one-to-one tutor. About 200 years ago, we started lining up kids to sit silently while listening to a solitary adult prattle on. No surprise we had to start whipping them to keep them still. This is not the best way to nurture a curious, exploring mind. Modern schools crushed my kids' love of learning as early as age 5. When you see that happen and you move your child to a better environment, you get to watch that love of learning blossom again. You never forget it. The difference between a child who's going to school because they have to and one that's excited about it is unmistakable. One of my most important roles as a parent is to protect my children's love of learning. I'm not talking about trying to protect them from challenges, failures or their individual anxieties. Those we coach children through, again and again, as they grow. But kids have no voice in the hierarchy of their life. As adults, it becomes our responsibility to recognize when conditions and situations are crushing their spirit or their love of learning, and then move them to a better place. I've never regretted moving my kids out of a bad situation. Yes, I know we adults had to just "tough it out" when we were young. We can do better for our kids. What we consider the normal form of a typical school is really just what we've been doing, without thinking about it, for about 200 years. American school as we know it is born of the need to get poor kids off the streets so parents could work. Of industrialists' desire for workers who could read and write. Of parents' hopes for their kids to move up into a better life. Of politicians' fears that we are "falling behind." But now we have years of studying child development and cognitive science research. Years of data on how our system fails a third of all kids. Today, we need adults to be flexible lifetime learners. It's time to set a goal of nurturing each child's individual potential. I promise you that is not the current goal of your school. They just want to provide a "Free and Appropriate Public Education" as required by law. That absolutely does not require helping each child develop to their potential. We can do better. Much better. However, to focus on nurturing each child's growth, we have to stop focusing on test scores, grades, teacher measures, school measures. Instead, we must focus on nurturing the love of learning in each child. This change in focus allows us to completely shift what we talk about needing, what we want to create, how we interact with kids, so many important things to spend our time figuring out. Next: Part 5: Neuro-atypical learners are one-third of all kids. What are the implications? Kathleen Cawley is working on a book about public education reform and special education issues. If you are a parent, teacher or school professional, she'd like to tell your story. Reach her at: 241kcawley@gmail.com.