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What an interesting nine months this has been
in District 47. Without the hovering cloud of
a referendum or the lingering threat of budget
cuts, the district and the community held a discussion about what we value in education. How much time is needed to create the best learning environment in math and science? How much time is needed to create valuable
exposure in encore subjects? Should student interest play any part in how their time is spent in school?
What exposure should schools be responsible for and what exposure should parents be responsible? Is a one-size-fits-all encore model good for
every student? Can language arts and social
studies co-exist under the same instructor?
Is spending 51% of a child’s day in the core academic subject areas enough time to provide a solid foundation in math, science, social studies, and language arts for EVERY student? What’s wrong with status quo? The list of questions went on and on but the underlying theme was the same. The District 47 community values education and wants what is best for children. Because of the quality of input that was
received over the past few months, the final decision resulted in more time for core subjects, student input into the selection of the encore subject areas that interest them, and the potential to receive the same exposure classes they received under the old schedule. It has been said that schools are reluctant, or at the very best, very slow to change. In an article by Ian Jukes
and Ted McCain it is stated that education suffers from the classic case of TTWWADI (That’s The Way We’ve Always Done It). I think it goes beyond embracing the
thought of doing something because that’s the way it has always been done. We all want what is best for our children. We have also had some degree of education and the experiences of life’s journey. Package all this together with the experiences and exposures that each
individual thinks are best for their child, opinions can vary greatly, especially when it comes to education. Obviously we all want students to learn the 3Rs but, as I concluded based on the range of opinions concerning
our middle school day proposal, the expectations of what schools are to provide varies greatly among families. Due to the fear of facing the inevitable conflict of
change, schools can become paralyzed. We might be tempted to ignore best practices, new curriculum initiatives, our professional experience, and accountability in order to maintain the status quo. In the end, children continue to receive a good education but it leaves
the lingering question of whether it
could be better.
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I am proud that District 47 had the courage to review a 15-20 year old middle
school model to see if there was a better way to promote student learning. I am proud of our Board of Education for listening to
the community and directing our administration to make changes to the original encore subject proposal so that students
would continue to leave District
47 balanced and well rounded. I’m proud of our administration, when asked by our Board after nreceiving public input, for
thinking outside the box and developing a middle school day
that meets the needs of ALL students. I’m
proud of our staff for the passion and
commitment they have for children and for stepping up to the plate to insure a
successful implementation of our new schedule. And I’m proud of the community. You have once again proven that
education is valued within District 47. You may or may not believe that our new
middle school day schedule meets the litmus test of what type of educational experience is best for your child, however, your input has helped develop a middle school day program that will provide EVERY student a quality, well-rounded education that will serve them
well in high school and beyond.
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