Preparing Our Students for Their Post-secondary World

This morning, I was discussing an article that I recently reviewed in my blog with a wonderful middle school principal who cares dearly for her students, and cares deeply about how those students are taught and prepared for their next level of education in high school.

As we discussed in the article on Google Hiring Practices (see the previous blog entry), we began to discuss the value of having experienced versus inexperienced teachers and what each brings to the table.  I told her of my own experience with new schools that opened in the early 2000s with strong visions, but with young staff members who bought into the vision completely.  We found that it is much easier to get younger educators to look at a 21st century educational model and willingly adopt it, but if left without the support of experienced team members, the most passionate person cannot succeed in the field of educating young people.  So, our learning was that a balanced approach to teaching and learning is necessary with a staff that is experienced enough to know best practices and protocols for the age of the students being taught; and a young enough staff to be willing to accept new ideas and visions that differ greatly from the traditional educational model of secondary education in this country.

While the conversation was interesting, it suddenly took another turn that requires some thought and consideration by educators.  Both of us have experienced for many years that by the time many students enter high school, they have given up on their opportunity for success (high school graduation).  Many students have literally learned to see themselves as failures and incapable of learning.  What a dangerous learning experience these students have received in the nine years that they have been attending school.  If you do not believe in yourself, or feel that you are capable of learning, then your chances of finding success in high school will be minimal.  We often speak of the need to be sure that our students learn to persevere and to be resilient.   Instead of learning these important personal lessons that can lead to success, these students have learned failure and once they learn the feeling of failure, they find that it is reinforced over and over again. (Right now I can hear some defensive educators saying, why blame us for students who feel this way?  Don't their parents play a role in causing this sense of insecurity within their children?  Of course, this is true, but we cannot control what goes on in the family dynamics, we only have control of the educational process and the time they spend in school.  So, it is my belief that we have plenty to think about as teachers to help students to be resilient and strong individuals.  We may be the only good chance some students have for finding success.)

So, the question becomes, what can we do to reinforce success for students in school, beginning in pre-school, so that we do not create generations of students who feel incapable of academic success.  (Unfortunately, it has been my experience that students who feel unsuccessful in school K-8th grade, translate that feeling of failure to many aspects of their lives, including the kinds of people they befriend, the types of workforce positions they feel qualified to reach, and the inability to do higher level thinking in any area of their life).  Do we lower our standards to make kids successful?  Do we give every student a graduation experience whether they earned it or not?  What actions should educators take to help all students matriculate through school in a positive way?

We know that when we give students anything without real effort being involved, they know that the value of the gift has less meaning.  We cannot give kids A grades, or diplomas if they have not earned them.  Students know when a positive comment or response is fake or real.  It feels real when they have put out effort and earned the praise or recognition.  Lowering standards will not change the way students see themselves.  Building meaningful and honest relationships with adults in their educational life can make a major difference.  Honest adults can share constructive criticism that is useful much more satisfactorily than if the feedback a student receives from a teacher is only a poor grade on a paper or test.  Real feedback is one of the most significant learning experiences for anyone, we need to provide it to our students in a way that allows them to learn and grow.

Almost every job or career in our nation is built on relationships.  Students who are successful are usually much better at interacting with their peers and with adults of consequence in their life.  They tend to be more successful at interacting with people they do not know very well.  This ability, however, comes from confidence that they believe "I am an important and valuable person".  So, they role of the teacher is to work with every student to help them gain knowledge of themselves and to trust they can be and will be valuable members of our society.  These students will be better prepared to enter high school, and successfully meet the post-secondary options that will be available to them in years to come. 

The structure of a school tells us a lot about what is most important in the mind of the school leaders.  If information and test results are all that education is about, it will show by making report card grades and test scores the most valued areas of education discussed with students.  The success of students in both of these areas have more to do with effort, resiliency, and perseverance than in how smart they are.  Schools should not be about producing smart kids, but rather about producing educated kids who are personally prepared to meet the challenges in our society.