Accountability - the Wicked Witch of Education

Standards, pacing, assessments, oh my!   Accountability is the wicked witch of education in that it has bullied its way into the walls of our institutions of learning and threatened to take away the joy of teaching.  While I am not foolish enough to think that accountability will go away, I am advocating for the death of accountability in so much as it has killed creativity in our classrooms. 
Ensuring that standards are “covered” will only result in success on lower level standardized, multiple-choice tests; whereas, teaching standards that are integrated or taught within an interdisciplinary unit of study allows for students to go deeper into the content, to recognize the relevance for what they are learning, and to attain higher levels of learning.  Teaching should include opportunities for project-based learning and inquiry while incorporating critical thinking skills and problem solving.  While there is a place for benchmark assessments and pacing guides, we must empower teachers to veer from the lock-step guides to integrate standards into units of study, projects, and/or research. These learning experiences hook our kids and increase the level of engagement. 

I believe there is great promise to accomplishing all of this and even more if we work in collegial teams.   Similar to the way Dorothy, Scarecrow, Tin Man, and Lion worked together in The Wizard of Oz, teachers can leverage expertise and share the workload when collaborative teams are established.    The profession of teaching has changed dramatically in the last several years and without a network of supportive individuals who share the same teaching philosophy, the work can be daunting. 
Once Dorothy and her team arrive at the Emerald City, they were disappointed to find the wizard was only a character brought to life by a man hiding behind a curtain, some smoke and cool lighting.  Disappointed?  Yes.  However, Tin Man, Scarecrow, and Lion find out that they had all they needed. I would argue that classroom teachers have the brains, the heart, and the courage to make magical things happen for students across the nation. 
Educators, this is a call to action.  Let’s set out to teach standards, assess performance, and monitor instruction in a way that fosters higher levels of learning.  Leaders, give teachers permission to do what they know is best and bring back the JOY of TEACHING! 
Listen to your students – ask them how they learn best as well as what engages them.  Then, put on those ruby slippers, close your eyes, and say, “There’s nothing like engagement!  There’s nothing like engagement!” 

Check out Working on the Work by Phil Schlechty for guidance on design qualities that can be integrated into lessons and/or units to promote student engagement. 

Comments

  1. UnknownNovember 30, 2010 at 5:24 AM

    Well said. As educators, we need to hear this very message over and over again. We are fortunate to have some of the highest quality educators working with our students in Forsyth County. Re-igniting their passion and "joy" of teaching is critical to allowing them to maximize the potential of every teaching opportunity every day. By setting them free to work their craft in and outside the box, our students are granted the platform to soar with limitless boundaries. From the top-down and all the way across, removing the obtacles that stifle the liberty to truly engage our learners is one more step to exposing the tremendous quality that is begging to shine.

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