Author: Ryan@educationandfaith.com

Schools Worshiping the Idol

Ryan@educationandfaith.com
A Timely Rant on Standardized Testing:

IDOL: Any person or thing regarded with blind admiration, adoration, or devotion.
“Whatever controls us is our lord. The person who seeks power is controlled by power. The person who seeks acceptance is controlled by acceptance. We do not control ourselves. We are controlled by the lord of our lives.”


The idol gains power and control through building fear in the worshiper. I can tell you through communication with many teachers and administrators, there is a real fear of the ramifications of this test. The result being much teaching to the test and administrators spending endless hours preparing teachers and students for them through tutorials and practice.


So what is controlling our education system? It’s not the local administrators, certainly not the teachers, unfortunately not the communities.
It’s Standardized Testing. Noam Chomsky suggests that it has caused all involved to “achieve a rank.” Districts want an “Excellent” report card, teachers want an “accomplished” status, students want the “advanced” label.  


Are schools the place to have people working toward a rank? I believe this is the reason so many young people walk out of their education into the “real-world” with insecurity and confusion. Students don’t spend their time in our schools discovering themselves and their world through authentic interactions. They spend their time memorizing content specific skills that move them closer to a meaningless rank.


If you are working for the purpose of achieving a rank or title then you are actually moving away from that goal.


Seeing this disease in our schools, Seth Godin explains the following result:
Let me be really clear: Great teachers are really wonderful. They change lives. We need them. The problem is that most schools don’t like great teachers. They’re organized to stamp them out, bore them, bureaucratize them, and make them average.


The tests are limiting a child’s education by restraining the teachers instruction to a strict list of skills and items.
It limits us by causing each person involved to work in a selfish manner, pinning each cog against the one’s around him/her.
Some might say that competition is healthy and motivating, but not when it causes one to undermine the system for personal gain.


The bottom line is that the purpose of the standardized tests are not to move teaching and learning forward. The purpose is for big business to feed off of our children while providing government an increased control of its education factory.


What if assessment looked like this:
The teacher and student collaboratively create a narrative for that pupil displaying their exploration of their unique abilities, their growth in specific content skills, areas of mastery, and areas of needed improvement.
I’m pretty sure we could do this with the hours students are spending currently on testing.

Although the state probably wouldn’t like this, as they prefer subjects that are easily measurable and comparable (precisely the opposite of human nature).

So “Assess for Growth with Patience and Persistence” (a previous post).

Ryan Hershey see my blog at
www.faithandeducationcollide.blogspot.com

Regaining Purpose

Ryan@educationandfaith.com
The longer something has been around, the easier it becomes for it to waver from its original purpose. Two of the oldest institutions are church and school, causing susceptibility to wayward paths.
Because I’m not attempting to write an entire book, I’ll summarize and generalize the original purpose and agenda of both the church and school as this:
Churches and schools exist to promote healthy and productive lives for earthly citizens.
I understand that any statement like this (a severe generalization) is flawed and highly debatable but I’m hoping you don’t completely disagree with the descriptors of “healthy” and “productive”.
·      Healthy: socially/culturally aware, empathetic, realistic perspective of self
·      Productive: engaged, collaborative, nonjudgmental, creative
If you don’t agree with any of that, we can at least agree that a nap is now in order. We are both exhausted after putting enormous ideas like that into a tiny pinhole.
I think part of the reason that was so exhausting is because church and school has become so many things other than the original agenda.
For an example we’ll look at Hugh Halter’s view of religion:
“The most disorienting factor that keeps people from seeing God clearly is religion: empty ritual, overbearing rules, hypocritical judgment of others, rhetoric without reality, worship without good works, and exploitation of people under the guise of faith.”
(From his book Flesh: Bringing the Incarnation Down to Earth, Learning to be Human Like Jesus.)
Similarly I’d like to make a parallel statement about education:
The most disorienting factor that keeps people from seeing education clearly is traditional schooling: labeling students, standardized tests, scripted lessons, devaluing the arts, data analysis, and exploitation of people under the guise of school.
Sadly, the original purpose has become untraceable among the muddle of the current characteristics, to the point where the institutions have become a hindrance and damaging to the health and productivity of people.
I believe a major way church and school got off track was due to the deconstruction of community. It has become more about the corporation and less about the people. Why do people have negative perceptions of Christianity and public schooling? I think many people  have been hurt by their judgments. No human should ever be given the perception that the core of their created being is wrong or unacceptable.

How do we get our community back? Accept everyone and judge no one. Community brings a unique individuality that no ritual or test could replicate. It allows the authentic navigation of life with openness and honesty, rewarding health and productivity to all lives involved.
   John Legend “True Colors”

Ryan Hershey see my blog at
www.faithandeducationcollide.blogspot.com

How to Avoid a Shallow Education? BE FULLY HUMAN!

Ryan@educationandfaith.com
When my son was four he had an obsession with robots. As I thought about it more and the more I learned about robots through his inquiry, I found that I too was compelled by robots. The idea of having complete control over the output of a subject is deeply desirable. The process of achievement becomes quite simple. I input instruction/information appropriately and “BAM!” the desired output is displayed.
But, as a teacher and parent; Healthy, productive learning CAN NOT be a robotic process!  If it did turn into that, the result would be…as my son would say in his best robotic voice, “MALFUNCTION! MALFUNCTION!” Test-driven, boxed/scripted curriculum aims to remove all variables from the learning process, including human interaction. In teachable/learning moments, holding tight to our humanity might be the most important aspect for growth. The inability of students to relate, interact, and reflect with those around them severely inhibits their ability to grow and successfully function in a human society.

What Makes Us Human?

 

Imperfections, unpredictability, vulnerability, emotions, uniqueness, etc. In a time where it has become a difficult task to connect with the young generation, we must cherish our humanity, using these human-specific characteristics to engage and connect with our children. A classroom where the teacher is always right and preoccupied with the information would be far from an environment conducive to learning.
Which classroom would create the best learning environment?

 

  •        Teacher knows all and is always right.
  •         Teacher is preoccupied with information and content.
  •        Students are isolated and judged based on head-knowledge, encouraging a fixed-mindset.

 

  •        Teacher presence is felt through interaction.
  •         Everyone sees growth opportunity with those around them and thrives relationally.
  •         Individuals accurately self-reflect and embody a growth-mindset.
  
The most frustrating encounters I’ve had with students is when he/she is blinded from the possibility to look around themselves and learn from their available resources. At some point in a child’s development he/she reaches a stage where they rule anything less than perfection as failure. I believe this may be a learned attribute from adult models putting on a façade of holiness instead of cherishing our humanity and uniqueness.

We Are Designed to Connect Relationally

It’s a loaded concept to consider that our Creator has made us in His image, reflecting his nature (Gen. 1:26-27). An article in Relevant Magazine explains this quite clearly. There are two sidenotes in the article that sum it up well.
1.     “The very essence of God is relational, and that essential quality has been imprinted on us.”
2.     “To be fully human is to fully reflect God’s creative, spiritual, intelligent, communicative, relational, moral and purposeful capacities.”
The most pleasing thing and his deepest desire is to maintain a personal relationship with His children. For some reason with both education and faith we like to attempt to take the humanity out of the equation. We try to construct empty religious rituals and standardized tests so that we can clearly measure and judge performance. This works against our nature and therefore stalls growth and development.

Dive Into the Deep End

Hugh Halter in his book Flesh: Bringing the Incarnation Down to Earth says this, “If you want a safe faith, you will never really know God because He does not hang out in the shallow end much.” I want my classroom to be known as the deep end, where everyone invests and commits to not only their own learning experience but to the whole community sharing the waters. I think education would be much more powerful if we dive in as a learning community, valuing and respecting those around us, relying on one another. Individualized education does not equate to isolation. We learn a lot more about ourselves when we experience learning with others.
If our purpose is to prepare students for life then I believe connecting and empathizing with the perspectives of others is more important than holding an abundance of information.
Peace in exploring the deep waters.

Flesh: Bringing the Incarnation Down to Earth by Hugh Halter

Assess for Growth: With Patience and Persistence

Ryan@educationandfaith.com

First task: Let’s bury the negative feelings we’ve learned to have toward the word “assessment,” although we do have a right to feel this way because our human nature often marries judgment with assessment. If we keep the purpose of assessment to solely spur growth and development, then it should be something we’re drawn to instead of fleeing from.

KNOW YOUR STUDENTS

Because God is so intimately in tune with our heart and desires he constructs tests in our life that perfectly align with our current capabilities. Never has He given a challenge for the purpose of judgment but for reflection and development. 1 Corinthians 10:13 tells us, “God keeps his promise, and he will not allow you to be tested beyond your power to remain firm; at the time you are put to the test, he will give you the strength to endure it, and so provide you with a way out.” We too must know our children and be able to supply the appropriate resources and preparation that promise progress for the individual.
To build purposeful assessments and evaluation tools, we must first provide abundant opportunities for observation and reflection. This then allows us to provide challenges or assignments that match the child’s capabilities and offer avenues for deep growth.
Look at God’s response as Adam and Eve colossally bombed the most important test in the history of mankind. God came close to Adam and Eve, reflected together with them in order to reveal their level of understanding (or misunderstanding in this case). He then adjusted the course ahead to produce further opportunities for development.
Note: The test that initially brought sin into the world may have a different set of ramifications than those found in classroom assessments.
background image courtesy of
https://www.flickr.com/photos/myshaislamphotographycom/5949070873/

RESPOND WITH PATIENCE

“Or do you think lightly of the riches of His kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentence?” Rom. 2:4
A teacher’s or parent’s kindness and patience leads to development. This isn’t alluding to being soft and care-free, I think it is referring to the persistent opportunities for development we should be offering our children. Intently observing skills and behaviors and then continue to present challenging chances for their growth.
Attaching consequences to the results of an evaluation only stall development. We must provide alternative instruction, modeling, discussion, reflection, whatever it takes to achieve progress. And I proudly proclaim that many of my son’s developments in character have come because his parents have diligently applied the trial and error approach. I just know that breakthroughs are witnessed because of persistence, patience, and actively engaging the child in learning opportunities. Anytime we concede and accept a deficiency without exhausting every resource, we’re failing a child’s future.     
I hope my students can count on me for patience and persistence because I know I’d be lost and sunken if not for the patience God’s afforded me. Hugh Halter describes it as this, “He understood all the barriers and dilemmas and difficulties they would face in finding Him. He was amazingly understanding of their stories and knew that each person was in a process.”

BUILDING ASSESSMENTS FOR GROWTH NOT JUDGEMENT

 Progressive educational leader Will Richardson said, “Little about learning is quantifiable. We need to see learning rather than measure it.”

The skill or behavior shouldn’t be the end goal. The ability to utilize those tools to create something should be the purpose. Whatever the subject matter may be, it is much better when considered a tool rather than a goal.
How we observe and evaluate understanding needs to be done differently in this era. A regurgitation of information is about as useful as anything that has physically been regurgitated. In the book The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time, the narrator is a teenage boy with autism who has a way of stating things frankly. He says this about intelligence, “Being clever was when you looked at how things were and used the evidence to work out something new.” So why are our students not asked to display their learning through creation? I believe we shy away from these higher order thinking skills because it becomes more difficult to measure this type of work.
Daniel Pink in his book Drive tells about the common “mismatch between what people must do and what people can do. When what they must do exceeds their capabilities, the result is anxiety. When what they must do falls short of their capabilities, the result is boredom.” I’ve witnessed student anxiety and worry due to standardized tests and unfortunately I’ve caused student boredom by giving rote tasks instead of authentic challenges. 
Lack of patience is the main reason why I don’t consider fishing a prized hobby of mine (worms and fins have also contributed to this). Though I think there are many similarities between successful fishermen and productive assessors. They are observant, persistent, and definitely patient. 
Observe, reflect, and KEEP CASTING!
Peace in the process.
Ryan Hershey see my blog at
www.faithandeducationcollide.blogspot.com

A Lesson for Educational Leadership

Ryan@educationandfaith.com
Another Biblical Parallel to the World of Education
Most books have the ability to awaken one’s imagination. The Bible, through God, has the ability to awaken one’s reality on a completely different level. I’ve once again sensed this power, as God has uniquely given me a parallel in the Old Testament, in the man of Nehemiah. 
Like Nehemiah in his quest to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem, I’m journeying to find the optimal approach to education. I plan to start in the same way as Nehemiah, with a purpose and a passion.
Much of Nehemiah’s example can be applied to chasing a goal of any kind, but I’ll specifically apply it in terms of educational leadership.

Purpose and Passion
Nehemiah was so concerned about the broken down Jerusalem walls that he “mourned and fasted and prayed”. He was deeply concerned that without these walls his people would lose their God-given identity, purpose and hope.
This divinely aligns with the burden I feel for the kids in today’s schools. Based on your personal experience, you can determine for yourself the state of the figurative walls of our educational system. But I must believe they’re at the very least vulnerable; and at their very worst, crumbled ruins. As long as the protection, support, and encouragement of these walls are absent, so too are a child’s God-given identity, purpose and hope missing.
So, what did Nehemiah do with his load of passion? Knowing the only way to reach entire restoration, Nehemiah began to fervently pray, confessing and repenting. The result was that when the door was open for action, he was more than prepared, knowing exactly what needed to happen. It’s almost comical the laundry list of requests Nehemiah makes to the king. Not surprisingly, the king grants them without hesitation (Nehemiah 2:4-9).
This example of thorough reflection and preparation is what schools need on every level. Legislators, administrators, and teachers are so quick to act on what’s perceived to be a quick fix or a step in the right direction. See Common Core State Standards, the most recent teacher evaluation systems, schools’ approach to intervention, and the list goes on.
-Reflect Constantly- 

Common Vision
Nehemiah was continuously working hard to maintain a common vision amongst every individual involved, no matter leader or laborer. He always gave each person support from the whole and reminded them of the purpose! Nehemiah had to fight hard to eliminate all traces of personal greed in the project. He recognized that the task God had assigned was far too important to allow distractions to interfere with its work.
            The sense of community and maintaining a common vision is possibly the most important concept to the education system, but it’s also the most difficult to achieve. The vision varies in every state, district, school building, and down to every classroom. We must be reminded of the purpose and eliminate greed and distractions that prevent the possibilities of the purpose.
            This reminds me of a quote from The Alchemist. “A shepherd may like to travel, but he should never forget about his sheep.” In its current state, educational leadership is enamored with trending methods or the latest popular resources. I’m afraid we’re forgetting the children.

Ryan Hershey see my blog at
www.faithandeducationcollide.blogspot.com

Our School’s Product: Serviceable or Dynamic?

Ryan@educationandfaith.com

Image licensed under Creative Commons by David Poole http://www.flickr.com/photos/dipster1/1403240351/sizes/l/
       

The students the public school system develops could be described as an abandoned toolbox. The ability of the tools all depends on the person using them. For the tools to create something dynamic and unique, they rely on someone to tell them what to do. Our system is creating a generation of stuffed toolboxes just waiting for a designer, a carpenter, anyone that can tell them what to do. 

Each tool strategically and individually processed for the purpose of one job. Resulting in an overwhelming amount of potential when found in the same toolbox as many varying tools! Tragically there is no ownership of this set of tools (skills or talents). These tools are starving for interaction with each other, looking for opportunities to explore, create, construct, and experiment.
Only, much time is spent improving and evaluating an already adequate tool. Instead of utilizing school to show what capabilities a toolbox allows for, when paired with the special talents of a unique individual.
Measurable goals produce predictable measurable results. In this case the result or outcome produced from the public education system, is a serviceable person. SERVICEABLE. Is that how we would want our children to be described?
They’ve learned what to think instead of how to think. They’ve admirably developed their skillset but have no clue how these can be used together to produce something authentic.
The measureable standards and skills are important but should not be our priority. I’m going to attempt to teach in a way that engages the way students are made to learn.
I’ve been reading  a novel that could probably also be found in the self-help section. I love those types of books! It is flooded with powerful themes of producing results through perspective and decision-making. In The Noticer Returns, the character with great perspective suggests that an end result must first be agreed upon. This drives the process. Every decision and activity must drive us closer to that end result.
Unfortunately, the end result agreed upon by the educational system is mastery of isolated skills on a standardized assessment. This drives the process everyday in every classroom.  
In the book by Andy Andrews, a small group of parents identify traits and characteristics that they would desire for their children.
Some were:
To be divinely guided, to have a grateful spirit, to have a joyful spirit, to be loyal, responsible, humble, to be a creative thinker, to have a servant’s heart (p.91).
The list went on with about a total of twenty characteristics. And the point is, none of them are very measurable, concrete traits. And surely none of them are listed in the state or national standards for the classroom.
How would our results change, if we put these types of abilities and traits as our priority and the needed measurable skills and objectives were still developed with intent but now served a supporting role. This would allow our children’s lives to result in dynamic, creative accomplishments according to their uniqueness.
What great contrast between the ideas of a “dynamic” individual and a “serviceable” person. Lets agree on what we desire for an end result so that our process and decisions can align with that. Great conversation to have for every school, community and household!
What do you want your child’s school to produce?

Ryan Hershey see my blog at
www.faithandeducationcollide.blogspot.com

When Schools… DIRECT TV style

Ryan@educationandfaith.com

While the Direct TV commercials may be obnoxious, they are great examples of cause and effect, in showing how one small decision can snowball into something much greater.
I help with my church’s youth group, and the youth pastor used these commercials to spark student interest in his message about using our God-given abilities and passions. (Thanks David Trainer!) This cause and effect concept can be applied to so many areas!
Here are the commercials:

And as you would guess, this method can be applied to schooling.
Ready for some examples…
When big business feeds on k-12 education, it becomes all about the money. 
When it becomes all about the money, they make standardized tests and common core standards.
When they make standardized tests and common core standards, we’re no longer acting in the best interest of the children.
When we don’t act in the best interest of the children, the kids don’t feel valued or cared for.
When kids don’t feel valued or cared for they devalue their self-worth.
When our boys and girls devalue their self-worth…(FILL IN THE BLANK). 
We all have witnessed the consequences dealt to a young innocent generation. Unlike the commercials, these extreme effects are our reality.
I’m not blaming big business, because frankly, you could replace big business with a number of factors that have taken the focus of main stream education away from the children. Whatever point you start with in the public education process, at some point it becomes a selfish system, deflecting the love and care away from the students. 

What if…

When every individual involved invests in the wellness of the child first, the child views his life as valuable and purposeful to others.
When a child views his life as valuable and purposeful to others, he cherishes himself as a unique creation.
When he cherishes himself as a unique creation, he desires to inquire and explore his God-given abilities and passions.
When he desires to inquire and explore his God-given abilities and passions, he lives unselfishly with great motivation and vitality.
When he lives unselfishly with great motivation and vitality, he can be powerfully used by God to bring light to the world!
-I’m aware there are many missing pieces in these scenarios, but the bottom line is; There is a big difference in the results of an unselfish community compared to those groomed by the selfish system.     
Joy in the unselfishness
Ryan Hershey see my blog at
www.faithandeducationcollide.blogspot.com

Does Production Match the Purpose? The Food and Education Industries

Ryan@educationandfaith.com

Too Close to See the Problem?

A person residing and working in a smog-filled city, probably doesn’t recognize the danger and harm being inhaled daily from his polluted surroundings. He is so deeply entrenched that there is no opportunity for perspective within the conditions. He doesn’t gain true reflection and perspective until he spends a long weekend at his countryside cottage amidst the pure, clean surroundings, infused with a natural floral fragrance.
After participating in parent-teacher conferences, contributing and listening to the concerns and priorities of all involved, I can’t help but think that the entire system is covered in pollution. We were obviously consumed by the educational smog as words like, “test scores, data, and common core standards” were repeatedly hacked from our mouths. The dialogue was clouded with the theme of WHAT students are thinking and learning. As we continue to sit in the fog we no longer notice the flaws in our purpose for teaching and learning.
Over at the countryside cottage, free from the suffocation, we consider the best methods for teaching children HOW to think and HOW to apply.

Education and Food: My two favorite things (when done right)!

I think there is a legitimate analogy to be made between our culture’s food industry and our process of education. (This idea has quite possibly resulted from me watching too many food documentaries).
            In both cases the healthy, organic alternative is an option, though this path is distant and often obstructed. While mass production and sheer numbers can be appropriate objectives, I’m not so sure we want that driving these vital areas of our lives.
In order to eat smart and healthy, a

consumer must be resourceful, committed and informed. I would say the same attributes are important when consuming an education. What do you value as an educational consumer? I’m concerned that our children are becoming obese on a hunger for extrinsic motivators, chasing a number, and competition.

Let me introduce you to an educator’s pesticides and hormones. Things like “data-driven instruction” and “adequate yearly progress” have disconnected the relationship between teacher and student,  just as the industrial farming processes are unnatural and inorganic.
We can earnestly evaluate food or education by asking the following questions:
Are these products being made in a selfish manner, or is the process pure, genuine and selfless? Does the producer cherish the wellness of the consumer?
God uses Paul and Jesus to express His strong feelings about selfish teachers. Paul in           1 Timothy 3-11, and Jesus in Matthew 23 both condemn these teachers that exert self-interest and base their instruction on measurable outcomes.

A School of Vitality: More than academics

Ryan@educationandfaith.com
Based on his Tedtalk, Andrew Solomon said “the opposite of depression is not happiness, but vitality, and it was vitality that seemed to seep away from me in that moment.” Solomon also points out that depression is the world’s leading disability.
These points caused me to consider two main things:
1.                    To what degree can our schooling environment and experience impact a person’s mental/social/emotional state? Is it a positive or negative influence?
2.                    How is vitality defined? Can we create learning environments that boost this characteristic?
While my medical knowledge only goes as far as WebMD, I can tell by the statistics that we do not have depression figured out. So I think it’s fair to discuss and even speculate how school, just one facet of a child’s life, is influencing the well being of these children at their fragile age. Oh, by the way, I’m talking about “well being” beyond simply academics. School has become so much about scores and academic growth that arguably the most important component is being left outside the walls of these supposed “learning communities”.
John Dewey, known for his educational reforming mind, wrote that education is the fundamental method of social progress and reform. How disappointed would he be to know that the public school system has become so hungry for a higher numerical mark that strategies today could be described as a divide and conquer tactic to increase each individual score. While this may work for what is being measured, all of the isolation and testing is harmful to everything that isn’t being measured. Since we’re really only measuring one thing these days, that’s suggesting a lot of harm!
I guess what I need to know is, what does vitality look like? I can surely describe what it doesn’t look like: worksheets, rote memorization, rows of desks, silence, “don’t forget this is for a grade”, and the list goes on.
Vitality however carries a culture of complexity. Each child is considered valuable to the social, emotional, mental, and yes even academic progress of every member of the community. Students are intrinsically motivated because their time is spent on authentic projects that relate to their current life and the world around them. The relational interactions are supportive, encouraging and even fun because we need each other to become better. Development and growth are found here due to productive collaborations and luminous reflections. Each contributes to and benefits from the community. I must infer that vitality aligns with a healthy and safe culture as well. This prepares kids with tools for living their lives today, which naturally will provide skills for the future.
In contrast, the creative George Lucas noticed, “Traditional education can be extremely isolating…many schools operate as if they were separate from their communities.”  
Lastly, I have a hard time thinking of vitality without encountering the concept of purpose. Rick Warren, in The Purpose-Driven Life writes, “Without a clear purpose…you will tend to make choices based on circumstances, pressures, and your mood at that moment. People who don’t know their purpose try to do too much – and that causes stress, fatigue, and conflict.”
It’s alarming how perfectly Warren has described today’s mainstream education.
We can probably apply this depression-vitality spectrum to many facets of our lives.
Let’s increase our vitality by making genuine connections for an appropriate purpose! I would also include the Author of Life as an essential for consistent vitality.

Joy in the journey.

The School and the Student: Who’s Serving Whom?

Ryan@educationandfaith.com
The apostle Paul tells of his approach to ministry in 1 Corinthians 9:19-23. The Message translation describes it as, “I kept my bearings in Christ – but I entered their world and tried to experience things from their point of view. I’ve become just about every sort of servant there is in my attempts to lead those I meet into a God-saved life.”
In order to communicate with and develop individual lives in a variety of cultures and communities, Paul went into their world and acted as a servant. What if our schools embodied these same attributes? Who is serving whom here? The schools today have not taken the time to experience the educational system through the eyes of the children. No set of standards or boxed curriculum can produce the learning that meets the needs of the kids’ futures. Especially when they are driven by uniform tests. It’s not productive to only know the needs, concerns, and interests of the students. We must come along side and live through their passions with them.
Not only do we need to implement this approach but we need to detox students from the definition of “learning” that school has branded them with. One of my fellow teachers, who is actively giving his students the opportunity to explore their interests and talents, tweeted this; “Freedom is the hardest part for the students to grasp.” Of course this generation of students lack a motivation and passion for learning because we’ve pushed our flawed structure of teaching on them. Marketing experts will tell you that if you have to continually push the product on the consumer then the product is broken. Federal and state legislatures continue to push a design of college readiness and rigor. Don’t get me wrong, these have their place, but above all, the child must feel that we (teachers, parents, and peers) are learning right beside them due to the genuine care and love we have for them.

Despite major contradictions between my philosophy of teaching and learning and those of the traditional school, I’m hopeful for an opportunity for educational reform.
A friend recently asked, where I was with my blogging and my search for ideal education.  I think the following works as an evaluation tool of my progress.
Seth Godin has said that a successful leader (and I think educators) can be compared to a good hockey player. They both require three main qualities: They must know what to do, have the resources to do it, and care enough to get hit.
At this point I feel comfortable saying that I possess two of these.
1.     I definitely care enough to get hit!
2.      I know what to do. (How humble of me)
–        Thanks to God’s guidance and the research of many smarter than me, I think I have an understanding of the critical components needed for an ideal place of learning.
I’m always searching for resources to make this happen. That means taking in everything fellow educators, parents, experienced administrators, and most importantly children can offer.
Joy in serving students.
Ryan Hershey see my blog at
www.faithandeducationcollide.blogspot.com