No-brainer

 

*A word of caution before reading this very long one: I wrote this entry after being quiet for a long time about something that I passionately care about.  In case you need something more entertaining, light hearted and fun then please skip this one.  Plus in case you read on…don’t take it personal.  This is rather written for all of those who are screaming furiously on social media about long summer breaks, lazy teachers and graphics about educational downfall. Chances are very likely that this is not about you…but still I had to get my sincere opinion out in the open because I care very deeply about my profession and I refuse to give up to the haters and the ones who seem to think that education is just a walk in the park and that they are themselves not part of the solution to make it a better system for all.  Yeah…I am that one educational gladiator still standing up right in that gigantic ancient building in Rome believing that we can turn the odds around…

Over the last few years I have rather kept silent when people started to complain or very openly express their thoughts about education.  In some cases I had to get out of the room because my body was trying to tell me exactly what I do think and it is very hard to just stay quiet.  Believe me many of you are putting my mind to the test and I have an extremely challenging time to just keep smiling and keep breathing.  Now…because I do think that it is also a no brainer to at least use my blog space to express my thoughts I decided to sit down, take a deep breath and tell you what I do exactly think when it comes down to education…and please bear with me because it is not as straightforward as you might hope.  Most of you have already expressed ‘easy peasy’ and plastered it around everywhere…I did hear and read with great interest your outspoken options.  Rest assured…but now it is my turn…and just so that you know some of things you tell me or that I read I do take in consideration, give air time and reflect about.  I do but let me know have a go at what drives my mind when I read all the educational 'fuzz'.

A few weeks ago a coworker found out how passionate I am about what I do for a living (and for much more than that monthly pay check or those long summer breaks….yes..the breaks are a nice but they don't keep you going long term, please believen me)when the person started to express his/her honest opinion about the Belgian school system and how bad  we were are doing in international rankings .  That was all it took to throw the boomerang right back at the individual because I did wonder what exact point this individual was trying to get across surrounded by educators in a school building.  I interrupted the conversation and asked the person who exactly was responsible to change things around. The individual needed a few seconds to answer and then said:’The politicians…’. Inside I was already boiling due to the fact that this is most uninspired and cliché response.  Not a totally unexpected but still…it made me suddenly go a bit in overdrive.

So no, I did not agree with this person’s opinion but due to not wishing to turn my precious lunchtime into a fierce debate I did just let this response glide down my spine and went along with it.  Not that I did not try to point out that students need many things and not just a quick fix by a minister of education who never ever in his or her entire life has been inside a classroom or teacher lounge or headmaster’s office. At a certain point I was so outspoken to point out to I was not going to be one to come up with the right solution or at least not have the power  but that I at the same time did question people their ongoing rant with education.

Oh yes, there is so much globally going ‘wrong’ with schools and the schooling of the young minds that I do wonder if it is even worthwhile to still believe that children wish to be in a school.  I am dead serious. Almost daily I do wonder what many people out there actually expect schools to do? That a school is not the same spot than most of the grown ups experienced themselves is also a no-brainer but their demands are a bit over the top.  One day many of us are calling for a less long summer break for their children and the next time there is an article that when it comes down to educating the young minds about good citizenship there is a crucial role for the schools to play within this process.  Two days later on an educational forum are the less positive percentages printed about the level of comprehensive reading skills. It is a never ending debate and more and more it starts to annoy me! (Remember that I did state a few entries ago that if I would come out to blog that I would not hold back anymore as much as I have been trying over the last three years...okay...)

Yeah…students need teachers in order to learn…or at least when it comes down to specific subjects and skills.  That is another no-brainer…simple and so that we therefore then need to hire teachers is also self evident.  Now being a teacher is not the same as being a student. That also seems a no-brainer but honestly I do think that the first statement is closer to being true than the second one.  Just one glance at the number of articles to be found in the national press about schools, the academic calendar, the profession itself, the curriculum, testing and ranking and you know what I mean.  So many find themselves spouting their personal and expert opinion on social media that you do wonder when these people get their day time job done. Deep breaths Stallie…you promised yourself that you would not turn this entry into a rant.  

The last decade it seems to go only further downhill with our education and many of us feel very opinionated about this.  As mentioned before each one of us have been at a certain point in their life inside a school, sitting at a desk and had to sit still, listen, write, read and study for exams.  Unfortunately there are still places in the world where education is still not a no-brainer.  In some spots in the world children never learn to read or write and in some countries education is considered a threat to the existence of specific regimes.  That we had to grant the Nobel prize to a teenager who put her life at risk to get to school is actually for me not a no-brainer.  


Honestly, if it would be easy peasy to turn things around, why already have we not done so?  There are plenty good and even world class examples of what we envision education to be like for our younger generations.  These individuals are after all the ones who will need to make a living and also will have to fill up the federal pension treasure…that is rather becoming a huge deficit according to the national press.  Youth is precious and if we don’t give them a sound foundation than it will be very hard to keep going strong…that is also a no-brainer. (Guess by now you have figured out there is a specific word that I will keep recycling…my sincere apologies in case you detest this word.  At the moment it also seem to be used quite often in the national press) Therefor education is crucial…we can agree on that…don’t we?  Okay…then I can proceed further.

It is not just education that needs a makeover…and here I could already rest my case. I could but then many of you would need some clarification on what I mean by that.  So let me spell it out for you…a total makeover is needed and it is going to hurt. No…it won’t be just the bandaid plaster that you are tearing off and hope that it will turn your skin red for half a day only. Nope…I am sorry this is going to be rather the pain that comes along with a root canal procedure at the dentist who makes a lot of money even if you have dental coverage. Do you get the picture? No…still not..okay let me clarify it a bit further especially for you who is getting lo

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Education is not just a school filled up with teachers, furniture and some books and modern technology. There is a whole system behind it and believe me or not, every single one if us is part of that system. Even if you don’t come close to a school anymore and don’t have children.  Each one of us has been educated and most of us are nowadays told that we are life long learners. I have already mentioned that one before and not going to spend anymore time on this part of the equation.  Nope…this entry is rather about the fact that we need to start to reevaluate what we wish that schools do for our children because honestly many of us don’t even seem to notice that anymore and just keep adding their personal wishes to the school menu and you know what?  It is not working…

Oh yes, you might now think that is because teachers just have issues with planning and reshaping the curriculum takes too long and needing to follow extra courses to keep on top of things or because they do not get enough funding to even just renovate their school building or buy up to date IT system or school platform or that we don’t attract not the ‘right’ group of people to study and train for this profession that is truly a calling if you intend to stay in there for the long run.  Yeah…that is why our educational system is going busted…oh wait it is not or only partly…believe me.

Now, before you think that I have a very easy time stating this because who knows Stallie personally knows that she works in educational hotspot that has got all that many schools do not have and just dream of.  Yeah, that is so true, and after now being a bit longer in that awesome building and on that great campus I more than ever start to realise that it is not only because there is a lack of many things in an average school that our level and quality of education is going down.  No…it is simpler and not even costing any money what we are lacking and is not an opinion that some of you will wish to hear. But after the last five years I am just going to get it out….someone needs to do.

Many of us are part of the problem (and therefor also of the solution°…honestly I am not kidding you…and many are not even aware of it.  It is one thing to demand things of schools, principals, educators, university professors and teaching colleges and the government and then just hope the magic will do its work when these kids are at school. More and more I seem to have the impression that society is forgotten that children also spend time outside school and that learning is also going on out there.  The brain doesn’t stop working once students back up their books and head for home. Duh, I am not an idiot, you might now think and rightly so but honestly one glance around me and I am so sorry there are is big number of people who does behave that way.  

It is simple where we are already messing up our educational system and that is by not practising what we preaching.  We all want more…more happiness…more freedom…more wealth…more quality time..more health coverage…more rights…more space to be 100% our pure selves without having to justify ourselves.  Living in the moment and that at full speed and believe me that is becoming an issue especially if many of us are not even able to follow the traffic regulations.  And so I am going to use something as straightforward (I know..I know that some of you will challenge me on calling these regulations straightforward but please just give the me break here for once…please…thank you) in order to illustrate what I am trying to tell you.

Yes…I am talking about these well known things such as traffic lights, stop signs and tons of other rules that we teachers mention about in school and most of us have had to do an extra exam about when we wanted to get behind a steering wheel.  Remember? I bet you do and you might even have been dragged to one of these traffic parks to ride your bicycle on or even have done an public cycling exam.  You nailed all that with flying colours.  But then suddenly something happens and that is that we seem to forget some the rules that we have studied and been told that it is important to follow.  ‘Retrieval practise seems very hard to come by these day.’, I told myself in the beginning, but now I think there is something else at work:

“‘That stop sign?  I just pretend that I have not seen it?’ , ‘I just ignore that big white line on the cycling path…I am priority when it comes down to traffic users.’ , ‘I let my children cycle behind me when we go out…because I am the fastest.’, ‘A huge big line in the middle road…not surpassing that slow bus in front of that rule does not apply to me’, ‘Oh the parking lot is full but I desperately need that blue t-shirt that is on sale and so I do park here and nobody will notice it.’, ‘Parking on the cycling path is something everybody can do if you need to stand in line for your Sunday breakfast at the local bakery’, ‘Oh yeah, I know that I need to cycle on the other side of the road but for once it won’t hurt.’, ‘I know that I should look first left then to the right and once more to the right when crossing the street, but the driver of that car coming will surely have spotted me before I turn my head.’, ‘I need to call my daughter while driving to the supermarket otherwise she will be upset with me. A handsfree kit? Are you kidding me that costs a fortune.’, ‘A red light for pedestrians…why care? I still can cross the street because no car in sight.’, ‘There is a cycling path but that is not as smooth as the road.’”

Get what I try to telling you?  Nope….come on…if you fail to transfer the learning from school into the real world, then any learning is becoming worthless. And that is my very strong opinion.  The transfer of skills outside in the real world is the final step in the learning process. It is the one thing that when I was in special education most of the time my students struggled with.  It was the ultimate step towards independent living and working.  These were the group of learners who had so many learning disabilities that it was hard for them to learn job skills and getting hired was in many cases a fight of the fittest.  And believe me, they envied those that are able to do this with ease and no struggles at all.

So when I now see so many people just failing at applying the learning of something that they have covered in traffic lessons in school and have been quizzed about more than once I do wonder big time.  If we start ignoring something that is most of the time rather straightforward and just pretend that these rules don’t apply to me and you then I do wonder where those educational demands come from.  Don’t get me wrong I do still agree that traffic education is vital but I am not sure why we still bother if many of us don’t put into practise what they have been studying.  Plus don’t forget that the young learners are with you out there and that they might be a bit perplexed as well that so many around them just do not what they are expected to do.  The learning by example, does that ring a bell?

Therefor I do for the moment have a very hard time with all these opinionated people who come up with specific demands and wishes when it comes down to the schooling of their children or grandchildren.  Please do not assume that schools can fix everything for you if you decide that you will constantly take time out from the learning.  Yes, reading bed  time stories, baking cakes together, talking at the dinner table, having fierce debates about current affaires, experimenting with dough and soap, reading signs, cycling in the park, going together to the public swimming pool and getting changed in a too small cubicle, naming vegetables in the local supermarket, ordering ice cream at the ice cream van outside the park,  walking through a city and just take the time to let everything sink in, listening to music and let them imitate it with the help of cooking utensils, throwing an empty drinking can in the right recycling bin,  playing chess and other board games,  speak a foreign language while your child is around and listen when he or she tries to repeat what you said,  counting the money from their piggy bank and finding out how many ice creams they can buy with that amount, getting the paint out and messing up paper and hands and even some clothing, taking them to a football match and cheering on (and cursing as well) their favourite team, going to the movies and paying extra for the 3D glasses, reading the washing labels of their clothes and loading the washing machine, going to museums to just stare in silence at paintings and sculptures, watching a TV- game show and playing along by trying to get the answers right, travelling to far away places in the world, reading menus in restaurants, buckling up in the car, ….

I can go on for hours what learning is going on when you have a child with you.  Yes, you might consider it this a natural process but believe me less and less I have impression that parents do some of these mentioned her above.  That reading skills are skydiving and maths skills seem harder and harder is not only the responsibility of a school. Undeniable it is a crucial step forward to higher thinking when learning is done in many settings.  There are children out there who without school even manage the cruel world but believe me that they would rather spend time in a school and be surrounded by responsible adults who set the right example.

Now, don’t start me on the fact that we then need more people who check up on us applying the the rules and learning. Or that our lives have become too hectic and that most of us have a very stressful day job.  Please don’t do that…you do know very deep down that there are moments that you just consider school the easy way out.  That teachers need to fix the world and make it happen for your child.  All your hopes and dreams you that you are projecting on your  beloved  child is something that schooling will make happen or at least that is what many seem to .  The miracle can happen between 8 and 5 and when they come home they need to do their homework and then we rest assure that their future will look bright. Well…I am very sorry that is not how this works…it never did…and it never will.  That is for me the no-brainer when it comes down to education for all.  Therefor making fierce demands of what you wish to change in a school, a curriculum, school policy, educational school books and pedagogy also then means that you take raising a child seriously and will give the right example and also are open to change yourself.  Plus also be honest about the responsibility you have towards your child when it comes down to learning.  

Schools are only a temporary heaven of knowledge and they are also not a guarantee that we all are going to be future Einsteins or successful brain surgeons.  it is rather the first place where we get to find out that life is tough and that unpredictability will rather be the norm than the exception. Even the smartest valedictorians find out that high school was rather a walk in the park compared to real thing they face once they graduate. After all, isn’t the proof  in eating the pudding and not just reading the recipe and weighing the ingredients and flowing the cooking instructions?

Yes, things need to be reformed with the aid of a serious minister of education (one who not only is thinking of the popular vote) and many schools need to be able to hire the people they need (and keeping them longer than a few semesters) and obtain the funds they need in order to grant any child in any place in this country and beyond the education it deserves. After observing all the traffic offences  I am convinced that we need more than ever children who will put their parents back on the right track.  Happy and healthy children, who are respectful and caring, have courage and are resilient and are curious to find out what there is out there for them in a world that is constantly changing.

What I really intend to say is that the cliché that it takes a village to raise a child is actually a fact.  It is team work and one that takes up a lot time and effort and in most cases you won't get paid for it. You can not just assume that there is a specific beginning and an end when it comes down to learning and that each one of us is key when it comes down to learning.  Learning you can’t expect to stick if we just keep pretending that schools will take care of that and once we graduate we can live on deserted islands…we need to keep each other’s mind sharp and expanding our horizons beyond the textbooks and the theories, grammar rules and formulas we have been learning in schools.  We have to be open minded, dare to think outside the box and dare to take a risk and give youngsters the benefit of the doubt without belittling them or assuming that we always know better…because believe when I checked last the cycling path next to our main road I can assure we still don’t master those skills.

Oh, and before I forget what we also don't aim for is a cheerful and cheeky tourist who is graving his name and the one of his beloved in one of the Colosseum walls and then states later in his sincerely heartfelt apology that he was not aware of the age of the building he just tattooed!   That is also a no-brainer or not?  Oh wait, what happened with the subject called history…downsized due the need of more time needed for something else?  Guess this whole entry is rather about no-brainers at work…

P.S.: That I did choose this specific picture to go along with this very long entry is not that straight forward but there is a message hidden in this one that is linked to the content of this entry.  I love the classics and I can still be blown away by the architecture, the art and all what these civilisations have left behind and on what we as human mankind were allowed to build further.  The mind is a very flexible thing and these fierce ladies surely demonstrate this…this building was build in 421 BC and these ladies are still going strong.  The same for the music I did pick out to go along with this one.