Reflecting upon a moral imperative

It can be said that to be Christian is to have an innate desire and motivation to bring forth social justice in the world.  Equity stems from a belief in sharing natural resources like food, water, energy and providing equal opportunities to learn.  For the past 200 years, public and private education have been the hallmark of our democracy continually carrying our society forward as we take on challenges of an evolving future.

Rick Wormeli, on Friday at Boylan High School, presented to educators gathered from across the Archdiocese of Rockford, a moral imperative of change in the educational system.  It is nothing less than the genesis of a more equitable, more thoughtful and more fair means to facilitate learning in the 21^st century classroom. 

The change that Wormeli advocated is a process.  It takes time and it takes sustained effort.  Leadership to bring about this change will rise from committed school administrators, teachers and students. This imperative for change stems from a belief that to be educated is to be viable in our society.  To be viable is to be knowledgeable and to have self-efficacy to take on challenges that arise through the course of events in our lives.  This comes down to preparing our children for a dynamic changing future.  Human ingenuity is the outcome that results from thoughtful and reasoned thinking. This is what educators strive to achieve in the classroom.  The ability of our kids to solve problems through logic, evidence-based reasoning and with a degree of creativity that can, at times, be outside accepted norms.

Albert Einstein once said, “We cannot solve our problems with the same level of thinking that created them.”  To make the changes needed in education is to move progressively toward a model of education where learning is primary and away from strict interpretations of grades given as compensation for student effort.

One key component of Wormeli’s presentation was the fact that as educators we can not achieve these needed outcomes unless we are willing to readdress the learning process in the classroom and be progressive in how we communicate, to parents, the ability of their child to carry forward what they have learned into their lives. The experience of the child in the classroom is about chasing learning not chasing grades.  Grades are not a form of compensation for our students, they are a means to communicate to parents a measure as to what their child has learned.  The education goal is 90 percent competency in what has been taught.  This also means that what has been taught is now carried forward by students in their thinking process. The focus by teachers needs to be directed upon teaching to accepted standards in education and then commit to documenting and advocating for evidence-based models of learning as part of the curriculum design in the classroom.

In science class we always talk about discovery being a process not an outcome.  Science is the continuation of learning that is unending. So too is education in general.  As educators we build upon "best practices" and we strive to solidly prepare our students for a future that continues to change along with the demands for knowledge and understanding to deal with it.  Wormeli thoughts open an avenue for change that I believe is a guide to bring forth progressive educational models in the classroom by keeping the focus upon doing right by the children that we teach.  This becomes the goal of educators to adapt learning to the needs of our students to be successful in a changing world. It is the moral thing to do!