| Last night, while attending a high school graduation, | | | | rapidly (and glaring at families who dared cheer |
| I saw something that must surely exemplify one | | | | longer than .05 seconds), the reader would have |
| of the major problems in public education. An | | | | read-and-paused, read-and-paused. Not only would |
| administrator followed protocol with no adaptation | | | | the bottleneck have never been created, parents |
| for individual settings. This mantra is precisely why | | | | would also be able to cheer a bit without drowning |
| our public education system is struggling so hard | | | | out the next student's name. And we wouldn't |
| to meet the needs of our children today. | | | | have had twenty kids milling around, waiting for |
| The situation was this: as typical in most | | | | their photo (and you should have seen what |
| graduations, a line of students waited to receive | | | | happened when the photographer needed new |
| their diplomas (or mock-diplomas). The student's | | | | film!) |
| name was called, the family cheered, and then | | | | As I said, this problem is indicitive of the public |
| the student walked over, shook hands with the | | | | education system today. While there are some |
| principal, hugged or shook hands with another | | | | excellent educators in the field today - and I have |
| teacher/administrator or two, then paused to | | | | been fortunate enough to have been in several of |
| have their picture taken. The system seemed | | | | those classrooms - there are also some who |
| perfect at first; the names were read quickly and | | | | follow the line exactly and refuse to adjust |
| in most cases clearly, and the students proceeded | | | | despite the needs of the individual children. They |
| rapidly through the gauntlet of adults. The problem | | | | refuse to adjust, to make changes, or to think |
| came, however, when the reached the | | | | for themselves. Others might be more like the |
| photographer. Each student had to stand, smile, | | | | group of administrators who sat behind the |
| and wait for the fateful click. This took longer | | | | reader and just be too lazy (or frightened of |
| than it took to read each name, and so a line | | | | change?) to make the suggestion. |
| formed very quickly between the name-reading | | | | Let me say again - there are many excellent |
| and the photo-snapping. Yet the despite the fact | | | | teachers out there who sincerely care about their |
| that several folks were cycled in to read names, | | | | students and who are willing to change things up |
| none corrected for this problem, and so the | | | | to benefit the members of their classroom. But |
| bottleneck grew. Finally, a reader would stop calling | | | | there are also many who fall into the system and |
| names, and everyone would wait for a few | | | | let it engulf their entire way of teaching, who |
| minutes as the bottleneck dispersed. Thus, each | | | | refuse to adapt and adjust. The bottlenecks |
| reader followed the exact procedure given to | | | | these people create will result in far worse than |
| them. | | | | long silences at graduation. |
| But how difficult would it be to make an | | | | They will result in silences in the minds of the |
| adjustment? Rather than spitting out the names | | | | graduates. |