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| Charlotte's reminder to herself a treasure I found inside her notebook at the end of a long day |
The words "education reform" many times sit side by side in the same sentence with these words:
scores
evaluation
standards
grades
curriculum
data
rankings
percentiles
punishments
rewards
top
bottom
best
worst
De-humanizing words.
Words that have the ability to cultivate cultures of anxiety, pressure, and that many times come with humiliating and debilitating consequences for teachers and children.
As educators, we must never forget that we are a human organization, a profession of beating hearts and working minds and hopeful futures. It is our job and our duty to re-humanize education, to cultivate and grow organizations that empower educators and the children in our care.
How can we do this?
We must...
1. Cultivate Relationships.
2. Cultivate Conversation, Collaboration, and Problem Solving.
3. Cultivate Mindset Shifts.
4. Cultivate Meaningful Work.
5. Cultivate Playfulness and Joy.
What must-haves for re-humanizing education would you add to the list?
Let's have conversations not about how to raise scores or be #1, but how to cultivate the minds and hearts of the humans in our care.
