JA Missives

2013

I have to wonder if any of you have been reading the news lately, or how many of you keep up with the latest in the popular world of education, research and parenting. There is always a lot to digest in that world; it is a runaway train of thoughts, and sometimes that pendulum shifting is pretty confusing. Perhaps you wonder what we think about the news out of Chinese schools, or what of the recent reflections on Singapore math, or what we do with all that research about study habits, handwriting, or creativity.

Some informal buzz from a mother returned from Chinese schools reminded us to consider that tests can actually offer children a chance to experience “desirable difficulty” -the chance to gather our thoughts in reflection, practice and perform, culling all that hard work, process, collaboration and skill building into a product. Quaker educators, with our work ethic and all, really like it when our kids reach desirable difficulty. But still, tests, as we know, are only one measure of a child’s capacity. We are clear in our commitment engage our kids in deep reflection and self-assessment; we evaluate and assess kids with a variety of tools, and we want our kids to be successful by any and all measures. So the counter argument, raised by another op-ed mom who has been keeping up in the news is one that resonates with us as well, “So distressed are the Chinese by the emphasis on testing that they have unabashedly resolved to aspire to education reforms that include more attention to creativity, encouraging students to attend to social action and a reduction of competitive tests.”

This then brings up that deeply researched Newsweek article, Creativity, by Po Bronson, author of another recent and well known book, Nurture Shock. He explains that, “Creativity has always been prized in American society, but it’s never really been understood,” and then offers some guidance, “The problems we face now, and in the future, simply demand that we do more than just hope for inspiration to strike. Fortunately, the science can help: we know the steps to lead that elusive muse right to our doors.” He continues, “As school stuffs more complex information into their heads, kids get overloaded, and creativity suffers. When creative children have a supportive teacher—someone tolerant of unconventional answers, occasional disruptions, or detours of curiosity—they tend to excel…creative people, for the most part, exhibit active moods and positive affect. They’re not particularly happy—contentment is a kind of complacency creative people rarely have. But they’re engaged, motivated, and open to the world.” Again, we educators love a good, balanced work ethic-and the tenacious students we are nurturing never settle for an easy answer. We also buy that other argument… that responsive, engaged teachers are the ingredient that brings good programs to life for children.

Our approach to all this incoming traffic, you might say, is balanced, generally. If the pendulum shifts, when it is at rest in equal measure, that might be the spot for us. Rather than the loudest voice being heard on a particular day, the wisdom of many voices always brings us closer to the light.

So there are a few things that will be unchanging. The tradition of a thoughtful collaborative process requires tenacity and will. Engaging all voices can be a long process, but it can stretch the mind out of it’s comfort zone. We always ask our kids to take time to uncover ideas together, to share and to listen, and to cherish the complexity of collaboration. My favorite example of that this week happened in Noah’s Kindergarten class “Meeting for Business.” Noah invited the children to solve the problem of the “wiggle cushions.” They had become a distraction rather than a helpful learning tool. They took the distraction and arguments that arose as a time to talk about one of our queries on Simplicity – “How do I show that I value people more than things?” The students stated the problem: students are more concerned with wiggle cushions than each other. They then brainstormed solutions together which included: take turns or give them away.

I take away so many lessons from the Kindergarten Meeting for Business that it is hard to choose just one. The conversation represents the recipe of a responsive teacher engaging children to define the problem, and collaborate on solutions with the centering guidance of Quaker values. Whether the metaphor is a swinging pendulum or a fast-moving train, we rely on good, innovative research, balanced with long standing traditions that work. Wiggle cushions are on solid ground in school.