We all need to focus on three things: Integrity, collaboration and reflection.
We must all act with the highest integrity imaginable. Our students, communities, and peers hold us to a high ethical and moral standard because it is the only way that public education can work.
Education is focused on improving with high standards and accurate data. When we are deceived by false test scores, pseudo-pedagogy and curricular programs are wrongly promoted and applauded.
If ignorance were a disease and education were the cure, teachers would need accurate and detailed test results before they were able to cure anything or see if their method of treatment were working. The tests need to be reliable and give accurate and useful information.
We are all pulling on the same rope. We just need to all pull the rope in the same direction. From political leaders to educators, kindergarten to college, we need to spend more time reflecting on every aspect of our craft.
We need to reflect through collaboration so that we can discuss and view problems from multiple perspectives and lenses. We cannot solve all our problems individually on an educational island of isolation. We have to pull this rope together if we are going to go anywhere.
In other words, we must hold ourselves to the same standards that we have for students — work well with others, be honest, and pay attention to what you are doing and where you are going.
Jon Schoening teaches at Inman Elementary School in Fayette County.
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