Another Brick in the Wall

     "We don't need no education. We don't need no thought control" are some lyrics from Pink Floyd's song, "Another Brick in the Wall." Every negative comment about education is just another brick in the wall. It's time to tear down this wall and design a different plan for schools. If I was Queen for a day, I would relate curriculum to the interests of the students, show teachers that they are appreciated, and get rid of testing in favor of portfolios.
      The first brick that needs to be removed is the outdated curriculum. I have said this idea many times and still believe that relating curriculum to the interests or career choices of students is necessary, especially at the high school level. We have students who attend college or career tech while still in high school. We have students who work jobs after school or on the weekends. Why are these opportunities overlooked in the high school classes?  Students need to see the connection between what they are learning and how they will use it in the "real-world." One of my blogs called "Acting It Out" discusses how to design an English class for students who like drama and speech. This idea would work for other career choices or interests. I remember an English teacher at my school who required seniors to plan a career path and write every kind of essay about this career path. This idea would work today. We need to show students what they have to learn and ask them, "How are you going to learn it?"
      The second brick that should be removed is the disrespect that is shown towards teachers and public schools. With all the negative comments in the news about education, it doesn't surprise me why we have a teacher shortage. Celebrate successes, celebrate innovations, or celebrate the creativity that teachers show. For every negative story, there should be 100 positive stories reported in the news. In 1987, my dad, who taught for 45 years, told me not to become a teacher. I think he felt the same way that some teachers feel today, a lot of work and dedication but little appreciation.
     The last brick that should be obliterated is using just a test to show the growth of students. A test only gives a brief look at what has been learned, not the complete picture that a portfolio would show.  A grade-level portfolio would show what students have achieved in all classes, a class portfolio would show the growth of students in that particular class, and a school portfolio would document that growth of students from 9th grade to 12th grade.  The portfolios would show examples of PBL, some test scores, and reflections written by students.
       Instead of adding another brick to the wall, it's time to tear it down one brick at a time.