Friday, I talked about my brother and a portion of the legacy he built into my children. I specifically featured the child who resembles both his looks and mannerisms most. Fact is, he favored no one, and spent time building relationship with all of our boys equally. Come to think of it, he had a way of making you feel as if you mattered most, all of the time.
He even had a knack for doing that here on TommyMom. When he passed away, many of you contacted me, grieving yourselves because he had taken the time to give advice about a wayward child, a learning disability troubling a mom, and on the memories went.
This week, I’m going to feature some of my favorite posts he crafted here. Good idea? I thought so, too. Enjoy!
This one was titled : Performance or Process?
Education in this country is straddling a huge crevasse…
and there are going to be…
some major changes to it…
in the coming years.
Why?
Education no longer has a choice.
I don’t presume to be God’s gift to education…
in fact, I may serve as an example…
for everyone else…
as to what not to do.
But there are reasons…
that thousands of kids…
in my state alone…
are choosing…
alternative forms of it.
There are some consistent patterns…
within education…
that prove themselves…
over and over again.
My belief…
is that parents and schools…
need to tap…
into those patterns…
and make them work effectively…
with their given audience.
So what are…
these magical patterns?
I can’t possibly summarize…
25 years worth of experiences…
into this blog!
But let me give you a couple of examples.
Since I live in Seattle…
I’ll start with Microsoft.
When this company…
was on its meteoric climb…
they offered a certification called an “MCSE”.
This stood for…
Microsoft Certified Systems Expert.
Earning this certification back then…
meant an almost certain 6 figure salary.
As time went by…
Microsoft noticed a phenomenon…
that was a bit disturbing.
People were passing the exam…
but once in the job environment…
they didn’t know how to apply any of it.
These types of people…
soon came to be known…
as “Paper MCSE’s”.
They had the piece of paper…
and that was it.
Many years later…
it is not surprising…
that Microsoft has “working interviews”…
where people do the desired job…
for 2 weeks against their competition…
so the company can see…
what they can actually do…
and how they fit in!
It should come as no surprise…
that some of the elite…
institutions of higher learning…
are having the same problem!
Students who are valedictorians…
have difficulty writing a simple paper.
Why does this happen?
One reason…
and there are many…
is that because of the entitlement attitude…
that is so rampant…
kids and parents would rather…
have a good grade…
than good skills.
Nowadays…
when teachers give a “B”…
they are blasted by some parents…
who take the matter to the principal…
because the teacher…
is “hurting my son’s/daughter’s chances…
at a good college”.
Another way…
to put it might be…
it is more…
about the results…
than the journey.
Likewise…
there can be some kids…
who are exposed…
only to certain viewpoints…
and subject matter…
in a home setting…
that puts them…
at a disadvantage…
in terms of
educational reference.
This is all…
because parents are too afraid…
to mention alternative philosophies…
and world views.
This is no more helpful…
in terms of living in a real world…
than those…
who cannot apply…
what they’ve learned!
All of this buildup…
to say…
that one pattern…
that will never…
let down a parent…
student…
teacher…
principal…
or any other educational employee…
is the concept…
of creating a personal relationship.
From the days…
of Socrates forward…
we have seen over and over…
how making a connection between people…
creates a learning environment that will flourish.
You don’t believe me?
Recently…
I attended a conference…
where the speaker produced data…
from a study involving…
over 200 million kids world wide
that suggests this to be true.
He’s done his homework.
If you are grappling…
with how much…
you should trust the “experts”…
vs. telling them to take a hike…
understand…
that not all experts…
are full of hot air…
just like…
not all parents…
are bad home educators.
Public education…
only sees the kids…
for whom home education…
didn’t work…
and vice versa.
Regardless of…
which method you choose…
to educate your children…
look for patterns…
that have been successful over time…
stop worrying so much…
about the results.
Focus more on the skills…
necessary for the journey.
This will often lead…
to the desired results anyway.
~Tim
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