a letter to StudentsFirst

Michelle Rhee started a website called studentsfirst.org, which is intended to unite those working on education reform and catalyze the improvement of our public schools. Everyone's noticed that education reform is really a popular topic nowadays, so I was excited to see that someone is trying to unite all these conversations and really make something happen.

The problem with the mainstream conversation on education reform is it misses the point. The widely stated concern is that because American students are failing on their test scores, our schools are failing students in their mission to prepare them for competition with other nations in the future (economic future is a term that people like to use). We're all talking about how to improve learning, but in the mainstream the focus is always on improving the kind of learning that has always occurred in US schools.

We're not looking to change that in any way, just improve it. I take issue with this. I believe that the entire approach to education is wrong, and that it has been wrong since public education started. It's not like we got off track only recently, we've been off track for ~100 years. I think focusing on why we educate will help us make better policy towards improving education, which (as a at this point meaningless exercise) would improve test scores. A true education creates revolutionary and creative thinkers, people who can think and create for themselves. People who judge the quality of the work they produce themselves, and can determine what is needed for improvement. They understand when to consult others, but also when to trust their own reasoning. Problem solvers.

A true educated population would destroy the current economic system. This is why we don't discuss the purpose of education, but if we look into it, the end result is it produces people who are empowered to change the world around them. If you don't want to change the world, don't educate your kids.

There is probably 0% chance that anyone at StudentsFirst will actually read this and think about what I mean, but I wrote a letter to them anyway:

"I'm sure other people have said this, but I feel the need to comment on an omission in the StudentFirst mission statement.

What is the end goal of education? And what is StudentFirst's position on the purpose of education? I think people operate with fundamentally different beliefs on what education should accomplish, and this is really where the conversation on reform should start.

Test scores are a (hopeful) means to an end. We hope that high test scores are caused by true learning, but I wonder if the very act of leaving the judgement of the quality of education to someone other than the student strips the student of a voice in the learning process. An empowered learner is one who determines for him or herself whether or not they have learned the material. Our goal should be to create empowered learners, people who can leave school and continue to learn.

Is education merely a tool to further our nation's economic development? No, education develops critical thinking, creating a nation of individuals who ask questions and seek answers based on evidence.

I just think it is important to state specifically what we want education to accomplish, as that will inform the direction of the reform.

Discussing what education should really accomplish is a dangerous thing- this is a much more divisive topic than simply what is needed to improve the current system. I understand that StudentsFirst aims to unite those interested in reform, and such a discussion would likely polarize reformers.

Anyone who has read Pedagogy of the Oppressed or Savage Inequalities understands what is really at stake here. Not everyone agrees with the conclusions reached by such authors, but if we truly want to put students first, we must talk about what it really means to be an educated person, and how society would change as a result."