As difficult as it is to believe, students return to school next Tuesday, August 30. The day will be a standard full day of school for all students in grades kindergarten through high school. In talking with several students over the last week or so, I’ve heard the typical range of responses: some don’t want school to start at all while others have become bored and are looking forward to returning. Of course there are always those who are in the middle; they are ready to come back for sports, extra-curricular activities, and to socialize with their friends but are ambivalent about the academic aspects of school.
In many ways, these varied responses summarize the issues being discussed across the nation (but interestingly enough, not in the run-up to the election of our next president). The push and pull between a ‘national’ curriculum and states’ rights to determine what students will learn, the changing landscape regarding standardized tests (especially related to nationally-normed tests) and the ongoing struggle to balance pure academics against a well-rounded school experience for students.
Massachusetts reflects this balancing act. While Massachusetts adopted the common core standards for learning, it also modified this to reflect the state’s educational ideals (and of course, the initial national common core was based on Massachusetts’ educational standards). While there are still some who would argue against the use of anything related to common core, it’s important to realize that these don’t dictate how to teach; rather they lay out a sequence of learning objectives for students. In a further step, Massachusetts has also opted out of using one of the nationally developed tests (PARCC) in favor of developing a ‘new generation’ of MCAS tests (in truth based partially on the national PARCC tests) to reflect the state’s modification of the common core standards. The state has opted to move to a computer-based testing platform for the new MCAS test, which should make the results more readily available to educators to inform instruction in a more timely manner.
Unfortunately this has not ended the debate between teaching to the tests (which are only in mathematics, science and English at this time) and supporting other academic and non-academic pursuits. While there has been much discussion, actions still speak louder than words and everyone continues to struggle to meet the needs of educating the whole child while being judged simply on a set of standardized test scores in only three subject areas. It is no wonder that the ‘opt out’ movement has not faded completely away and that home schooling, private schools, and specialized charter schools continue to whittle away at the numbers of students enrolled in traditional public schools.
I believe Gateway is fortunate to have a school committee that still strongly supports the education of the whole child including athletics, the performing arts, student leadership opportunities, and extracurricular activities. The resulting balance between the ‘tested’ academics and other activities is well implemented by our staff and can be seen throughout the district as well as seen consistently throughout the year.
As we begin another school year I’m thankful for the balanced approach the district takes towards educating all students. I’m also appreciative of the support of our staff, students, and communities towards making Gateway a successful district and one that is willing to support the needs of our children rather than just hitting a specific national target for a very select group of academic subjects.
