A couple of weeks ago I used this space to state that schools need to be wary of trying to do too much, that it is imperative that folks not lose sight of what matters most at school. Since then, I’ve heard from a few that took what I wrote a bit too literally by asking whether I was suggesting that school be reduced to teaching the basics. While I appreciate this interpretation, this is not at all what I meant.
Schools have a captive audience of students and as such, are attractive locations for providing the students support in a myriad of skills and awareness type activities. It would not be hard for a principal to find something or someone that is an add-on to the district’s curriculum for each day of the week. My point in keeping it simple is that we must be selective in taking on new programs or activities. Is Character Counts a good thing for a school? Absolutely. I know that our principals who use this program feel it is well worth the effort. Is an assembly to celebrate national gerbil week a good use of school time, absolutely not. And while I write this tongue in cheek, it is not too distant from some of the tugs that our schools receive.
Our schools are tasked with the enormous responsibility of educating our children. Let’s ensure that we don’t dilute the school day to the point that this responsibility becomes impossible to meet.
Keep it simple does not mean school is dull
A couple of weeks ago I used this space to state that schools need to be wary of trying to do too much, that it is imperative that folks not lose sight of what matters most at school. Since then, I’ve heard from a few that took what I wrote a bit too literally by asking whether I was suggesting that school be reduced to teaching the basics. While I appreciate this interpretation, this is not at all what I meant.
Schools have a captive audience of students and as such, are attractive locations for providing the students support in a myriad of skills and awareness type activities. It would not be hard for a principal to find something or someone that is an add-on to the district’s curriculum for each day of the week. My point in keeping it simple is that we must be selective in taking on new programs or activities. Is Character Counts a good thing for a school? Absolutely. I know that our principals who use this program feel it is well worth the effort. Is an assembly to celebrate national gerbil week a good use of school time, absolutely not. And while I write this tongue in cheek, it is not too distant from some of the tugs that our schools receive.
Our schools are tasked with the enormous responsibility of educating our children. Let’s ensure that we don’t dilute the school day to the point that this responsibility becomes impossible to meet.