Just read my monthly newsletter from The Forum for Education and Democracy and thought I’d share some interesting info:

First, a book recommendation. I confess I haven’t read it yet but will definitely add it to my list. It’s called Grading Education: Getting Accountability Right (by Richard Rothstein with Rebecca Jacobsen and Tamara Wilder) and it addresses the vexing question of how to broaden the scope of our evaluation practices to include more than just math and reading standardized test scores. The book describes an alternative accountability system that incorporates broader education goals (like critical thinking, arts appreciation, physical and emotional health, and preparation for skilled employment). Apparently, it comes highly recommended.

The newsletter also pointed me to an article by Sam Chaltain that begins with the following eye-opening 15-minute challenge:

First, find a partner. Then, take four minutes to reflect and write silently on your most meaningful personal experience in a learning community. It could be a club, a church group, a school, a course, or something else. The only criteria are that it was a transformative experience, and that real learning occurred.

Next, you and your partner take four additional minutes to share your stories with each other. While one person is speaking, the other will be listening actively and taking notes, in hopes of identifying what attributes made the experience being described such a successful one. After both of you have shared your stories, take a minute or two to identify the parts and qualities of your experiences that were the most resonant across your memories.

Chaltain writes that he’s done this experiment hundreds of times over the past 10 years only to discover that most transformational learning experiences have certain principles in common. They are relationship-driven, supportive, personally challenging, fun, deeply relevant, and experiential. (The learning experiences on my list certainly are.)

He then asks why, if this is the case, are public schools focused on a culture of testing instead of on a culture of learning?

Why prioritize annual testing and “drill and kill” instruction of math and reading skills instead of providing students with a well-rounded education; using multiple measures of learning; developing challenging and intellectually diverse curricula; and creating learning environments that help students discover who they are and (he quotes from Deborah Meier here) “how to use their minds well”?

Such excellent questions. Wouldn’t it be great if all members of Congress would agree to participate in this 15-minute challenge before they begin debating the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (a.k.a. No Child Left Behind) this fall?

(Photo: Looking Glass’ flickr photostream/Creative Commons)