Algorithm Kids

I am going to veer off the topic of the last two blogs to talk about “algorithm kids”. My middle daughter had a difficult time sleeping a few weeks ago and had an upset stomach for a few nights.  Since this is a little bit unusual my wife and I talked about what could be causing her illness.  We both agreed that her nausea was precipitated by her anxiety on taking the State-mandated tests.  At the same time, I was reading a collection of Joe Bageant’s essays and in one of the essays he described how the educational system is simply turning kids into algorithms. This gave me an insight into our educational world.

Before I get to my insight, I am going to share with you what my wife and I tell our kids about the State tests.  First, we ALWAYS tell them that we do not care how they do on the tests.  What is important to us is what they have learned in school.  We try to monitor the actual learning that takes place throughout the school year.  We are very specific about our definition of learning too…we do not include something memorized for a short time so they get a good grade on attest as “learning”.  We want to see evidence that they have an understanding of a concept that is unique and transferable to other contexts.  Admittedly, this is a high bar but one we feel is achievable.  The State tests (whether they are the Keystone or PSSA) will not give us this kind of information. Second, we want them to try to do well on the tests but we also are frank with them about our motivation for them to do well.  We both believe that preparing and trying your best is what is important and not the actual result.  Theoretically, if the school has done their job, the results on these tests should be good.

            I do not want my children, or ANY CHILD, to simply be an algorithm. I want my children, and ALL CHILDREN, to be wrapped in a system of support and caring that supports intellectual and emotional development.  I do not want my children, or ANY CHILD, to be in their “zone of proximal development” based on where an algorithm thinks they should perform on a silly test.  I want my children, and ALL CHILDREN, to have learning experiences that are customized to their entire being.  I do not want my children, or ANY CHILD, to be in the red, green or yellow “zone of growth” in a “growth model”.  I want my children, and ALL CHILDREN, to learn the power of creativity and harness their imagination for lifelong learning.  I do not want my children, or ANY CHILD, to be labeled as “in need of support” because they did not do well on a meaningless State test.  I want my children, and ALL CHILDREN, learn about the power of learning from their mistakes and using critical thinking to make decisions. 

We have allowed our educational system to become “anti-children”.  We assume that our educational system is bad because “numbers” are not where some think they should be (an arbitrary accounting by any measure) forgetting that each number represents tens, hundreds, thousands or hundreds of thousands of our children.  It is time for us to speak against the nonsense that has been peddled as education reform over the past 15 years and focus on what is important…children.