Unpopular Opinions

It’s been told to me on more than one occasion that I should write a book. I often hear that and shy away from the idea, thinking that nobody wants to listen to a random girl documenting words on a page. The more I give thought to this idea, though, the more I think back to conversations I have had with close friends and wish I could bottle up those words I shared.

I wish I could remember the words I shared on all those occasions. I wish I had recorded the words I shared. The problem is, I don’t care to hear my own voice and the idea of recording my thoughts freaks me out.

Maybe sharing my ideas on a blog might help. I blogged many years before, sharing the depths of my heart with the Internet. Do I try that again?

I’ll dip my toes into this adventure. I will start with an idea that I believe with all my heart, a conclusion I have come to from a combination of my personal experiences as a student, my work as a researcher, and by virtue of being witness to it every day in the classroom: K-12 education needs to be turned upside and flipped inside out if the next generation is to have a fighting chance in the world. I think the present K-12 education reform is putting a band-aid over a gapping aorta in the middle of open heart surgery. The bleeding temporarily stops for our attention to turn away to something else, only to start bleeding again.

Band-aids work great if a young child has a scrap and needs to protect the skin from pathogens in our environment. Band-aids don’t do a great deal when there is an open wound that continues to bleed.

I think K-12 education needs to go up in flames before we can really think of change. I’m not sure who I am referring to when I say “we” - maybe it’s just me and my imaginary team of researchers seeking to create change. Hear me out. Give me a chance. Follow along and maybe I’ll convince you to see that change is possible.