So Somebody Asked What I Thought Was Important in Education Today.

Higher test scores, strong core values, cultural awareness, sensitivity to diversity, career focus, and job preparedness are all valuable goals in a modern public educational system. In fact, in no time in our history has a good education been so essential. In order to compete in the new world markets, our students must have, not just a solid foundation, but a world class education. We talk a lot about world class education in my school district these days. Nevertheless, for me as an English teacher, it all boils down to the ability to think.

At first glance, the ability to think may seem like "a no-brainer," as the students would say, but when we look at all of the influences that are bombarding our children today, the ability to think is at a premium. One of the chief saboteurs of the ability to think is the internet, with its easy access to quick answers and its lack of differentiation between good and poor sources of information. Ask a high school student about Langston Hughes, and he will quickly access the latest entries on Wikipedia, and much of the information he finds there will be accurate and informative. After all, today’s high school student likes to give his teachers the right answers – never mind the fact that he has not discovered Langston Hughes for himself by reading his poetry. There will be no real connection between Langston Hughes and Mr. 4.0 from the junior class unless Mr. 4.0 takes the next step and actually makes connections for himself. That kind of connecting takes time and deep thought. Today’s children often think that quick answers are all that is needed.

Even a casual examination of the online services ClassicNotes, CliffNotes, Sparknotes, and the multitude of term paper sites gives us some sense of the direction our students are taking. While many English teachers have no objection to students using study tools, students’ use of such aids is seldom about deeper learning. It is all too often about getting information as fast as possible in order to write the paper, and take the test, and get the A, and graduate with honors, to get into a good college and land in a good career. There is such a rush, with no time for thoughtful digestion of a multitude of viewpoints; however, careful consideration of a multitude of viewpoints is our most essential asset in this rapidly shrinking world.

A rather large percentage of high school students today will tell anyone interested that they prefer science and math to subjects such as English. To be sure, this is partly because science and math are the modern weapons. We assess our students’ test scores in science and math against those of the rest of the developed world with increasing concern. We must excel; we must compete. Yet there is another more subtle reason for students’ rejection of the study of literature: There is no certitude. Hamlet and Anna Karenina still puzzle us. In Literature, there is no one, "right" answer, and our children want "right" answers so they can fill in the next box on the answer key. It is the job of parents and educators to help children see and accept the fact that most of life’s questions have many right answers, each with its own set of good and bad consequences, and that practicing the art of deep thought will help them deal with the puzzles.

The kind of thinking that our children need most today is the kind that takes time and patience. It is the kind that forges new connections in the brain. It is the kind that allows for more than one answer and demands constant review for better and more complete solutions to our problems. It is innovative. It feeds the soul. If we do not slow down and nurture such thinking in our children, we will fail, no matter how high their SAT scores.